September 21, 2006

Page 1

Rece ss

Suiting Up

The Lion Kin\g roars into Raleigh this month with mixed reviews, INSIDE

Swarms of job-seekingDukies head to the Career Fair, PAGE 3

/^ii THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21,

2006

THE INDEPENDENT DAILY AT DUKE UNIVERSITY

Duke relies

on

Admins support role, students question it Rob Copeland THE CHRONICLE

by

When sophomore Amanda Tong enrolled in Math 32 last year, she found herself having a hard time with the professor and soon switched out of the class. “I didn’t understand a word he said,” Tong said. “His delivery wasn’t confident and he was always

news

analysis

ONE HUNDRED AND SECOND YTIAR. ISSUE 20

grad instructors RLHS plans new model for housing Selective living groups to stay off main quad Wenjia Zhang THE CHRONICLE

by

mumbling.”

At the front of the classroom was a graduate student instruc-

Residence Life and Housing Services is

launching a new model for group housing—the Group Living Initiative—that will take effect in January. In a document sent to Campus Council members and RLHS employees last February, Eddie Hull, dean of residence life and executive director of housing services, out-

tor—something typically associated with large, impersonal

state schools but in reality not uncom-

mon at Duke. The Chronicle found that in some departments it is possible to take a halfdozen courses and satisfy 50 percent of requirements for a major without being taught by a faculty member. Administrators justified the prevalence of graduate instructors and many students said some of their best classes had been led by graduate students. There are certain economic realities at hand and it is important to provide graduate students with teaching experience, said Robert Thompson, dean of Trinity College of Arts and Sciences and vice provost of undergraduate education. “We always try to get the highest level of instruction and sometimes there’s a real supply-and-demand issue,” Thompson explained. The decision is not simply financial, he said. “Having graduate students teaching is just one link in a chain of what a research institution is all about,” he said. “The chal-

Graduate students teach many entry-level classes in disciplines such as the romance languages. lenge is to have it be mutually rewarding for both graduates and undergraduates.” The money issue Why doesn’t the University simply dip into its billions of endowment dollars and put a tenured professor in every classroom? SEE GRAD TEACHERS ON PAGE 7

Edens 3 residents to get AC refunds Wenjia Zhang THE CHRONICLE

by

Residents ofcertain Edens buildings lost theirair conditioning because of mold and were granted reimbursements by RLHS Wednesday.

Students whose air conditioning service had been terminated Sept. 4 will receive compensation, Eddie Hull, dean ofresidence life and executive director of housing services, said Wednesday. Students living in a double room will be refunded $389 per person and students living in a single room will be refunded $513 per person, Hull wrote in an e-mail sent to Edens residents late Wednesday. He added that the credit will be posted Oct. 6. The figures were calculated by the percentage of days during

lined the four elements of the GLI. These are location mapping, policies and procedures, evaluation criteria and governance. Criteria for the new assessment are scheduled to be finalized at the end ofOctober. Htill sard hie will review and approve them in November. Approximately 72 spaces on West Campus have been identified as suitable for selective living groups, said Marijean Konopke Williams, director of housing assignments and communications. This “menu of options” will be presented to Campus Council Sept. 28, she added. Hull noted that none of the options will be on the main quad. “There isn’t space for everyone,” he said. “The main quad is more visible, which would seem to give the feeling that [the groups] are favored, which isn’t true. r A task group formed by faculty, RLHS employees and members of Campus Council, Interfratemity Council and Selective House Council said they hope to finalize the second element of the GLI—policies SEE LIVING ON PAGE 5

which air conditioning was available. Students had air conditioning for 12 of the typical 54-day

cooling period. For a double room, each student pays $5OO more per semester than those without air conditioning and students in a single pay $660 more, Hull said. The cooling system was shut off due to the discovery of mold contamination—with no hazardous effects to student health—in the air handler unit. Students said they are pleased with the administration’s decision. SEE EDENS ON PAGE 6

Selective living groups like Roundtable may change sections, but none will be located on the main quad.


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September 21, 2006 by Duke Chronicle Print Archives - Issuu