September 13, 2007

refectory Duke

studenits are flocking to the

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Recess takes an inside loook at hip-hop appreciation prof., RECESS 1

Duke opens up the season in Virginia this weekend, PAGE 9

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DA choice maybe unlawful

Deanship rescinded due to political views

BY SHREYA Rag THE CHRONICLE

Caroline McGeough THE CHRONICLE

Newly-appointed Durham District Attorney David Saacks may be ineligible to hold office, according to. a law Gov. Mike Easley signed last month requiring that all appointed officials be capable of DEWS voting for the positio th hold anafysis Saacks, as a w Wake resident, County cannot vote in this district. Although Saacks has a strong record in Durham politics, Professor ofLaw Thomas Metzloff said the conflict could make the district attorney’s office vulnerable to criticism once again.

“Anybody who is convicted with him as district attorney conceivably could challenge that it was illegal, that he didn’thave the authority,” Metzloffsaid.

“It’s a big cloud to be hanging over the head of a legal official in Durham.”

An Easley spokesperson told The (Raleigh) News & Observer Tuesday that the governor acted within his constitutional power to fill the vacancy and that the state General Assembly’s law would not be applicable to ”

*

7

.

SEE SAACKS ON PAGE 7

I

Qiemerinsky loses offer at UC-Trvine

Office of governor defends appointment by

“|

The School ofLaw's building project is scheduled to be finished by August 2008 and will renovate the library.

Law school construction aims for 21 st-century feel by

Diana Sheldon THE CHRONICLE

The School of Law’s construction project is entering its final year.

The project, which started in May 2007 and is scheduled to be completed by August, will bring the school 21st-century classrooms, a renovated library and more public space —including a new commons similar to von der Heyden Pavilion.

“The goal of our building is to support our educational mission,” said Tom Metzloff, chair of the building committee

Crystals by

and a professor of law. He added that he also hopes it will be a place where students want to be.

“From the beginning of this project our No. 1 priority has been a high-quality public space,” he said. “We recognize how much our students learn from each other and in group settings.”

The brand new 4,2oOsquarefoot facility, Star Commons, is named after Stanley Star, Law ’6l, who donated $3 million to the project,

cause

SEE LAW SCHOOL ON PAGE 6

Less than one week ago, Professor of Law Erwin Chemerinsky was slated to be the first dean of the University of California-Irvine’s new Donald Bren School of Law, which will open in 2009.

Chemerinsky, however, said UO Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake told him in a meeting Tuesday that the contract was off because he is “too politically controversial.”

Chemerinsky—a nationally renowiied Chemerinsky professor of constitutional law and civil procedure —said he was offered the position Aug. 16.

“I’m sad because it would have been an exciting opportunity,” Chemerinsky said. “Academic freedom should include people of all political views.”

He added that he was aware that after signing, he still would have to be approved by the UC Regents, a 26-member governing board for the UC system.

“All of us at Duke are fortunate to have [him] as a member of our faculty,” David Levi, dean of the School of Law, wrote in an e-mail to the law-school community Wednesday to offer support.

Chemerinsky added that he is not considering any other positions.

VA explosion scare

Nate Freeman THE CHRONICLE

Durham County Emergency Management dispatched a bomb squad to remove potentially explosive material Wednesday from a stor-

age building

SPECIALTOTHE CHRONICLE

Gov.Mike Easleysigned a law last month that could nullify the recent district attorney appointment.

at

the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center Wednes-

Authorities responded to a call from the hospital reporting that a crystallized form of picric acid had been found in a research facility behind the main hospital, said Sara Haigh, staff assistant to the Medical Center director.

“We had some picric acid, a chemical used in our research, and we found some crystals on it,” she said. “When it’s dry, it can be explosive.”

Haigh said the hospital evacuated employees from the building where the crystals were found until the bomb squad cleared the area.

Patients in the building were not asked to leave.

Daily procedures at the main hospital were also not affected by the threat of the explosive chemical, Haigh said.

“It didn’t affect routine operations of the hospital,” she said. “They were here an hour, and after, everything went back to normal.”

CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO

Explosive materials found at the VA Medical Center brought a bomb squad to the facility Wednesday afternoon. No injuries occurred.

THE CHRONICLE

2 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2007

Suidde bomb in Pakistan kills 24

Powerful earthquake strikes Indonesia Anthony Deutsch THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

by

PADANG, Indonesia A powerful earthquake shook western Indonesia for the second straight day Thursday and triggered a tsunami alert. The latest tremor was also felt in neighboring Singapore, where tall buildings swayed.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii warned the new quake had the potential to generate a destructive regional tsunami along coasts within 600 miles of the epicenter. It advised authorities to take immediate action to evacuate coastal areas.

On Wednesday, a strong earthquake shook Southeast Asia, collapsing buildings,

killing at least five people and injuring dozens in Indonesia. That tremor triggered small waves off the coastal town of Padang in Sumatra, the island ravaged by the 2004 tsunami disaster.

The U.S. Geological Survey said Thursday’s tremor had a preliminary magnitude of 7.8 and was 125 miles from Bengkulu, a city on Sumatra. It occurred at a shallow depth ofabout six miles.

After Wednesday’s 8.4-magnitude quake, frightened people fled their homes and ran inland, fearing a repeat of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami that struck a dozen nations around the Indian Ocean, killing an estimated 230,000 people.

“Everyone is running out of their houses in every direction,” Wati Said reported by cell phone from Bengkulu, a town 80 miles from the quake’s epicenter. “We think our neighborhood is high enough. God willing, if the water comes, it will not touch us here... Everyone is afraid.”

One witness, Budi Darmawan, said a three-story building near his office fell. “I saw it with my own eyes,” he told El Shinta radio.

The quake was felt in at least 4 countries, with tall buildings swaying in cities up to 1,200 miles away. Telephone lines and

electricity were disrupted across a large

swath of Indonesia, making it difficult to get information about casualties.

Bush moves to sell Iraq strategy by

Anne Flaherty

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON A day before President George W. Bush’s war address, Senate Democrats rejected a four-star general’s recommendation to keep some 130,000 troops in Iraq through next summer and sought legislation that would limit the mission ofU.S. forces.

Their proposal was not expected to set a deadline to end the war, as many Democrats want, but restrict troops to narrow objectives: training Iraq’s military and police, protecting U.S. assets and fighting terror-

ists, Democratic party officials told The Associated Press.

The goal is to attract enough Republicans to break the 60-vote threshold in the Senate needed to end a filibuster. Democrats have proved unable to do that since they took control ofCongress eight months ago.

“I call on the Senate Republicans to not walk lockstep as they have with the president for years in this war,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said at a news conference. “It’s time to change. It’s the president’s war. At this point it also ap-

pears clear it’s also the Senate Republicans’ war.”

Democrats struggled to regain momentum in the war debate after two days of testimony by Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker.

Petraeus said the 30,000 troop buildup begun this year had yielded some gains and needed more time. He recommended slowly reversing the buildup, drawing down about 5,500 soldiers and Marines

Suicide bombers attacked an army bus and a commercial district in a city near the Pakistani capital Tuesday, killing at least 24 people, the army and police said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the explosions.

Judges redraw Israeli borders In an embarrassing blow to the Israeli government, the Supreme Court Tuesday ordered the state to redraw the route of its West Bank separation barrier near a Palestinian village that has come to symbolize opposition to the enclosure.

Extinction threatens gorillas The most common type of gorilla is now "critically endangered," one step away from global extinction, according to the 2007 Red List of Threatened Species released Wednesday by the World Conservation Union.

Oil prices rise sharply Wed. Oil futures prices rose sharply Wednesday, briefly climbing above a record $BO a barrel after the government reported a surprisingly large drop in crude inventories and declines in gasoline supplies and refinery activity.

News briefs compiled from wire reports "To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive."

Robert Louis Stevenson

SEE IRAQ ON PAGE 7

Be a part ofwhere The Chronicle's going...

Campus renovations will eventually move The Chronicle from its longtime home in the Flowers Building. Hard as it may be to imagine the newspaper somewhere else, a move represents a remarkable opportunity: the chance to build from scratch a better newsroom.

What newsroom will best serve independent reporting at Duke? How can it embrace changing technology and media trends? What should it look like?

Where should it be?

To get answers, The Chronicle is launching the Next Newsroom Project, a joint venture between the newspaper and the John S. and James L Knight Foundation. Over the next year we’ll, Conduct a national discussion about the model campus newsroom, starting with the Chronicle staffand Duke community and extending to other college newspapers, media, academics and foundations Convene a conference on the topic at Duke next spring •

•

•

•

Craft the best possible proposal for The Chronicle's next home Document every step and useful finding on the Project Web site, as a standing resource for other college newspapers.

Want

to help? We needlots ofvolunteers to visit newsrooms, conduct interviews, update the Web site, make suggestions and keep the process on track.

Help The Chronicle make the right move.

THE CHRONICLE

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13,2007 1 3

Nich School dean brings political edge by

Joe Clark

THE CHRONICLE

When Bill Chameides retired from what he called a “standard scientific career” at the Georgia Institute of Technology, he chose to do more to move environmental issues forward in the political realm.

Now, after three years as serving chief scienlist for EnviBill Chameides ronmental Defense, Chameides is drawn back to academia as the newly appointed dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences.

But he has not lost his desire to address environmental policy and programs.

“The Nicholas School is really unique in that it trains students and professors to work on all aspects of the environment,” Cha-

meides said. “Duke is one of the very few schools that does this.”

After only two weeks serving as dean, Chameides has already

begun

to

implement changes

toward a more socially conscious school.

“As a faculty, we need to refocus efforts to address major environmental problems of the coming decade,” he said.

The three most pressing issues facing the country and the global environment are ecosystem management, climate energy and human health in the environment, Chameides said.

Since ecosystems provide billions of dollars of services to humans—including clean air, water and waste cleanup—we must work to protect and harvest their benefits, he added.

In order to have a greater influence on policies regulating these issues, Chameides said he would like to see more Nicholas School students get

ZACH TRACER/THE

Refectory grows in popularity by

SEE CHAMEIDES ON PAGE 7

GRACE HUANG/THE CHRONICLE

Bill Chameides says he wouldlike to see more graduates of the Nicholas School enter the corporate world because of the impact of large companies on the Earth.

CHRONICLE

Packed houses at the Refectory Cafe have become more common in the time since it opened in September of 2005.

Ashley Holmstrom THE CHRONICLE

In the cozy lower floor of the Divinity School, increasing numbers of students have sought shelter in the homemade meals and the calm atmosphere of the Refectory Cafe.

With music every Sunday night, daily lunch specials, nutritious meals and hot breakfast every morning, the Refectory fills a niche different from other on-campus venues. Opened in September of 2005, it has since transformed from a lunch counter catering to Divinity School students to a full-blown restaurant drawing students and faculty members from everywhere on campus.

