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The Chronicle
DUKE UNIVERSITY Ninety-Ninth Year, issue 122
DURHAM, N.C.
THURSDAY, MARCH 25,2004
WWW. CHRONICLE.DUKE. EDU
Gay couple file lawsuit against Durham by
Jennifer Hasvold THE CHRONICLE
Two Durham residents, Richard Mullinax and Perry Pike, filed a lawsuit Monday night against Durham County after they were denied a marriage license by Register of Deeds Willie Covington. The license request marked the first challenge to North Carolina’s policy, of not recognizing same-sex marriages and added fuel to the fire of what is shaping up to be a state-wide controversy. While the marriage license application explicitly asks about applicants’ ages and family relations, the only gender-specific items are the spaces for the name of the “bride” and “groom,” two tides generally referencing female and male applicants respectively. While the legal batde looms in Durham, Chapel Hill is preparing for a discussion of same-sex marriages of its own. The same day Mullinax and Pike filed their suit, Town Council member Mark Klineschmidt submitted a petition calling for the Town Council to adopt a resolution supporting the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. North Carolina General Statute 51-1 defines marriage as being characterized by the consent of a male and female. In SEE MARRIAGE ON PAGE 10
PETER GEBHARD/THE CHRONICLE
Stundents and other Duke community members came together Wednesday afternoon to show their passion about the issue of sexual assaultaround campus.
Scream-in voices make issue audible by
Seyward Darby THE CHRONICLE
From a screaming crowd on the steps of the Duke Chapel to intimate discussion circles in McClendon Tower, members of the Duke community gathered-Wednesday to protest recent reports of sexual assault on campus and address the violence-related issues they see threatening the University.
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Pasha Majdi’s Cameron Crazy credentials are better than most. He’s been a member of tent No. 1 and usually has a seat at center court for every game. Already a leader in the stands, he now hopes to become the next leader of Duke Student Government. Although the Vienna, Va., native is an outsider to DSG, he currendy serves as communications coordinator for Campus Council under President Anthony Vitarelli, his opponent for the DSG presidency. Majdi believes, however, that his understanding of die average student is a greater asset than a long student government resume. “I have a really good sense of what people care about,” he said. “I talk to different people, I don’t just hang out in one particular circle Majdi explained that he had two major reasons for running—improving student life in direct response to concerns voiced by students and increasing the presence of the DSG president on campus. ‘There are some changes I need to make, which are simple and will affect students on a daily basis,” Majdi said. Such changes, he added, include removing breakfasts from the freshman board plan, amending the current ”
DSG presidential candidate Pasha Majdi hopes to improve student life in direct response to students' concerns.
Nearly 100 students, faculty members ianni shouted to the crowd, tears and administrators convened in front of streaming down her face. “These are the Chapel Wednesday afternoon for a screams of anger at the pervasiveness of “scream-in” protest —or what freshman orrape and violence towards women at ganizer Alessandra Colaianni called a “vis- Duke. These are the screams you do not ible and audible” manifestation of “the hear often enough.” Bearing white arm bands and waving sickening problem” of sexual assault. “These are the screams of women SEE SCREAM-IN ON PAGE 12 who are being sexually assaulted,” Cola-
for president
noise policy on Central Campus and allowing unaffiliated students to register and host parties. Majdi said he wants to be a new kind of president, taking on a more active role than those in the position traditionally have. “The DSG president’s other role is to be the leader of the student body, being visible, accessible, friendly and going around talking to people,” Majdi said. ‘That’s something we haven’t had while I’ve been at Duke—a visible leader that people can look to.” The reduced course load taken by DSG presidents, he believes, will provide him with the time he needs to make his goals a reality. By reaching out to his peers, Majdi said he aims to make DSG more responsive to students’ needs and less influenced by administrators. “I will prioritize by what students want the most,” he said. “A DSG president shouldn’t be worried as much about what Larry [Moneta] thinks as what students think.” Majdi, a public policy and philosophy double-major, is the former social chair of the selective living group Maxwell House. During his month-and-a-half tenure «s SEE
MAJDI ON PAGE 9