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THE INDEPENDENTDAILY AT DUKE UNIVERSITY
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2004
ONE HUNDREDTH YEAR, ISSUE 66
Duke trudges to 2nd at NCAAs
Duke yields no Rhodes Scholars Paul Crowley THE CHRONICLE
by
For the first time since 1992, no Duke students or alumni were awarded Rhodes Scholarships this year. The prestigious scholarship, which allows college graduates from across the world to study at the University of Oxford for two or three years, is granted to 32 American students annually. Although the University did not claim any Rhodes Scholars when the winners were announced Sunday, nine students were interviewed by their states’ Rhodes committees. Seven Duke seniors and alumni have been awarded the scholarship in the past three years, but Professor of History Peter Wood said this year’s drop-off is not emblematic of any larger trend. “I don’t think it’s indicative of anything at all,” said Wood, who chairs the University’s Rhodes Advisory Committee. “[The scholarship] is extremely rarefied, to the point of being impossible. If there were 200 of them, I’d expect Duke would have several every year. But with 32, this is... the way it goes.” The Rhodes application process begins in the fall, when interested students notify the University of their plans. The Duke committee thenwrites a letter of endorsement and helps each student prepare for interviews. Candidates are selected and then interviewed—either in North Carolina or their home states —by the state committee. The committee sends several students to the final, regional round. At this level, each region selects four Rhodes Scholars. “It’s a very decentralized process,” Wood said. Candidates interviewed by their states faced a committee comprised of Rhodes Scholars from that state who conducted lengthy discussions with each student. ‘They examined our graduate proposals and really attempted to get at peoples’ motives for applying,” said senior Anthony Vitarelli, who interviewed in his home state of New Jersey. “It was the most equitable and professional interview process I’ve ever dealt with.” Senior Philip Kurian, who applied in South Carolina, was surprised by the variety of the Scholars that interviewed him. “There were some people who were really stuffy, and some who were real straight shooters,” said Kurian, who is also a columnist for The Chronicle. “It’s kind of a weird experience.... There’s an element ofluck and flipping a coin to it.” Harvard University dominated the SEE RHODES ON PAGE
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Leslie Cooper THE CHRONICLE
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On The-
prowl
for a feline fi/ by
Sarah Ball
THE CHRONICLE
In the dwindling days before the holidays, as most students salivate over the promise of Thanksgiving delicacies and pine for familial comforts, George Rogosa lays down a bountiful feast for friends Feline friends, that is. ‘Tis the season, after all, of nondiscriminatory sharing. But for some, the presence of the free-loading, freeranging feral cat population on campus has become a nuisance. With the ever-fickle challenge of population control and without an exact tally of all resident cats, concerns over what to do next are widespread For Rogosa, the cats that roam Main West Campus are more peaceable than pesky. The adjunct professor of physics assumed feeding responsibilities by accident. ‘There was a lady in the math department who put food out for them daily. One day, I made the mistake of asking her what happened on the weekends,” he said. Rogosa, who often works on Saturdays, offered to help out on weekends when she was unable to. When the
woman left Duke, her legacy was left for Rogosa to uphold; he’s been at it ever since. The three “regulars” at the Physics Building even have names: Bubba, a stout black-and-white male, a molded tortoiseshell named Poopsie and a red tabby called Orange. “I can afford to buy cat food, so I do, and I come in every day,” he said. “They like to eat Chefs Blend.” The Duke Uni-
versity
Meaghan Leon heard the voice of head coach Kevin Jermyn screaming through the crowd at the NCAA Cross Country Championships as she spotted the finish line. Four Blue Devils had already crossed the line, and Jermyn thought Leon’s kick would make the difference between second and third place for Duke. “I got to about 200 meters left and heard my coach yelling, ‘You have to pass 20 people,’ and I just tried to finish strong,” Leon said. The senior sprinted by 20 people over the final meters to lock up a second-place finish for the Blue Devils on a course described as “a quagmire of mud.” The Duke women’s cross country team completed its best season in school history by finishing runner-up at the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., Monday. At the halfway point, the Blue Devils were in third place behind the eventual champion Colorado and defending champion Stanford. Powering through thick mud left by evening and morning rain showers, the Duke harriers showed their strength by surging ahead in the second half of the race. Norm Ogilvie, director of SEE NCAAS ON PAGE 10
Greening
Initiative, however, sees major problems with what Karen Fadely, a sec-
ond-year graduate
student in the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, calls the “cat situation.” DUGI’s members, mostly graduate students, are looking to get a cat-control program off the ground in attempt to protect other campus critters. “Cats are known as being very good hunters,” Fadely said. “It is a topic we are interested in since they kill many more songbirds and other wildlife than people like to admit. Our concern is that they’re being fed, but there isn’t anything being SEE CATS ON PAGE 6
LUCY STONE/THE CHRONICLE
Junior Sally Meyerhoff crossed the tape first for Duke and led the team to its best-ever NCAA finish.