“Refectory food is generally better than most food on campus,” said sophomore Dazi Russell. “And it’s homemade.”

Quality and freshness are key components to the Refectory’s success, said owner Laura Hall.

When she opened the Refectory, it was the first green cafe at Duke, using equipment and serving supplies from other campus eateries.

Although the Refectory has been frequented by Divinity School students and faculty in the past, the cafe has found a new following, especially on Sunday nights for Simple Suppers—which began last year—said Jim Wulforst, director of Dining Services.

“Last year the Refectory aver-

aged about 150 to 175 students on Sunday nights, but this year, there were over 320 on opening

night,” he said.

Hall added that Sunday night suppers are no longer solely attended by students leaving the

Chapel.

“Last week we were overwhelmed [by the response],” Hall said. “We’ve had beaudful nights, great food, and the people have just come out of the woodwork.”

Wulforst encouraged the Refectory to open on Sunday nights due to a lack of available dining options, she said.

“We’re pinching ourselves,” said Hall, who said she is oveijoyed SEE REFECTORY ON PAGE 8

DUKE CENTER FOR CIVIC ENGAGEMENT-

DukeEngage

Planning ahead for the summer of 2008?

Attend a Duke Engage information session to learn about DukeEngage civic engagement opportunities and how to apply.

Location: Julian Abele Hall, Mary Lou Williams Center

|

4 THURSDAY,

THE CHRONICLE

SEPTEMBER 13,2007

DUKE STUDENT GOVERNMENT

Dean Nowicki lays out plans for fall agenda by

Steering Committee Report and the Duke Engage program. Similar projects that

Shuchi Parikh THE CHRONICLE

Duke's football team has one of the highest graduation rates in the country, according to NCAA figures.

6 N.C. schools fall short of academic benchmarks BY

COSETTE WONG THE CHRONICLE

Duke football won a game—750 days ago.

But if academic prowess counted, the team—with one of the highest graduation rates in the country —would sweep any tournament.

Six University of North Carolina-system universities, however, have at least one athletic team that does not meet the low benchmark of the Academic Progress Rate, a standard set in 2005 by the NCAA to

help predict graduation rates.

“The APR measures retention and eli-

gibility [by each university’s standards],”

said Assistant Director of Athletics Bradley Berndt. “It’s just a one-year snapshot of what our student athletes did during the 2006-2007 year.”

The UNC Board of Governors recendy met to discuss problems with the schools that failed to meet the standard.

Teams at East Carolina University, UNC-Asheville, UNC-Charlotte, UNCGreensboro, Western Carolina University SEE NCAA ON PAGE

8

Duke Student Government representatives had the opportunity to meet Dean of Undergraduate Education Steve Nowicki at the organization’s meeting Wednesday night.

Despite the meeting’s formal atmosphere, Nowicki gave a casual introduction about himselfand his plans for developing an agenda this Fall, starting what he said he hopes will be a “long and sustained conversation” with DSG. Steve Nowicki Although he does not have a concrete agenda yet, Nowicki said, he has stepped into his role with a number of important principles that he plans to follow. He said one of his top priorities is to pay close attention to the undergraduate voice—particularly the voice of students who do not usually speak Paul Slattery up.

“Undergraduates have to be involved consistendy and deeply in conversations about what matters around here,” he added.

Nowicki said some of the specific projects he has already undertaken include the follow-up to the Campus Culture Initiative

'

focus on collaboration with other administrators and students will follow, he added.

“I’m starting with Duke as a great institution,” Nowicki said. “I am not somebody who is coming in to fix something that is broken.

I’m somebody who is coming in to improve something that is already damn good.”

Also at the meeting, DSG representatives unanimously approved a resolution presented by senior Genevieve Cody, vice president for community interaction, that expands parking options for off-campus students.

Although previously confined to the Blue Zone parking lots, which Cody said were inconvenient for students with classes on East Campus, students now have the option to purchase a permit for either the Blue Zone, Red Zone or Central Campus parking lots.

In other business:

Junior Sunny Kantha, vice president for athletics and campus services, said he will explain at next week’s meeting a new system for entering basketball games requiring students to confirm online their plan to attend the game three days ahead.

Representatives also passed a bylaw change proposed by Attorney General Paul Zarian, a sophomore, that prevents a student who voluntarily withdraws from an election to rejoin.

A section of the bylaw specifying voluntary withdrawal was added at the meeting after objections to the original text.

THE CHRONICLE

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13,2007 I 5

THE CHRONICLE

6 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13,2007

LAW SCHOOL from page 1

ALEXIS STEELE/THE CHRONICLE

Law professor Tom Metzloff says one of the advantages ofthe renovation is that more openoffices thatshouldfoster student-professor relationships.

DUKE LAW Slavery, Unenumerated Rights & the Constitution

Metzloff added, “We have worked on becoming a very open building,” he said. “Professors’ offices are not hidden. They are out in the open.”

The architecture of the building, with glass doors and wide, transparent openings, aims to foster relationships among students and faculty, Metzloff added.

Other than a new common space, the project will also bring improved intimate academic settings—the classrooms.

“We wanted to design a truly 21st-century law classroom,” Metzloff said. “We recognize the very evolving nature of legal education. The classrooms we are building now are very different from the classrooms of seven years ago.”

Inside the classroom, tables are arranged in a semicircle fashion to provide an interactive learning space, Metzloff said. A total of 15 rooms will be completed at the end of the project.

The final concentration of the project is updating the Law Library by putting in several large glass windows to allow in natural light and transform the area into a place that students will enjoy.

The law school will use Duke brick in its construction because many in the law-school community have been bothered that the building does not resemble other Duke structures, Metzloff said.

“It was a source of great unease,” he said. “We are so excited to be back in the family ofDuke buildings.”

Current Duke law students said they expect to benefit gready from these new additions and upgrades in the school.

“I’m all for the school growing,” said Michael Thayer, a second-year law student.

Metzloff said prospective students should not choose a school based on its facilities, but said the project could only encourage students to come to the School ofLaw. “If people like Duke, this should be the icing on top of the cake,” he added.

The law school has booked $19,821,698 in gifts, pledges and gifts in kind to funds associated with the building project, said Sarah West, associate dean for alumni and development.

Reflections on the Summer of 1787 Constitution Day celebrates the birthday of, and encourages learning about, the U.S. Constitution. On September 17, 1787, 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention held their final meeting to sign this historic

document.

Renowned constitutional scholar. Professor Walter

Dellinger 111, reflects on slavery and the U.S. Constitution when he delivers Duke University's Constitution Day address: I think it's important on every anniversary of the Constitution to reflect on its defects as well as its glories. When the Framers left Philadelphia on September 17, 1787, they had for the first time committed the whole nation to the enforcement of slavery, leading the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison in the 1850's to condemn the Constitution as 'a covenant with death, an agreement made in hell.' The Constitution also made commitments to fundamental values that may have sowed the seeds of slavery's destruction. In this respect the Constitution was a document at war with itself, a tension that would require an actual and brutal war to resolve.

Room 3041 *Duke Law School Monday'September 17*2007 12:15-1:15 PM Light lunch provided Sponsored by Duke University and Duke Law School's Program in Public Law

me Duke Women’s Lacrosse Student Manager Positions Available Please inquire with resume to Josh Hexter at the Women’s Lacrosse Office. All male and female Duke undergrads are encouraged to apply.

PHONE: 919-668-5758 EMAIL: jhexter@4uaa.duke.edu

THE CHRONICLE

CHAMEIDES from page 3 involved in the corporate world. Currently, only 7 percent of graduates enter the private sector, he said.

“Companies such as Apple, [General Motors Corp.] and DuPont are where most decisions on environmental policy occur,” Chameides said. “There are tremendous needs for these companies to have environmentalists to give them a

competitive edge.”

In addition to focusing on the needs of students in the Nicholas School, Chameides has begun to incorporate his environ-

IRAQ from page 2 by year’s end and aiming for a force of 130,000 next summer.

Reid and otherDemocrats said that proposal does not go far enough.

“It creates and provides an illusion of change in an effort to take the wind out of the sails of those of us who want to truly change course in Iraq,” said Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Armed Services Committee.

In a bold challenge to Petraeus’ assessment, Reid said the “situation on the ground in Iraq has not changed at all.” He later acknowledged gains in Anbar province, “but it’s like the big balloon that you push on one side and it comes out someplace else.”

Petraeus’ assessment inflamed Democrats, but assuaged many Republicans. It did lead to tough questions from several Republican skeptics, including Sens. John Warner of Virginia and Susan Collins of Maine, but most GOP lawmakers said they were reluctant to impose a firm timetable.

Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., seen as another potential swing vote, said he was working with Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., on legislation that would put Petraeus’ recommendations into law.

Absent a new political climate, Democrats are in a tough position; They can continue to insist on a hardline position and fail, letting weeks go by without passing anti-war legislation, or they soften their stance.

At issue in talks among Reid and Sen-

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13,2007 I 7

mental vision into the rest of the campus.

Every Duke student should take a course in the environment at some point in their career, he said, adding that all students should be included in greening the campus.

The Nicholas School’s greening initiative will include the construction of a new building, Nicholas Hall, which will be a showcase of how to build an environmentally friendly construction, he said. The building is still in the planning stages.

“President [Richard] Brodhead wants us to be climate neutral on campus,” Chameides said. “Thatis a big step, but also a bigjob that is going to take help from everyone.”

they should go in forcing a new mission for troops without losing support from various political sides, according to congressional aides familiar with the meeting in Reid’s office.

Petraeus, in testimony this week, argued against shifting troops from their current mission of securing the population and counterterrorism to one focused strictly on counterterror and training the Iraqi security forces.

“Making that change now would, in our view, be premature,” he said. “We have learned before that there is a real danger in handing over tasks to the Iraqi Security Forces before their capacity and local conditions warrant.”

If the legislation were nonbinding and only urged Bush to refocus the mission, the bill could lose support from more liberal Democrats such as Sens. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., John Kerry, D-Mass., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.

On the contrary, if the bill ordered the mission changed by a certain date, it might turn off Warner, Collins, Coleman and other GOP moderates.

Reid declined to discuss details, saying only that Democrats would offer four to six amendments “to change the course of the war” when the Senate takes up a defense bill next week. One probably would come from Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., requiring that troops spend as much time home as they do in combat.

Among the Republicans working with Reid and Levin are Sens. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and Gordon Smith, R-Ore.; both long ago turned against the war.

'Thank God Prohibition ended'

ate Democrats was how far

Students received instruction on the art and history of beermaking on the Armadillo Grill Patio Wednesday night—one of the OSAF Crash Courses.

SAACKS from page 1 this appointment.

Metzloff said Saacks was likely to seek a “declaratoryjudgment” in court to clarify the situation and formally establish whether Easley’s appointment was legitimate.

