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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2004

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Although Duke University Health System is growing from cigarette money, it received a bill of excellent health this year. DUHS reported its best financial performance since the system’s inception in 1998: $55.5 million in operating income from a total patient revenue of about $1.4 billion. This marks a major recovery following a low of $ll million in operating losses in 2000. Despite this income—which is from the fiscal year that ended June 30—hospital officials remained cautious about future performance. ‘This level of profitability really represents what I would

dents will be able to satisfy both a

political craving and a sweet tooth with the cast of a single ballot. Students can turn in absentee ballots in return for a bar of chocolate through One Sweet Vote, a program developed by Craven Quad graduate assistant Melissa Bixler. After Bixler spent the summer leading political focus groups, she brought her ideas back to Duke hoping to achieve two goals. The new program aims to heighten awareness about issues on both ends of the political spectrum and to prompt more students to vote, even if they are not registered in North Carolina. Bixler said the absentee process is more difficult than switching voter registration to North Carolina, so she felt that providing help and easy access was an important element of the program.

SEE DUHS ON PAGE 5

by Tracy Ke THE CHRONICLE PETER

GEBHARD/THE CHRONICLE

George McLendon gives his first official address to the Arts and Sciences Council Thursday, noting undergraduate research as a high priority for the coming years.

RCs sweeten absentee voting In the upcoming presidential election, out-of-state Duke stu-

characterize as baseline performance,” said Ken Morris, chief financial officer of DUHS. “If we maintain this level, we will have the flexibility in the future to do what we want to do. But if we fall off, it might be tight, and some things might not get done.” Frank Sloan, J. Alexander McMahon professor of economics and a specialist in health policy and management, agreed and said profitability is highly volatile. “This is a razor thin kind of situation,” he said. “It doesn’t take much to go from a profit to a lost.” DUHS, a non-profit and private organization, outperformed last year’s earnings by about $lO

Lewis Black rants to packed house

undergraduates.

WOJCIECHOWSKA

Steve Veres

THE CHRONICLE

At Thursday’s meeting of the Arts and Sciences Council, the first since it was restructured last year, everything was new: the members, the Executive Committee and George McLendon, who addressed the Council for the first time as dean of the faculty of Arts and Sciences. After praising the “very thoughtful new format” of the Council, McLendon oudined his vision for the role ofArts and Sciences at the University. Intellectual climate among students, faculty hiring amid budget concerns and opportunities for excellence in interdisciplinary work topped his list of issues on which to focus. In order to enrich the intellectual climate at the University, McLendon plans to boost the number of students participating in academic research and improve the availability of resources needed to increase collaboration between faculty and

BY IZA THE CHRONICLE

ONE HUNDREDTH YEAR, ISSUE 16

DUHS recovers from past losses

Meg Bourdillon THE CHRONICLE

SEE MCLENDON ON PAGE 6

THE INDEPENDENTDAILY AT DUKE UNIVERSITY

A&S dean addresses Council by

sports

“It felt somewhat irresponsible to say, ‘Here’s the absentee ballot, good luck,’” she said. The GAs running One Sweet Vote hope it will alleviate some of the apathy Duke has seen in the past when it comes to voting. Deb Lo Biondo, the assistant

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dean for Residence Life and Housing Services, said she hoped the chocolate incentive would encourage students to vote, regardless of where in the country they come from. “Because we have such a large percentage of students from out of state, it’s a nice reminder that even though you’re not living in your home state you can still exercise your right to vote,” she said. Undergraduates are dubious that the program will make an impact on attendance at the polls. “I think most people have already decided if they’re going to vote, and I don’t think a bar of chocolate is going to influence their decision,” freshman Harrison Anthony said. Lo Biondo recognized that this attitude might be prevalent on campus but said One Sweet Vote might make a difference for those who are still deciding whether to cast a ballot. Even though it may not change SEE VOTE ON PAGE 4

Comedian Lewis Black gave a profanity-laced performance Thursday night in Page Auditorium to a sold-out crowd. A regular correspondent on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Black was typically caustic in his scathing political and social commentary. “I thought it was a great success. We had a sold-old crowd and Lewis did a great job,” said Kevin Parker, president of the Duke University Union, the organization that brought Black to campus. Black’s visit to Duke was a homecoming of sorts, as he attended the University' of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as an undergraduate. He often escaped the “oppressive preppiness” of UNC by visiting the gothic wonderland several times a week. The comedian began his set with events at the beginning of the calendar year. “For the first time in my lifetime, this entire country stopped and focused as one,” he said. “We could see where all our problems were coming from. I am speaking, of course, ofjanetjackson’s breast.” Derisively referring to the MTV-produced Super Bowl halftime show as the “most important

rousing,

PETER

GEBHARDA'HE CHRONICLE

Comedian Lewis Black performs for a boisterous crowd in Page Auditorium. cultural show of the year,” Black argued that Americans were as desperate to see her breast as they were to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. He also out the irony with America’s “revulsion” at the faux-pas while network news continuously replayed the moment. “Oh, let’s look at that nipple again! It’s 5:02 and we haven’t seen it since 5 o’clock,” he joked. Black returned to the issue of sex and society throughout the night. “The idea of gays marrying each other made our president crazy. [President George W.

pointed

SEE BLACK ON PAGE 5


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