Casse se Read about the interim lacrosse coach's even tful summer, PAGE 11
Vote drive |H Recess CJyJ Students, community Triangle's top Check
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members push for new DA, PAGE 3
out the outdoor music venues, INSIDE
The Chronicle! Edelman named Duke’s P.R. firm by
Saidi Chen
THE CHRONICLE
KEVIN
HWANG/THE CHRONICLE
NCCU Chancellor James Ammons and Duke President Richard Brodhead spent time together at NCCU-Duke NITE Wednesday.
NCCU, Duke share night at Durham Bulls rainout by
Jared Mueller
THE CHRONICLE
President Richard Brodhead did the Cha Cha and the crowd answered baseball trivia to pass the time, but at NCCU-Duke NITE at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park Wednesday, a violent thunderstorm meant there was no ball game. A smattering of Duke and North Carolina Central Univer-
sity students and faculty were among the 5,063 fans in attendance. Most of the crowd left before the contest was cancelled after 90 minutes ofrain delay. When he was not dancing, Brodhead sat with NCCU Chancellor James Ammons, waiting in vain for the game to begin. “I hate rainouts!” said Brodhead. “But we all had a lot more chance to talk than if it had
Redick to plead guilty to DUI Greg Beaton THE CHRONICLE
by
Former Duke star JJ. Redick will plead guilty to charges stemming from a June 13 DUI arrest, according to court documents released Tuesday. “It’s not over with,” Redick told The Chronicle Wednesday. “Once everything gets sorted out, I definitely will be relieved.” Redick would not elaborate further on the specific legal issues and his lawyer, Donald Beskind, declined comment through an assistant. Beskind sent a letter to Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong Aug. 17 stating his client’s intention to plead guilty, and Nifong penned his initials on the letter, SEE REDICK ON PAGE 14
been a good game.” Neither Ammons nor Brodhead could recall which official came up with the idea of hosting a baseball game in an effort to bring the schools together. The universities have had strained relations since an NCCU student said she was raped by three members of the SEE NCCU-DUKE ON PAGE 6
Duke has hired public relations firm Edelman to help publicize positive aspects of the University, officials on both ends of the deal confirmed Wednesday. The independent global firm will work to select, simplify and present Duke’s best characteristics both internally and to the public, said John Burness, senior vice president for public affairs and government relations. The hiring comes after three members of the 2005-2006 men’s lacrosse team were indicted for rape, garnering national media attention. “I feel pretty strongly, especially in this post-lacrosse environment, that we need to have more clarity in our messages about Duke’s distinctive strengths and the wisdom and discipline to emphasize them with clarity,” Burness wrote in an e-mail to campus leaders Wednesday afternoon. “Edelman presented an exceptionally strong situational analysis to our group and is well known for placing a heavy emphasis on research-driven communications,” he said. A consulting team will be on campus working with administrators, faculty and students, said
FOCUS ON
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Matthew Harrington, president of Edelman’s eastern region. Edelman has already analyzed Duke’s media, athletic and race-related challenges, Burness said, adding that the firm presented feedback on Duke’s main
webpages. Although the firm does not specifically list
educational institutions among its areas of expertise,
Harrington
em-
phasized its broad range of clients. “I think universities, like any institution, value outside opinion to help them formulate communication strategy—and that’s what we’re going to work to do,” Harrington said. Edelman was selected a few weeks ago from seven national firms that responded to a University-issued request for proposals. Duke will employ Edelman for the next several SEE EDELMAN ON PAGE 6
FIRST YEAR
FAC program lacks diversity Both freshmen and upperclassmen still laud goals, successes ofprogram Adam Eaglln THE CHRONICLE
by
The popular First-Year Advisory Counselor program, often considered a vital part of Duke’s vaunted “first-year experience,” has for years ushered freshmen into their first days on campus. Recently, however, some students have noted the program’s dearth of diversity. According to data compiled from the 2006 list ofFACs, there is a significant overrepresentation of greek-affiliated students and an underrepresentation of black and Asian students.
Of this year’s more than 200 FACs, The Chronicle’s research indicates that approximately 60 percent are members of University-recognized fraternities and sororities. By comparison, 35 percent of the larger student body is greek-affiliated, said officials from the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life. The statistics also indicated that approximately 3.8 percent of this year’s FACs are black and 14.5 percent are Asian students. In the larger student body, however, the SEE FACS ON PAGE 8
JIANGHAI
HO/THE
CHRONICLE
Sophomore Anne Meyers is among the 60 percent of FACs who are greek-affiliated.