Saacks was formally sworn into office Sept. 7 and will hold the position until a new district attorney is elected in 2008.

In the aftermath of the Duke lacrosse case—which embroiled thedistrict attorney’s office in controversy —the Durham community was likely to overlook the situation in

favor ofreturning the district attorney’s position to “business as normal,” Metzloff said.

“I don’t think anybody’s saying, ‘Oh, my gosh, a crisis,’” he said. “Everyone wants that office to be working, and working well.”

He added that Saacks was the most logical choice for the appointment, given Saacks’ 15-year career in the district attorney’s office.

Metzloffsaid the situation is unusual, but that the issue should be resolved quickly after it is determined which statute presides.

The offices of the governor and the district attorney could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

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THE CHRONICLE

8 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13,2007

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Located in the Divinity School, the Refectory offers healthy food options that include pastas and salad.

REFECTORY from page 3 at the good responses she has been to the cafe this year.

getting

She was quick to credit her dedicated smiling staff and said she is proud of the special, unique menu.

“I think the attitude of the employees is just extraordinary,” Wulforst said. “They go out of their way to make customers feel comfortable and they have good food and

top-quality ingredients.”

Customer feedback is important to Hall, who has a weekly e-mail list that

students and faculty can join to receive Refectory updates and menu changes.

Over the past couple of years, the Refectory has tried new dishes and now serves those dishes that garner the most positive response from customers.

Indian dal, an organic lentil stew containing 90-percent protein, and vegan chili are two locally award-winning popular dishes. The Refectory’s dal has been awarded the status of a near-perfect dietary food by the Durham County Health Department through the Winner’s Circle Healthy Dining Program, in which the Refectory participates. In addition, their homemade chili won the Bull City Chili Challenge this summer.

NCAA from page 4 and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University could lose valuable scholarships if they do not bolster predicted graduation rates, which in some cases were as low as 60 percent. If a team’s score drops below 925 out of 1000 in the assessment, they are sanctioned.

“The ultimate punishment would be [that] you would lose the opportunity to participate in NCAA tournaments,” Bemdt said.

Some schools have already lost athletic scholarships, he added.

The board discussed methods of improving APR levels such as recruiting students who fit the university, establishing rigid standards of academic performance, improving academic support systems and fostering better communication between coaches and support systems.

“First and foremost you’ve got to make sure you’re bringing in students who want to be at that institution,” Berndt said. “In fairness to other institutions, they are dealing with things we don’t have to deal with.”

Transfer rates —which negatively affect retention scores—are much higher at public universities, he said.

‘You could have, theoretically, a team drop below the cutoff score if it’s a small team of students who are doing fine academically but who are transferring out,” said John Blanchard, senior associate athletic director at UNC-Chapel Hill.

He said that although the APR process

Hall said organic and locally-grown ingredients have remained important to her.

The restaurant supports eight local foodproviding companies, such as Durham’s

Loco Pops and

the Durham and Carrboro farmers markets. The Refectory now grows its own herbs in a sustainable herb garden on the terrace outside.

It also prides itself on its ability to appeal to people with many different sorts of diets, Hall said. The cafe boasts many low-fat, high-protein nutritionally balanced meals and provides for special dietary needs—such as vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options. Hall noted, however, that high-carb meals are also offered, such as lasagna, which often attracts athletes.

All of Hall’s efforts, and those of her staff, have not gone unnoticed by Dining Services, Wulforst said. He added that the Refectory is in the process of being supplied with an updated kitchen and new electrical, plumbing and air-conditioning systems. Once the kitchen is fully operational, Hall may choose to expand business hours if the response remains strong, said Wulforst, who has already asked her to consider hosting dinners for the Focus Program on Thursday nights.

“A place will be popular because students want it to be,” Wulforst said. is too new to be certain, when used in con-

junction with other progress indicators, it keeps students academically accountable.

“There’s a lot of dancing around graduation rates,” he said. “The APR is tighter. It really helps firm up more accurately the real-time [graduation] status of the team.”

To help counteract the method’s flaws, the NCAA has established squad-sized adjustments—so that a very small team is not penalized until enough data is collected, Blanchard added.

The effects of the method will be most evident when basketball season rolls around.

“Unless there’s dramatic improvement by some schools you’ll see some significant sanctioning ofmen’s basketball teams across the country,” Blanchard said.

Schools are now looking to universities with high APRs for guidance, with a fouryear evaluation of annual academic snapshots approaching.

“I think the whole key to [Duke’s] high APR rate is we do a great job on our front end,” said Chris Kennedy, associate director of athletics. “Our coaches are very careful and selective about who they recruit.

If they’re not a good fit as a student, they don’trecruit them.”

Senior free safety Chris Davis said he is happy with the academic support systems at Duke.

“There are so many resources that are available to us,” he said. “They provide tutors if we need them [and] the teachers here are very willing to help you out.”

arts&entertainment

recess

Kronos Quartet honors Monk...

SEE KRQNQB PAGE 5

volume 10, issue 4

September 13,2007

Lunchtime brings art fans together by

Adam Barron

THE CHRONICLE

Contrary to what literature will have you believe, not all artists are starving souls waiting to be acknowledged.

And in an attempt to share this secret, the Department of Theater Studies presents Lunch Box. This latest program is focused on fostering more interaction between faculty, students and outside artists. Every Friday at 12:50 p.m., the Brody Theater on East Campus will be open to all those who are interested in sharing ideas, meeting outside artists, learning what fellow students and teachers are working on, or figuring out what plays and musicals are in the works for the upcoming season.

“For a long time we have been trying to create a time when all, or at least most, theater students could be in the same place at the same time, sharing their experiences and meeting and working with pros on and off the faculty,” said John Clum, professor and chair of theater studies.

The Lunch Box program is the brainchild of theater studies professors Neal Bell and Jeff Storer. “The inspiration was Neal’s, and together we put together a calendar that we thought would provide some variety, some information, provoke some discussion and inspiration as only a grad who makes good or a professional who is willing to share what they’ve learned can do,” Storer said. Years of work in theater have shown Bell and Storer that open discussions can be a very effective way for an actor or a theater enthusiast to fine tune his knowledge of the art that is out there or even get involved in projects that are SEE LUNCH BOX ON PAGE

COURTESY PROFESSOR ROBI

Real rapper reaches students

6 Bryan Sayler THE CHRONICLE

by

LAWSON KURTZ/THE

CHRONICLE

Cross-discipline guests and lunchtimediscussions help unite art fans.

ROBERTS

Hip-hop artistand adjunct associate professor, Robi Roberts, aka J.Bully, has led a Duke University rap appreciation class for three years.

Like any other music professor, Robi Roberts focuses on his source material with a dedicated and discerning ear. He calls upon his students to seriously address each song from stylistic, cultural and historical perspectives, evaluating what each piece means both within itself and to the society around it.

But Roberts’ subject isn’t exactly the standard fare.

Rather than spending their time with Tchaikovsky or Bach, his students are learning the intricacies of a slightly more contemporary group, the likes ofwhich include Slick Rick, Ice Cube and Run DMC. The class is Music 120: Hip-Hop/Rap Music Appreciation. Now in its sixth semester, the class concentrates on the development of hip-hop and rap as distinct genres, with serious emphasis placed on their cultural and musical impacts.

Roberts designed the class in hopes of evaluating the music itself, tracing the genre’s evolution all the way back to its foundations. In this way, he looks to treat

hip-hop more as an art form,-not just another cultural phenomenon.

“I take the music very seriously. I don’t think it’s a joke. I think it’s a legitimate, powerful art form. I want people to understand that, and understand why its so powerful. I want them to look at it critically, not just as

entertainment—much like you would in an art class or a classical music class. The only difference is that this is a such a young, powerful genre,” Roberts said.

This appreciation stems from Robert’s lifelong immersion within hip-hop culture. His roots trace as far back as his sixth-grade school days, when he would perform renditions of Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh’s “La Di Da Di” in the schoolyard. Growing up, he performed publicly throughout his adolescence, frequendy taking part in rap battles and beat box contests. But it was later, as a student at Morehouse College, that Roberts took his biggest step forward.

“This guy saw me and said ‘Man, you just gotta rap.

SEE RAP ON PAGE 7

Thorton andWilliams debate Woodcock, fat kids Mr. Woodcock is every stunted high school boy’s worst nightmare and John Farley’s got the dodgeball bruises to prove it. recess recently joined billy Bob Thornton, the cocky coach in question, and Sean William Scott, the traumatized RE. failure, for a chat about school, being a prick and Susan Sarandon.

What drew you to this role?

Billy Bob Thorton: What drew me to the role? They gave me $50.7 million dollars. No, actually, it’s unusual, if I read a script that makes me laugh or cry or throw up or whatever, that’s it. It all starts from the writing for me, and the guys have written a really funny script. And then when Seann came on board and Susan Sarandon, it all made sense to me. I have to say that’s probably the box set in terms of comedies for a little bit because I have Woodcock and Schoolfor Scoundrels and Bad News Bears and Bad Santa kind of in a row. I guess when they need a

funny prick, they call me.

Seann William Scott: Or they call me.

BBT: And that was the reason I did it. It was just a brilliant script.

SWS; [What drew me to the role] was the opportunity to work with Billy, and the script is really funny. And it was a really different character for me. I’ve always played the guy that’s says the things that most people wouldn’t say... [unintelligible]. I like the opportunity to play kind of like an average guy trying to get through the situation. But for me, to have the opportunity to work with Billy and Susan, it was kind of a no brainer.

Did you ever have a horrible teacher like your character Mr. Woodcock that you built off of and then inspired you?

BBT: Yeah, I had several. I had a few coaches that were Woodcock-like. I grew up as an athlete, so I had to run into

a few of those. But I also had an algebra teacher who hated me more than anybody on the face of the planet. We called her “old red and gray” because she wore red and gray all the time. And, I didn’t understand why people needed to know algebra. It didn’t make any sense to me. And she said to me, “Well, someday you may be a building engineer.”

And I told her, “I promise you I’m not gonna be.” And I had a problem with an erection once in her class, which she didn’t like at all.

Seann, what about you? Did you have any teachers that had it out for you?

SWS: .. .Yeah, you know, I had some pretty good teachers. I had a lot of football coaches that were hard like Mr. Woodcock, I was telling Billy Bob in our gym class, after SEE WOODCOCK ON PAGE 4

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PAGE 2

September 13,2007

Editor’s Note 4: Free Hugs? all

Britney Spears needs to be stopped at costs.

The former Mrs. Federline started her sad attempt at a comeback with the release of a new single and a “performance” at the MTV Video Awards.

Music Note that the word performance is in quotes, because it is a very ostensible use of the word. A better word might be carnival act or sh—tshow... I am too lazy to check my thesaurus at this point.

