campJus Jaywalkersftake dangerous steps on sti ■eets, PAGE 3
Academic Council hears update on Duke's strategic priorities, PAGE 3
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FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 2006
THE INDEPENDENT DAILY AT DUKE UNIVERSITY
ONE HUNDRED AND FIRST YEAR, ISSUE 79
Cap on living groups raised to 35 percent by
David Graham
THE CHRONICLE
Residence Life and Housing Services’ moratorium on selective living expansion officially ended during the first week of January, Campus Council President Jay Ganatra, a junior, announced Thursday night. Ganatra said the end of the
MATT
FELTZ/THE CHRONICLE
Campus Council members discussed the defunct housing moratorium Thursday.
housing moratorium—which
lasted about two years—will bring about two changes in RLHS’ selective group policy. First, the ceiling for selective housing is now 35 percent of West Campus, a change from the previous cap of one-third. Second, a restriction limiting selective groups to 50 percent of any quadrangle was also lifted. Chi Psi and Delta Tau Delta fraternities were recently notified that they would be receiving housing in Edens Quadrangle in the fall of 2006. Eddie Hull, dean of residence life and executive director of housing services, made a verbal agreement with the groups that when the moratorium was lifted, they would get housing, Ganatra said. It remains unclear, however, how RLHS officials arrived at the decision to lift the moratorium. Hull was not available for comment, and Ganatra was unable to speak to the rationale for the decision. Although Ganatra, Campus Council Vice President Ben Rubinfeld, a junior, and SEE CC ON PAGE 7
SANDRA MORRIS/THE CHRONICLE
With ARAMARK's five-year contract up for renewal, the University is looking at severalother dining options for next year.
ARAMARK contract in question by
The
Rob Copeland THE CHRONICLE
for the University’s frequently criticized food provider, ARAMARK, Corp., is set to expire June 30 and has yet to be renewed. “I have been very disappointed by ARAMARK,” said Jim Wulforst, director of dining services. The company, which runs escontract
tablishments including the Marketplace, the Great Hall, ChickFil-A, Subway and Trinity Cafe, will have to vie with a host of new contenders if it wishes to retain its contract. Some possibilities include Sodexho USA, a multi-milliondollar corporation similar to ARAMARK, and several other regional firms that are consider-
ably less well-known Students can be assured that all possibilities will be exhausted before any decisions are made, Wulforst said. Five years ago, when AJRAMARK’s contract was signed, the company seemed like an obvious choice because many of its SEE ARAMARK ON PAGE 8
Durham adopts alcohol monitoring bracelets by
Saidi Chen
THE CHRONICLE
Fifteen Durham residents are currently
being tested for their sobriety multiple
times a day by a bracelet that is raising controversy. The views about the appropriate use of SCRAM—the Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor—varywidely fromjudge to judge across the 32 states in which itis used. There are those who say the technology is the most reliable way to keep someone from drinking and others who allege that the bracelet is discriminatory and unconstitutional. In addition, allegations of misrepresentation have plagued a local distribution company along with charges that certain marketers target Hispanic defendants. SCRAM—an eight-ounce mechanism strapped around the ankle—consists of two parts. The first tests vapor as it moves through the skin, measuring for alcohol consumption, and the other part detects any tampering with the device. The wearer is unaware when the bracelet takes readings, which can happen up to 48 times a day.
“The simplest way that I’ve come to think about SCRAM is that it’s a product that does one of two things: It either enables a person to prove their ability to maintain their sobriety, or it’s a tool that some authority can use to monitor a person who has been ordered to remain abstinent,” said Bruce Roberts, Trinity 79, president of Rehabilitation Support Services, the company that distributes the bracelets throughout much of North Carolina. There are many in the judicial system, however, who question the use of a SCRAM as a pre-trial aid intended to win leniency from ajudge or as a condition of probation. Durham District Judge Marcia Morey said defendants who wore the bracelet to show theirability to stay sober after being arrested for a DWI would get “absolutely nothing” in her courtroom. Signing up to wear the bracelet—at an initial cost of $75 and $l2 a day after that—is voluntary. “I would shake my head and say, T’m sorry you’ve wasted all your money,’ Morey said. “It’s not illegal to drink. It s SEE SCRAM ON PAGE 6
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
The SCRAM System involves measuring an individual'salcohol level and monitoring itfrom a central area.