However laconic I may be, Spears is at least 34 times that (I had to use my TI-83 for that one). She seemed to be on some sort of mind-slowing drug that made what would have been a poor performance just down right pitiful. She could barely even lip-sync her own song, looking like an unwilling star in a local bar’s karaoke competition.

The bar analogy is especially fitting given that Spears’ dance moves looked like a over-intoxicated high schooler at the Senior Prom. Her off-beat gyrations made William Hung look like Chris Brown. I seriously and truly believe that the shimmy has been ruined forever, which is something a person should never have to suffer through.

A lot of bloggers and such called Britney fat. I disagree with that sentimentand am actually happy to see that Spears looks

healthier. That said, there is no reason for a 25-year-old mother of two to parade around in a bra and panties. Yes, we get that you aren’t ballooning out of control, now put on some clothes and show a little self-respect.

When most people make their return-to-limelight attempt it is accompanied by class and a hint of artistry. Britney has masterfully

managed

to

totally

avoid both and dive right into the dumpster of depravity. Somebody in Britbrit’s camp has to be intentionally telling her to make horrible decisions, such as passing up a duet with Justin Timberlake, as some sort of sick joke.

The VMA opener was purely painful and it could be seen on everyone’s face.

Expressions ranged from the bored to the disgusted. 50 Cent’s eyes seem to scream, “This is more painful than bullets two through nine.” Spears is clearly not ready for stardom and this event will only set her back another year. She needs to quit the celebrity life, stay home and take care of her kids—l’m pretty sure a couple million is more than enough to survive.

It seems Kanye West was right on the money when he said it was wrong of MTV to put Spears on the air.

Wow, that is first and last time I’ll call The Louis Vuitton Don reasonable.

—Vanin Leila

If you read last week’s editor’s note about Chai’s—as if anyone notices this little weekly square—I promised to never challenge you, unlike our daily columnists.

I apologize for the hypocrisy, but I can’t let this rant stay confined in my throat.

There was a group of students, partially organized by a good friend of mine Angela Vo—holla at my peanut butter—that stood on the plaza on Sept. 10 looking to “hug it out” as Ari Gold would say. Entourage references aside, the willingness for students to put themselves in a vulnerable position all in glorious celebration of Free Hug Day is pretty bold and, at the very least, admirable.

However, rather than reverence, the revelers ran into revulsion—the alliteration was too good to ignore. Students often ignored and sometimes guffawed the prospect of a free hug. Clearly germaphobes won’t be peachy keen with clinging close to a stranger’s body, but that only accounts for a miniscule percentage of the Duke populace—unless I have fell asleep and woke up

in a Monk-tonian Dukeiverse The usual reason for dodging an embrace involves some combination of class, homework and other G.P.A-related B.S. After extensive scientific research with Ms. Vo, it was determined that a hug lasts from a very brief single second to a creepily long five seconds. And if you don’t have five seconds to spare, you have other issues that a hug simply wouldn’t solve.

At a school where some students’ physical interaction is limited to high fives over Guitar Hero, or grinding up on someone of the opposite gender at Shooters 11, a hug is necessary. It is something that provides an intimate connection without involving any level of sexuality or other dirtiness. I won’t judge you if you ducked a hug last Monday—l leave that to those worthy enough to grace the editorial pages—but, as a former Free Hug avoider, it’s nice to think twice when a stranger offers you a simple squeeze.

—Vanin Leila, editor

Other things you can get free on the plaza...

Varun Leila Alex Warr Baishi Wu Irem Mertol Bryan Zupon Bryan Sayler Janet Wu Nancy Wang Lucie Zhang David Graham

....

....

Grass, I mean... grass Pauly’s “saucy” sausage the clap ugly Tatoo statues he was “underground” I liked Pauly better when Can I say stop snitchin? no that makes no sense in this context Copy editing skillz... but only on Wednesdays Where’d that juice guy go?

Ganin News

24/f

September 13, 2007

recess tastes

PAGE 3

New Durham bistro aims for Blu ribbon Bryan Zupon THE CHRONICLE

by

Restaurants have away of taking on lives of their own.

Rifling through concepts, owners and chefs—much like their patrons—search for that perfect spot for a night out on the town. In the end, it’s all about finding the right fit.

Blu Seafood and Bar occupies a fickle restaurant space that has spent over two years in a state of flux. From early ownership issues to a host of chef and menu changes, what was the Pan-Asian-inspired Grasshopper is now a restaurant that pays homage to the sea.

Gone is the faux-bamboo motif, and in its place are a collection of rooms painted in blues and whites. Dumplings have been replaced by crab cakes, noodles with paella. The restaurant’s transformation, which occurred over a few short weeks this summer, is more than superficial. There are genuine streaks of accomplished cooking coming from Chef Tim Lyons’ kitchen.

Blu’s focus is on Floridian cuisine, an eclectic brand of cooking that incorporates influences from the American South, the Caribbean and Ladn America. Clams with Red Stripe beer and conch ceviche stand on a menu beside mussels with chilies and lime and the classic shrimp and grits. While the menu may be geographically broad, it is thankfully quite compact in form—a handful of main dishes are supplemented by a short list of nighdy specials and usually a whole-roasted fish of the day. For lunch, the restaurant offers an array of seafood and non-seafood salads and sandwiches.

A visit to Blu starts off with the obligatory cocktail list comprised of overly sweet, vodkabased cocktails. Thankfully, things get better when one turns to the appetizer section of the menu and sees dishes like the aforementioned sage and cognac-cured beef carpaccio. Both plates exhibited an inventive lightness of touch not commonly found in area restaurants. However, the dishes are not faultless —the ceviche lacked salt and the beef was topped with unnecessary fried onions. Raw oysters also make for a noteworthy starter, even if they are somewhat pricey at $2.50 a piece and served on an incongruous bed of ice cubes rather crushed ice. Samples of the Naked Roy variety, a personal favorite of Chef MICHELLE FANG/THE CHRONICLE Lyons’, were particularly plump and sweet on a recent visit. Perhaps the only mild disap- Biu Seafoodand Bar has opened its doors to the greater Durham area, offering Floridian cuisine to diners. pointment of the cold items was the citrus-cured salmon. Faintly perfumed with citrus, it was unfortunately sliced sloppily, making the fish chewy rather than silky. border of the plate felt like a clumsy afterthought and added little to the dish.

From the hot portion of the kitchen came serviceable crab cakes piqued by a Tabasco Blu is a welcome addition to the Durham restaurant scene, even if it doesn’t quite aioli that actually packed a bit of heat. The lemon vinaigrette that accompanied the panreach the highs of the city’s most notable restaurants. Although it remains to be seen if roasted trout could have been more assertive, but the fish fillet itself was generously sized, Blu’s unique concept will take root at this most capricious of locations, its future success fresh and sheathed in a coating of crispy skin. A large loaf of potato puree that skirted the or failure will not be for lack of an earnest effort or dedication to quality.

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WOODCOCK from page 1 gym, you were forced to take a shower, which is already weird because they’re forcing you to shower. And the office, the gym teacher’s office, was like right in front of where everybody was taking showers. It was like all glass walls and stuff. It just so happens that this guy had to do his paperwork while all the dudes were taking showers. So it was already kind of strange anyway, but then one time, we had to have dance class, and I knew like the waltz pretty we 11... I mean, I think there was some kind of strange connection this dude had with me because he asked me to stay after class to practice the waltz with him. So it took my maybe a couple days to figure out that things were not normal, as they say. But that’s not really what Mr. Woodcock is about... so in a roundabout way, to answer your question, I had some strange coaches like Mr. Woodcock, but they never ended up bangin’ my mom, that’s for sure.

iber 13, 2007

What is the most embarrassing memory from your school days?

SWS; Boy, I got a lot of them. Let me think. High school I probably have one that’s probably similar to what most adolescent kids go through I bet. I was actually in History class.

When you’re a kid sometimes, when you’re starting to get erections, I started getting erections when I was real young. It always seems that you’d start to get a boner right when teacher would call on you. Billy told a story where he just said “I don’t care, I’m gonna go up there and make everybody laugh with the fact that I’m gonna have a huge tent pole in my pants.” Me, man, I was really quite embarrassed. I had to push that sh— down and try figure out how to go up and point out where Atlanta, Georgia was on the map, so I guess it was geography class. I guess there’s that one. There’s another time where... ahh I can’t even tell you. We’ll just stick with the erection story.

Of all of you comedians on set, who was the biggest ...

prankster?

SWS: Billy was. Billy, what was the story when... it’s such a great... because of the reaction Susan gave wasn’t what you were expecting. What was it? You had all the pictures up ofher?

BBT: Oh yeah, yeah. See, before we did this movie, I had never met Susan Sarandon before. I mean, I was, of course, very aware of her, but she was kind of like the grande dame of actor girls. And I decided instead of being reverent I was going to make her think I was her stalker.

So, I collected as many pictures of her as I could, and I put them up all over my trailer. And the first day I invited her over just to have a cup of coffee and to kinda meet each other. And she came to my trailer, and it was just pasted with pictures of her everywhere. And she kind of looked around strangely, but she didn’t say anything about it, and I didn’t either. I didn’t refer to ‘em or anything. And so for the first few days, she thought I had some weird obsession with her. That was pretty good. I mean, it’s not as good as the sheep story I have with John Cusack but it’s pretty good.

War, atrocity, psychological turmoil: subsuch as these have long been indulged jects DIR. P. HAGGIS through cinematic rumination. In particular, WARNER INDEPENDENT the Vietnam sub-genre has led to more than •kitirCrif a few cutting examinations ofmental debilitation triggered by foreign soil and a landscape of inhumanity.

So although Paul Haggis’ {Crash) latest film, In the Valley ofElah, is unsettling because of its political immediacy-the war in Iraq —the subject matter is far from unfamiliar.

We’ve seen it in Full Metal Jacket, in Platoon, in “the horror, the horror” of Apocalypse Now. The psychological affliction of the American soldier in times of war is, in each instance, pitiable and terrifying, powerful but remote. In each instance, we find ourselves faced with human fallibility, allowed only to watch and recoil as our men in uniform falter at the brink of sanity and ferity.

In the Valley of Elah taps into these horrors from a domestic distance, its morose landscape sterilized behind a cold blue veneer. The story centers on small town laborer and Vietnam vet Hank Deerfield (Tommy Lee Jones). Hank receives word that his son Mike, recently returned from

IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH

an eighteen-month deployment to

Iraq, is missing. Mike’s fellow unit members are polite but clueless.

Mike’s room is neat its contents untouched.

When the charred remains of Mike’s stabbed and decapitated body are found in a field, Deerfield’s military prowess returns, leading him on a twisting, disjointed journey to find the truth.

Hank provokes local detective Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron) into aiding his tortured investigation.

Meanwhile, his wife (Susan Sarandon) waits wordlessly on the film’s periphery, immobilized at the loss of a second son to war.

As a pathos-driven critique, Elah hits all the necessary emotional points. As a vehicle of engaging us in the mentality of the afflicted, Elah disappoints. As expertly as Jones portrays Hank’s agonizing restraint, glimpses into Mike’s Iraqi stint, viewed via barely discernible camera-phone recordings, leave the audience unsure how to absorb the unfathomable truth.

We’ve spent tens ofyears and miles of film attempting to penetrate the devastatingly foreign landscape ofVietnam. Elah, it seems, is only a precursor to the growing effort to engage an old horror in a new landscape.

—Janet Wu —

There are movies out there that provoke us, that kindle the mind and push the limits of innovative filmmaking with inspired audacity.

UNIVERSAL Anyway, Sydney White isn’t one of those movies.

If cinema were a banquet spread of foreign, obscure and expensive concoctions for the refined palette, Sydney White would be the double cheeseburger and chocolate milk shake drive-through run on the way home.

It’s easy, it’s predictable, it’s probably not that good for you, but oh boy, is it satisfying.

Taking the cue of nondescript teen chick flicks everywhere, Sydney White tells the tale of a cute but socially inept girl (Amanda Bynes) tossed into a social safari of perpetually-uniformed band kids only to be shunned by the blonde chicks and taken in by the losers. Our heroine nevertheless impresses the hot jock with her wit and overhand throw and, in the process, manages to disseminate social harmony throughout the world—okay, so maybe just the college campus.

To add a bit of gusto to the formula, the pretty tale unfolds as a modem retelling of the Snow White fairy tale. The evil witch stmts onto the screen as the fashionably-emaciated sorority president, Rachel. Seven dorks take the place of seven dwarfs and Tyler Prince, the “hot jock” in question, is, you guessed it, the charming Prince.

Formulaic, yes, but what’s great about Sydney White is that the clumsy cutie doesn’t execute her social coup d’etat by ditching the glasses and adding some mascara.

Nope, Sydney White is one of those exquisite rarities: a dork in a pretty girl’s body, and there she stays from once upon a time to happily ever after.

The seven dorks take the center stage in all their role-playing, Boba

SYDNEY WHITE J. NUSSBAUM

DIR.

Fett-worshiping

glory.

From mega-allergetic Lenny to angsty blogger Gurkin, the seven members of outcastliving hovel, the Vortex, are endearing in their cult passions and comical in their gawky statures. And though

Sydney’s prepubescent boy hobbies add to the mix of geek tribute, it’s this troop of bungling brains that make the film worth its five hundred calories of feelgood fluff.

—Janet Wu

Interim Report on the Undergraduate Experience at Duke University Executive Summary

1. Introduction

Beginning in March 2007, the Provost's office met with students, faculty, staff, and alumni to discuss the findings and recommendations of the Campus Culture Initiative Task Force Report. These meetings informed the administration of a range of perceptions of social life at Duke, a range of views on the proposed recommendations, what different constituencies see of value in the Duke undergraduate experience, and thoughts about what can be improved and how to achieve that improvement.

Duke places a priority on building a sense of community among students, faculty and staff, creating opportunities to focus on issues of difference and respect, race and gender, and the processes by which students develop values and learn to act in ways that are consistent with those values. The discussions revealed the importance of space to achieving housing, dining and social these aspirations for the Duke experience.

They also showed that additional attention needs to be given to formal and informal ways in which students and faculty interact; a process for exploring these issues is being

developed separately.

This document is intended to frame discussions with students, faculty, staff, and alumni during the 2007 fall semester. Over the next two months, the Provost and/or Dean of Undergraduate Education will lead open forums (see page 7 for schedule) with the quads on West Campus, the neighborhoods on East Campus, and with students living on Central Campus and off campus. These discussions will focus on concrete options. The following questions are designed to begin these conversations, focusing on options for housing, dining, and social spaces.

There are about 2800 beds on West Campus and 1700 sophomores, and the current policy is that all sophomores must live on West. Recent thinking about Central Campus is that it would be designed principally for seniors. Should this model be reconsidered in away that allows for the option that both campuses can support interclass living?

What housing model best optimizes the experience of independent students and students wishing to live in selectives, theme houses, and blocks on the West and Central campuses? What additional theme houses are of interest to students?

What are the appropriate expectations for serving the larger Duke community for groups that are allocated space?

What those ience those tions

from combination of venues emphasizing individual conven(i.e., “grab-and-go” options) to -

emphasizing community

connec-

(i.e., “sit down and eat”) should comprise the dining options on the West and Central campuses?

-

Over the past two years, Duke has deliberatively examined the status of its campus culture and undergraduate experience. As part of a university-wide planning process, a Strategic Planning Committee on the

Undergraduate Experience was charged by the Provost in August 2005; the group filed its report in January 2006, the content of which framed many of the goals articulated in the University's current strategic plan, Making a Difference. Subsequently, the President charged the Campus Culture Initiative Task Force in April 2006 and that group submitted its report in February of 2007. Beginning the second week of March 2007 with meetings with student governance groups and a student forum to discuss the specific recommendations of the Campus Culture Initiative Task Force Report, the Provost's office met with many groups across the spring semester to solicit their input (for a list see Appendix 1). These meetings were supplemented by individual discussions with faculty, students, staff, and alumni.

These conversations informed the administration of a range of perceptions of social life at Duke, a range of views on the recommendations of the Campus Culture Initiative task force report, what different constituencies see of value in the Duke undergraduate experience, and thoughts about what can be improved and how to achieve that improvement. These discussions thus provided an informed foundation upon which initial decisions could be made and a framework for further discussion and planning.

Now is the time to move forward and make further decisions. Concern about student-faculty interaction is common at major research universities, and has been the subject of discussion at Duke for some time. Our discussions so far in the current process have yet to reveal new approaches to this issue, but the importance of advancing this discussion cannot be overstated. Building a vibrant community in which there are opportunities for intellectual and social interactions outside of class remains a priority and several groups are working on these issues. The conversations this fall will focus on options for housing dining and social spaces. From our discussions of these options, a set of recommendations will be made to the President in the early winter.

•

Office of the Provost

respect, race and gender, and the processes by which students develop individual and collective values and learn to act responsibly in ways that are consistent with those values. We seek to prepare students for personal and professional life in the twenty-first century, by offering a distinctive experience that engages the breadth of resources of a research university in furthering undergraduate learning and connecting to real world issues. Duke takes seriously its obligation to bring knowledge to the service of society. We aspire to create the best structure for giving students the opportunity to grow to their fullest potential and individuality, while learning how to operate in the complex and diverse social settings in which they will live and work. In addition to acquiring substantive knowledge and learning how to learn, this ambition requires that Duke provides an environment that encourages the development of curiosity, initiative, responsibility, self-confidence, self-awareness* empathy, and an ethical code by which to conduct one's life. Central to this environment is the academic experience that students encounter during their four years at Duke. Also essential is engagement in a vibrant social and residential community. An important part of student life at Duke is to develop a sense of belonging to the Duke community as a whole while exploring individual identity through participation in groups sharing more specifically delineated common interests.

3. Observations from discussions during the 2007 Spring Semester This section presents key observations stemming from our discussions last spring, organized around four themes that emerged as broadly important to members of our com-

munity: engaging diversity, gender relations, regulations and responsibilities governing student social life, and selective living. For each theme, we provide an overview of issues emerging in discussions, a list of specific views expressed by students, and a summary of key issues.

2. Mission and Aspirations Duke is a place for excellence, a place of community, a place for engagement, and a place for fun. Intellectual, artistic, athletic, and civic engagement are experiences that are common to all and that engage the passions of many. Duke places a priority on building a sense of community among students, faculty and staff, creating opportunities to focus on issues of difference and Interim Report on the Undergraduate Experience at Duke University

•

Office of the Provost

A. Engaging diversity Overview: Our insight into engaging diversity was mosdy limited to discussions around race, ethnicity and national origin, and this topic was examined most deeply with the Black Student Alliance, the Asian Student Association, and a group of international students. There was some discussion of diversity with selective housing groups, but this topic was generally not a focus of the conversations. There are other facets to diversity, e.g., other ethnic groups, sexual preference, economic background, that will need to be explored going forward.

In a world characterized by globalization and increasing inter-cultural interaction, it is critical that our students engage other cultures and the differing perspectives they offer in their daily experiences both inside and outside the classroom. Students benefit most by interacting creatively and productively with the widest possible range of individuals, ideas, and peoples. These interactions need to happen in the context of the spaces where students live, dine and engage in curricular and extra-curricular activities. They should be both formal and informal, and should involve organized groups and their activities and individual interactions. Fostering such interactions should be part of the logic informing our housing and dining decisions.

There are several hundred student organizations at Duke and our students are often “compulsive joiners,” a habit they may bring with them from high school. One question that our discussions raised was whether the proliferation of student organization reflects students becoming more engaged in the campus, or is a sign of too much joining but not enough doing. Further, does membership in too many groups lead to too little time for informal interaction, or for private time and solitude? This topic, one that has received considerable national attention, requires further examination to understand its implications for our campus. But a clear consequence of the expanding number of such groups is a growing need for space and money to support programming and a corresponding requirement to foster effective communication and cooperation between groups in the planning and sponsoring of events. Current support levels per group are generally inadequate to enable different groups to engage effectively and frequently with one another. Without careful thought, an unintended outcome of such a structure would be even further fragmentation of our community rather then the engaged and interacting pluralistic community we seek.

Views Expressed If students are not interacting in diverse communities before they come to Duke, it is hard to get them to do so at Duke •

•

There is a tendency to gravitate to others with similar backgrounds as the freshman year progresses; once one moves to

Reproduced and distributed by The Chronicle

West Campus, events form around groups of similar backgrounds there are few incentives to develop multicultural events or engage in such experiences

well as a life-changing experience. It is also critical preparation for living and working in the world into which our students enter

The use and importance of alcohol in social experiences varies significantly among different cultural groups with several cultural groups choosing not to serve alcohol at parties

B. Gender relations Overview: Cross-gender relationships are a part of the social fabric of almost all environments we inhabit as adults, whether for work or leisure, and whether in search of wisdom, friendship, or one of the many different varieties of love. College provides a testing ground that is bounded and relatively secure, and an important chance to learn about gender similarities and differences while experiencing the freedom to inhabit a number of social roles.

-

Fraternities build inclusion by exclusion, blocking does the same by a different approach. Neither builds towards a pluralistic community where diversity is engaged and where students belong to groups with partially overlapping memberships and have multiple loyalties.

Incentives for engaging diversity on campus are insufficient and don't work, students groups that would encourage such activities struggle for funds to do pro-

gramming Engaging diversity needs to come from the classroom, it must be part of a student's intellectual development Top down cultural programming will not work; students are adept at getting out of what they don't want to do.

Summary: Our goals must support students' initiatives to assert their own racial, ethnic and religious identities, while at the same time, and with equal commitment, they must foster interaction, exchange and learning across group boundaries as well as a sense that membership in one group is not exclusive of membership in others. This issue is becoming increasingly important as many students (as well as faculty and staff) come from mixed racial/ethnic/religious backgrounds, with the consequence that there is an increasing differentiation between heritage and identity. To achieve these goals Duke must be a welcoming pluralistic community, one that embodies the diversity of cultures and culturally-based organizations represented by our students and faculty.

Such a community could engender a range of social opportunities, many of which would not be centered on alcohol.

We need to assure that our community has a positive climate for engaging diversity, and of equal importance, that we articulate why engaging diversity is critical for making the most out of a Duke education students need to understand and appreciate how experiencing diversity as part of the Duke education will reap advantages for living and working in the world after Duke. Diversity is not only about differing viewpoints, perspectives and opinions, but is also about the engagement with the people who are the keepers of those viewpoints, perspectives and opinions.

Discovering, through the discord of differing ideas, that deeply-entrenched beliefs may not be universal, can be a thought-provoking as -

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upon graduation.

As we know from the Duke Women's Initiative, there are aspects of college women's experience that can inhibit their confidence or aspirations, lead them to feel dominated by men's perspectives, restrict the ways in which they explore their sexuality, and even endanger them. Of course, many of the norms defining social interaction between young men and women when entering college were well established much earlier on in their lives, perhaps limiting what we can expect to influence by any attempt to reframe aspects of culture once they arrive at Duke. From our discussions, we sensed dissatisfaction among both male and female students in the habits of relationships that dominate the campus culture and a real opportunity to help students self-reflect about how they make choices and the assumptions that drive their behavior. Interestingly, we also found that students often negatively characterize the culture of gender relations by the behaviors they attribute to a majority of students, but the vast majority of students do not acknowledge that they undertake such behaviors. Clearly, there is a perception of the campus culture of gender relations that departs from the reality and may well inhibit the development of a better climate.

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There is need for mentoring during the first six weeks of school to educate students about the hookup culture, dating, friendships between men and women -

Most women’s organizations, sororities in particular, do not have adult mentors with whom they can have sustained

relationships Women need to prove themselves in social settings more than in academic settings; they are relatively confident in the latter

Many express that women's self-esteem decreases while men's increases over the four years of college, with many students attributing this to the dominance of the fraternities in defining the social life on campus Duke students are high achievers in both academic and social life; they strive for both but fear letting the two intermingle.

Duke students are too busy to build meaningful relationships; it's much easier to hookup. Additionally, hooking up avoids longer-term implications and women sometimes see hooking up as away of maintaining their sense of personal freedom to choose into the future There is a lack of campus venues for dating There is a lack of social opportunities to build platonic relationships

Empower women, don't approach this issue by trying to disempower men Enable real co-ed living and co-ed blocking on West, and possibly on East

and recreational outlets that facilitate the development of platonic relationships, and providing mentoring on gender issues during the first semester freshman year.

deemed appropriate. The structure as currently articulated does not lead to the desirable self-awareness and development of individual and group ethics.

C. Regulations and responsibility governing student social life Overview: Considerable concern was raised that regulations surrounding social events on campus have significant unintended consequences that outweigh their benefits. While students acknowledge that many of the rules are in place to encourage students to keep themselves safe, the number of “hoops” that a group must jump through in order to have a social event has advantaged groups that have collective action advantages, space, and money (fraternities, most notably). This unintended advantage is especially true when various selfimposed restrictions on use of funds allocated to student groups limit purchase of alcohol, and when various personnel bartenders and party monitors are required at these events.

Students should be able to take initiative in an environment that fosters opportunity, but one in which there are clearly articulated rules and regulations that are perceived to be consistently enforced. Students need to have the opportunity to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes; at the same time they need to be responsible and accountable for their own behavior and the welfare of their community, as embodied in the Duke Community Standard.

D. Selective living Overview: Housing for upperclass students on west campus falls into five categories: selective fraternal, selective non-fratemal, living-learning elective, blocks, and unaffiliated, with unaffiliated representing the largest group of students at about 60% of West Campus residents. Regardless of their particular view, our rules are inconsistentdiscussions showed that there is general agreeMany students feel that ly enforced. In addition, different residential ment among students, faculty, and staff that social aspects of the Duke experience could be advisors may treat similar situations quite differently. Several individuals complained that better. The CCI report recommended the they were held responsible for damages to elimination of all selective and elective organcommons rooms even when the damage was ized living groups; student opinion ran the full done by others. This speaks to a theme we spectrum on this subject, but was generally heard often that the current structure may not opposed to such a step. While some students be consistent in holding students accountable supported the task force recommendation, for their actions. Students also told us that the majority of students support residential livthey receive mixed messages on how enforce- ing groups and expressed a desire for a more diverse (and well-funded) set of options for ment of regulations takes place at parties. selective/elective living. There also was a genViews Expressed eral consensus across the groups that Duke There is a lack of a middle ground in the should support a more pluralistic social and social scene, currently one needs alcohol living environment, with a richer array of social and living opportunities in which no to enable comfort at social events one type of living choice dominates.

The role alcohol plays on gender relations enables one to avoid emotional connections Students both those who live in selective housing and, interestingly, some who do not Alcohol provides a common theme to raised concern that the task force report did which students relate; that is, it is somenot articulate the positive contributions selecthing you can talk about, especially when tive living groups make to the campus and the external community. Concern was also raised you don't have much else outside academabout the treatment of selectives as a single ics to talk about entity, given the large differences between and Alcohol is often the focus of evening social among the purpose and objectives of the many events different and different kinds of living groups.

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There is a need to create an environment that fosters positive relationships between men and women The male dominance of the social scene at Duke is a deeper issue than just selective

living, although the latter certainly tributes to it.

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Summary: Students express an eagerness to engage social change on campus that can result in more satisfying gender relationships.

Important steps suggested for moving in this direction include enabling co-ed living and coed blocking on West Campus, providing social

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Many view the loss of selectives as a major step away from enabling students to develop Access to alcohol drives social life on the affinity groups, create group identity and West Campus and is a major reason to join meaningful friendships, and mentoring fraternities across the four years of undergraduate life.

Many others view the elimination of selective Summary: While the discussions focused on housing as creating opportunities to establish complex issues surrounding the social scene a range of social cultures on campus, replacat Duke, we were left with a general impresing the current dominant culture centered sions that rather than take ownership of their on Greek organizations. actions and learn about the consequence of violating what would be a more general set of Student leaders recendy spent considerable guidelines, students often either look for effort in defining a evaluation process for ways around the rules or obsess over whether selectives, one that would link the space allothey have checked off all the requirements. cation (location and number of beds) to the contributions the group makes to the campus The latter choice enables students to rationalize that any activity/behavior is then in two fundamental categories (quad interacRush places a huge emphasis on alcohol

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dons, membership experience) and a subset of supplemental categories (social programming, external involvement, intellectual focus, healthy living).

number of such living units is the possible interpretation of an institutional message that students need to develop a group identity, whether or not they are inclined or ready to do so.

Views Expressed Selective living empowers intergenerational cohesion, social networking (with alumni, etc.) and mentoring; and students seek this kind of cross-year connection

4. Options for Housing, Dining and Social Spaces*

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After the well-regarded first year on East Campus, the majority of students express a desire for residential options that foster intergenerational interactions

Students want a place to say where they're there is dorm pride on East Campus, and selective groups serve the same purpose on West Campus; independence is a lonely experience

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Selectives provide the only current mechanism for building community on West

Campus The Greek scene is segregating, it's like going to someone's house, you wouldn't go to it unless you were invited and knew someone

Quads are not viewed as a viable social unit by students, nor are the leadership positions in the quad council aggressively sought Duke has many signifiers of “you don't belong here:” wall around East campus, benches representing selective groups

Enhancing the availability of spaces for other groups to hold social events would benefit student life Common spaces that don't belong to a group are not well utilized Summary: Consistent with the CCI Report, our discussions generally confirm that a fundamental issue in the undergraduate experience at Duke is the dominance real and perceived of the social scene by fraternities.

Some of the dominance by these groups may result from unintended advantages they have acquired because of campus policies (e.g., the ownership of common spaces), an issue that might be addressed through both a review of the regulations governing social events and by increasing the number and types of selective/elective living units. Many students voiced the opinion that they do not see themselves as part qf this culture, although they acknowledge, and sometimes express dissatisfaction with, the perceptions of its dominance of the undergraduate social scene. The majority of students with whom we spoke voiced support for creation of a more pluralistic residential campus, expecting that by doing so, a more diverse and desirable set of social opportunities would result It needs to be acknowledged that a potential downside of increasing the -

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The report of the Campus Culture Initiative Task Force revealed that the ways in which spaces are designated and used are foundational to the undergraduate experience. This conclusion was confirmed in our discussions with students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

Because of their centrality to enhancing the undergraduate experience, our discussions this fall will focus on housing, dining and social spaces. In addition to simply living and eating, residence halls and dining facilities provide important venues for students to interact with each other and for interactions of faculty and staff with students. All members of our campus community share the ability to serve as role models and can model how to work together to build character and a sense of purpose within the communities in which we work and live. Many of our staff represent a “front line” for interacting with students. These daily interactions are an important component of what defines the Duke experience, and enable learning about human interactions and establishing relationships that go well beyond that experienced in the class room or with classmates. We should not minimize the influence both casual and sometime deliberative interactions have; they enable our students to amass the skill and comfort of living and working with those who differ from themselves. Our discussions must also examine how to be clear as to our expectations and how best to engender socially responsible behavior of students in these communal settings.

Reassessing the housing model One of the important lessons learned from the discussions this past spring is the importance of cross-generational interactions within the context ofresidential living. Such interactions were thought to be important for fostering an environment where students are able to fully benefit from our co-educational and diverse student population. To accomplish these goals requires that we rethink our current housing model, question some of the spatially-explicit features of the developmental model upon which it is based, and rethink the relationship between the West and Central campuses.

While a mapping of the developmental model onto a progression from one physical location to another offers a convenient framework for envisioning how to take advantage of Duke's geography, it seriously weakens our ability to build cross-generational connections through living groups, with the attendant advantages such connections can bring to improving campus climate.

With regards to housing, moving away from the current model has several dimensions, each associated with both positive and negative consequences. While the Campus Culture Initiative Task Force recommended the elimination of selective housing, such a move would be inconsistent with our aspirations to create a vibrant, pluralistic community. We will no longer consider reducing the number of selective living groups; the reasoning for this decision is elaborated on in the Appendix 2. Our efforts this fall will be to define a set of housing and dining options that are rooted in the principles presented above and that best address the challenges we face.

Increased selective living options Housing focused around intellectual and other themes could draw a diverse student The current housing model The current housing model at Duke is based population, increase opportunities for stuon an interpretation of student development dents to socialize and engage intellectually that presumes common sets of developmental with those different from themselves, foster attributes among classes of students and com- cross-generational connections, and promote mon environmental conditions designed to opportunities to grow intellectually and socialpromote intellectual, social and interpersonal ly within a communal setting different from maturation. Thus all first-year students, the options available today. Theme housing housed on East Campus, share experiences also would expand the academic experience intended to expose them to the variety of beyond the classroom, and could engage facopportunities available at Duke and designed ulty who are interested in the particular theme to optimize diverse, broad and occasionally of the housing unit. Additional theme housing challenging encounters with other first year students, various faculty and staff. Sophomore students are obliged to reside on West Campus under the belief that bonds established in the first year will carry over to the second year, and further, that as students narrow their selection of group affiliations, intimate relationships and fields of inquiry, they can best do so in residential communities characterized by close living quarters, blends of selective and independent membership and fewer residential faculty and staff. By the junior and senior year, the current model suggests that apartment style housing, both on and off campus, offers the best exposure to adult living and prepares students for community living and learning beyond Duke and Durham.

could provide additional social options for the Campus. But in order to do so, these houses would need to have resources in terms of space and money commensurate to existing selectives. Experiences at other institutions show that theme housing could also result in segregation of students depending on the particular themes; there would need to be a rigorous process for approval of such houses to assure they contribute to the mission of the University, become the base from which activities reflecting the theme would be launched to the broader community and influence campus climate in a positive manner. Increased elective/selective housing would reduce the number of rooms available for independent students and would likely make it much harder for students who chose not to live in such units to block and end up with contiguous rooms.

Thus, a potentially negative consequence is that students may interpret an increase in housing options to mean that they must belong to an elective/selective group to get the most out of a Duke education.

to determine the desired housing model in the near future.

drink in a socially convivial and responsible manner in accompaniment with food.

Social Spates on West Campus On West Campus, selective housing groups are currendy allocated common rooms that are located near or adjacent to the dorm rooms occupied by its members. These common spaces are viewed as “owned” by the particular housing group, and are used informally by the members of die housing group and for social functions sponsored by the group. Concerns were raised in our discussions that parties held in common rooms adversely impact both genderrelations and engagement of diversity. The renovation of the West Union building offers the opportunity to create spaces for social events that are not associated with any one group, and that are not located immediately adjacent to dormitory rooms. It will be important to make sure that all constituencies faculty and students as well as administrators are involved in the planning of the West Union renovations.

5. Key Questions to be Addressed this Fall

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A revitalized central campus The current model suggests the new Central Campus should provide apartment style housing for seniors and some juniors, combined with dining facilities that prepares students for community living and learning beyond Duke .and Durham. This model, however, may serve too narrow a population as Central Campus offers an opportunity to explore alternatives for living and learning for all classes beyond the first year. Central Campus could offer a range of living opportunities ranging from dormitory rooms similar to those on the West Campus to apartments that would be open to sophomores, junior, and seniors. Selective and theme houses could also be present on Central Campus. Current plans for the number of residences on Central Campus are based on the current capacity of the West Campus. We should consider if there are advantages to reducing the number of students who will live on the new Central Campus by constructing a new dorm on the West Campus, which could also be designed to include apartment style rooms.

Because the University has recently selected the master architect to oversee design of the Central Campus project, it will be important

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It is widely acknowledged that the distribution of small social spaces in West campus dorms is disadvantageous because their location sometimes make them easily (even if unofficially) controlled by a single social group, and their design makes them relatively dysfunctional for many kinds of social events. If West Union is renovated so that it provides space for social events, one option that merits consideration is eliminating the practice of allocating designated commons rooms within the dorms to specific living groups. This would have the benefit of providing all living groups with equal access to space for planned social events, enabling the commons spaces in the dorms to be a shared resource and then locate or relocate these rooms to more effectively support the student interaction and community development needed to achieve diversity and gender relations goals. A potential downside is that such rooms may not see any use; several students expressed the view that a room that belongs to everyone is often used by no one. If this were true, then such a model could inadvertendy result in decreased student interactions in the dormitories.

The questions listed below are designed to focus the conversations around options for housing, dining, and social spaces. We have chosen to focus on space housing, dining and social because the discussions to date clearly reveal that the designs and uses of space are foundational to the Duke experience. Not only do our residence halls, dining facilities, and common spaces structure how students live and eat, their designs can promote or inhibit how students engage diversity, develop interclass friendships, relate across genders, and interact with faculty outside the classroom. To assure that Duke is a place for excellence, a place of community, a place for engagement, and a place for fun requires that spaces be designed and used appropriately.

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There are about 2800 beds on West Campus and 1700 sophomores, and the current policy is that all sophomores must live on West. Recent thinking about Central Campus is that it would be designed principally for seniors. Should this model be reconsidered in away that allows for the option that both campuses can support interclass living?

What housing model best optimizes the experience of independent students and students wishing to live in selectives, theme houses, and blocks on the West and Central campuses? What additional theme houses are of interest to students?

What are the appropriate expectations for serving the larger Duke community for groups that are allocated space?

What combination of venues from those emphasizing individual convenience (i.e., “grab-and-go” options) to those emphasizing community connections (i.e., “sit down should comprise the dining and eat”) options on the West and Central campuses?

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6. Process This document is intended to frame discusDining Model for West Campus Eating is fundamentally a social activity, and so sions with students, faculty, staff, and alumni dining represents an opportunity to influence during the fall semester. On the dates listed on the cultural framework of Duke. If dining was the next page, the Provost and/or Dean of Undergraduate Education wdll lead open associated with venues that encourage converforums with the quads on West Campus, the sation and community, then dining may bring added value to undergraduate experience. neighborhoods on East Campus, and Central The balance between venues that encourage Campus and students living off campus. patrons to linger and engage with one anothThere will also be discussions with faculty gover versus venues that cater to individual conernance groups, and input with be solicited venience by encouraging a “grab-and-go” patfrom Duke staff and alumni. To develop conof to be addressed.

It may eating needs tern enhance local communities on campus to crete action plans for advancing the undergraduate experience will require bringing rephave dispersed facilities rather than have venresentatives from these constituencies togethues centralized in the vicinity of West Union and the Bryan Center. The campus culture er to integrate and prioritize the collective outcould also be enhanced by facilities that make comes from the various meetings. By doing so, it possible for students of legal drinking age to we will be assured of thoughtful engagement Interim Report on the Undergraduate Experience at Duke University

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from the entire Duke community in advising the administration on how best to achieve the aspirations we hold for the undergraduate experience. Actions for addressing the major questions posed above will be recommended to the President in the early winter.

Appendix and Footnotes Appendix 1: Groups Engaged in Discussions during the Spring ’O7 Semester Student Organizations: Asian Student Association, Baldwin Scholars, Black Student Alliance, Brownstone, Campus Council, Chi Psi, Delta Sigma Phi, Duke Student Government, Duke University Union, East Campus Residential Advisors, InterFratemity Council, Inter-Community Council, Inter-Greek Council, International Students, Kappa Kappa Gamma, men not living in selective Alliance of housing, Queer Undergraduates at Duke, National PanHellenic Council, Order of Omega, PanHellenic Council, President's Council, Sigma Chi, Student Communications Advisory Council, and women not living in selective housing.

Faculty Groups: The Academic Council and its Executive Committee, the Academic Council Student Affairs Committee, the Arts 8c Sciences Council and Executive Committee, the Arts 8c Sciences Student Faculty Engagement Committee, the Division Chairs Meetings of the Arts 8c Sciences Faculty, the Directors of Interdisciplinary Centers, the Nicholas School Faculty Council, and the Pratt School Faculty Executive Committee.

Staff Groups: Student Affairs Staff, a group of Residential Advisors on East Campus, members of the House Keeping staff who work on West and East Campuses

the point, we heard little of such conservative sentiments. In fact, some prominent alums and donors, including some former fraternity members, were strongly supportive of giving full consideration to the “abolition” option.

Among the hundreds of students we talked with, however, the sentiment was vastly, but certainly not unanimously, against abolishing selectives. This was true not only among current fraternity members and current non-fraternity members of selective housing groups, but perhaps surprisingly also among many so-called “independents”. The common view was that selective housing at Duke plays an important role in campus social life and is a real expression of student choices, choices they should be allowed to make as part of forming their young adult identities. Non-fraternity selectives were additionally argued to offer opportunities for diverse criteria to be brought into the decision about where and with whom to live, and hence to enhance the development of identity through living. The criteria characteristic of non-fraternity selectivers are often in quite sharp contrast with those predominant in fraternal selectives, things like true co-education grounded in living (e.g., Brownstone) or the development of qualities conducive to leadership and independence among women (e.g., the Baldwin Scholars). Finally, and this was perhaps both the strongest and most widespread sentiment, many students expressed a strong desire for -

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more connection across classes i.e., connections that connect younger students with older one and they argued that selectives provide the major opportunity for students to live in communities with students from different years and to receive the support and mentoring from upper-class students that they seek.

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Alumni and School/University Boards: The Duke Alumni Board, Executive Committee of the Graduate and Professional Students Council, the Trinity College Board of Visitors, and the Duke Board of Trustees.

Of course, even strong supporters of selective living and certainly those less invested in selecAppendix 2: The Choice for Pluralism It will have drawn the attention of some that tives brought forward recurrent criticisms of the option of eliminating all selective housing how the selective living system on our campus at Duke* as recommended by the original CGI works and of how these shortcomings have report, is not included in this follow-up inter- negative impacts our campus culture. im report. This change will come as a relief to Preeminent among these criticisms was that some and as a disappointment to others. one element of selective living, the fraternity system, has a disproportionate influence on Because the abolition of all selective living fraternities, but housincluding not only campus culture, imposing the social norms any ing based on a process of self-selection was and behavioral patterns of a minority on the majority of students who have a more pluralisthe most provocative recommendation coming from the CGI, we offer here a more tic set of interests and ideals. In its bluntest detailed rationale for not carrying it forward. form, the charge is that fraternities “determine” the campus culture and importantly It might be cynically thought that this decision for our thinking about how to move forward that this dominance is fostered by the control was simply a response to pressure, or anticipated pressure, from alumni and donors, an of space which the current housing system accommodation to the sentiment of “let Duke affords to selective living groups. Our own be Duke” that is thought pervasive among conversations with the community generally those who graduated from Duke in all but the confirmed this view, although with more most recent years. Undoubtedly, there is such nuance. Fraternities are not all the same, nor sentiment but it is far from pervasive; the vast are the behaviors with which they are associatmajority of those in Duke's extended family ed; some have histories of repeated violations are deeply appreciative of Duke's ability to of campus rules and social norms, others have change and to be agile in doing so. More to few or none. And most if not all fraternities -

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make positive contributions to values which we as a University seek to promote, although to substantially differing degrees. Furthermore, it also became evident in our discussions that while some of the predominance of fraternities is due to the privileged control they exercise, de facto if not de jure, over commons spaces in the dorms they inhabit, a good deal of it also results from advantages they have because of their ability to take advantage of campus rules governing, social activities because they can more easily organize collective action and because their members pay substantial dues that can be used to support activities.

It also was clear from our conversations with members of the CGI task force that the recommendation regarding abolition of all selective living was based on the reasoning that fraternities were overly dominant in the campus social culture, that their predominance needed to be reduced if other problems in the campus culture were effectively to be addressed, but that a recommendation to eliminate just fraternities would never succeed and that hence all selective living needed to be abolished. This same concern about the social predominance of fraternities was voiced by many faculty and students, including some themselves members of selectives and even fraternities.

As we have already noted, however, not all, or even a large portion of those arguing that fraternities and fraternity values were overly dominant in the culture agreed that the appropriate response was abolition of all selective living, or even the more targeted abolition of Greek selective living. Rather, what increasingly emerged was a sentiment for a greater number of alternative, “elective”, living options that would coexist, on an equal basis in terms of resources, with the existing range of selective living groups. This broadening of selective living options could create at Duke a balanced, “pluralist” community of group living opportunities rooted in multiple values and in students' choices. Each group, as part of its charter, would have to contribute through some of its activities to the richness of activities available to the broader community even as it provides a deeper immersion in its own values for those who choose to join it and live together. In this way, each will contribute uniquely colorful threads to the warp of our campus cultural fabric and will be complementary to the weave of stronger hues formed by values, passions and commitments shared across far broader spans of our community.

A number of conditions will have to be met for this pluralist community to emerge successfully at Duke. We list some of these here to provide a focus for the practical discussions that must accompany a larger discussion of the principles that must underlie our community. The list here is neither inclusive nor exhaustive: •

All groups, selective and elective, must have a strong relationship with one or more faculty and other adult mentors who

but would enhance the “intergenerational” character of the overall housing

are integral to the governance and programming expected of the living group;

system.

All groups, selective and elective, must have similar access to resources of space These are but some of the issues to be and programming funds, provided addressed as we move forward with our discusthrough some combination of University sions this fall of the building a truly pluralist residential and social community at Duke. and member resources; Social spaces, including commons spaces in dormitories, must be common property and hence “possessed” by no single group.

This may well require, over time, the reallocation of group living spaces within dormitories and/or the relocation of commons rooms within the dorms. It will also require the integration of the commons rooms into the system of reserving social spaces for events, including parties;

Other rules governing commons uses will need to be examined to encourage their shared availability to multiple groups living within a single dorm or quad; Rules governing the allocation of living space to selective and elective groups and the expectations for those groups if they wish to retain their space allocations over time will need to be developed, consistent with the enlarged numbers and types of living groups. Major advances in this direction were made with the new (2006-2007) evaluation process developed by students and this process and the rules and expectations that flow from it can likely be readily extended to govern the new system; The appropriate allocation of spaces to the full array of different selective and elective living groups foreseen will require relaxation of the rules governing the types of residents that can live at the front of main West Campus. It must continue to be assured, however, that no particular type of residential choice or living group come to dominate that highly visible and symbolic space. Instead, that frontage, like each individual dorm or quad, should reflect the pluralism of selective, elective and independent living choices our students choose to make;

There must be careful examination of the implications for the new residential system for what types of residences are built on Central Campus. The question is: should Central Campus housing be consistent with Duke’s “developmental model” and hence primarily as is currently envisioned for seniors and designed with the next stage of their life clearly in mind (apartment style residences) or should Central Campus housing be, like West, “3-class residences”, but with far greater flexibility in the specific types of living spaces available, including dormitory, suite and apartment style residences in some combination?

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The task force report presented a set of recommendations around Duke's admissions policies and athletics, which are not the focus of this document. To address admissions requires knowing what we want to achieve.

The discussions around this document will provide that information and will subsequently be used by existing committees to affect appropriate action with respect to admissions.

We have previously examined the link between admissions criteria and academic performance. Research between admissions criteria and social outcomes has not been done, and should be studied. In the case of athletics, the university has charged a new athletics council to better integrate academics and athletics.

The athletics department is also working on a 5 year strategic plan, which should be available to the campus community during the academic year. Discussions around athletics, if required, will take place after their strategic plan is released and the new council has an opportunity to do its work. The Task Force report provided a set of recommendations for alcohol use. There is overlap between housing and dining and alcohol consumption, and this is discussed in the text. We are bound by the current drinking age laws and the major challenges are to clearly articulate University policy, assure its consistent enforcement, and educate students about responsible behavior, both individually and in communal situations where alcohol is present. *

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Office of the Provost

recess music

September 13,2007

Bullet holes aside, 50 Cent walks around with a mighty-

FIFTY CENT

KANYE WEST

A man that people love to hate, but can’t help but respect, Kanye West has long polarized audiences ISLAND DEF JAM with his outlandish ego. While his work on nearmasterpieces The College Dropout and Late Registration 'kirk'&ti allowed fans to forgive his personal shortcomings, Graduationfalls short, showcasing several key musical weaknesses once easy to overlook, but now impossible to ignore.

Kanye has always been overly reliant on samples, a flaw which he readily showcases on Graduation’s first three tracks, drawing from sources as disparate as Steely Dan and Daft Punk. Tracks such as “Stronger,” while solid, would benefitfrom more original production rather than simply playing another band’s song in the background.

Not Surprisingly, when Kanye integrates more of his own material the results are often some of the year’s best hip-hop. “Flashing Lights” features swirling synths over a beat that literally sounds like its title. “Good Life,” which features a surprisingly unrobotic T-Pain, is another synth-heavy track that makes a perfect upbeat companion piece to J.T.’s “Summer Love.” And enough can’t be said of the sinister single, “Can’t Tell Me Nothin,” with its perfectly placed vocal samples and singsong chorus.

But Graduation's biggest flaw is how downright lazy, uninspired and dissonant Kanye’s rapping can occasionally be. While his delivery is never boring, his tendency to force rhymes is embarrassing. On top of that, he continues his unremarkable rapping o\ same old topics—Louis V, black cards, his most creepy obsession with sex. Where’s ' Kanye that delivered the passionate “J sus Walks?” Instead, we get a track calle “Drunk and Hot Girls” which is just as te rible as it sounds.

The Kanye of old is nowhere to be found until the album-closer “Big Bro; er.” On the track, it seems like Kanye nally found a subject worth taking the to write about—his mentor and idol, J What results is his best set of lyrics on tlv bum, if not ever. When he raps, “Sibling. only I could see/It was the pride in me th driving me,” you only wish he would diref lar level of focus to his lyrics on the album twelve tracks.

At one point on Graduation, Kanye cl; “doing pretty good as far as geniuses go.’ to realize that with such a bold declarati responsibility to avoid mediocrity at all quirement that Graduation justbarely fulfill —Amar Pa,

big chip on his shoulder.

Though his last album, The Massacre, sold over 5 million

CURTIS G-UNIT

GRADUATION

copies and his first album more than that, he still seems bent on asserting his gangster-rap credibility. Curtis sounds ����� much like his first two successes—an in-your-face mix of fast and slow songs that explores the finer points ofmurder and crack-slinging.

Despite giving the listener the impression that Fiddy is just treading familiar water, Curtis displays an uncharacteristically cooperative element. Unlike on his previous albums, Fiddy has called in several guests to sing the hooks. “Follow My Lead” features a duet with soul-singer Robin Thicke, a strong step forward marred by the fact that the lyrics simply don’t make much sense. Fiddy collaborates slightly better with Mary J. Blige, who, despite rformance in “All ofMe.” “feeling like a fiend on crack,” delivers a command! album’s most muion does his best while Fiddy once his murderous cahitting the music Technology” feaunbeatable combirlake and Timbaine-two punch falls where guns, murthe central themes, ’need softie about and technology off as awkward d misplaced. >

Over a month ago, 50 Cent claimed that he would stop makmg solo records if Curtis did not 11 Kanye West’s (also released on has since distanced brash ultimatum, a isidering that Cur.tion of Formula is flat.

—Andrew Tunnard

Kronos

PAGES

Quartet muses Monk

Fewer names loom larger or have more crossover appeal in just kind of found a new way of defining a new set of today’s classical music world than: the Kronos Quartet. Violinist instruments. We’re ending with a piece by a friend of David Harrington, inspired by composer George Crumb, formed ours named Stephen Prutsman. I’ve wanted to put Webern’s music in another context than the normal conthe group in 1973. Since then, it has snagged six Grammy nominations—and one award—andreleased more than 40 recordings, text—where you might hear his music surrounded by Schoenberg and Berg, but “Six Bagatelles,” which we’re playing works by composers from Bartok to Zom. playing this evening, is the first piece that Kronos ever Harrington and co. play twice at Duke this weekend, once Friday in Page Auditorium for “Awakening: A Musical Meditation played, back in 1973. It’s rarely been programmed. It’s so intimate and so fleeting. on the Anniversary of 9/11 and again Saturday for “Mavericks/Monk: Kronos on Innovators, where the quartet will play Jazz critic Gary Giddins has written about the difficulty of finding anything new in “’Round Midnight.” What atthree world-premiere arrangements ofThelonious Monk’s mastertracted other “mavyou to that piece? ballad “’Round with by piece pieces Midnight”along First of all, it’s absolutely beautiful. What I wanted ericks, from Television’s Tom Verlaine to Anton Webern. Harto do was take something that many members of our rington spoke with recess' David Graham last week.

What attracted you, as classical musicians, to Monk, one audience will know and have it appear and then reappear throughout the concert in various forms, and so of the quintessential jazzmen? met It was back in 1984 when I first [legendary jazz we decided to get three different people to make new Orrin We were on a long car ride versions of “’Round Midnight.” Hopefully there will be Keepnews. producer] together and we got to talking about Monk. By the end of moments of recognition; in a musical way, hopefully it the car ride, it was decided thatKronos would figure out will work something like evolution. You’ll hear the way things change in music. The listener will actually hear away to make a record for Orrin’s then-new record company, Landmark Records. It happened very quickly that we how that occurs in real time. assembled that album [l9Bs’s Monk Suite].

What was your personal introduction to Monk?

I was first introduced to Monk by my composition teacher when I was about 17 yeas old, What he wanted me to do was to listen to the way Monk used timing, What I found myself attracted to, in addition to the amazing sense of timing, was the way I’ve never heard a pianist before or since that can make a minor second sound more dissonant than Thelonious Monk. In that way he’s almost more like a violinist to me. That’s how I can be listening to the radio and I can tell Monk every time.

How does Monk fit in with the other “maverick” composers?

We were looking for a context that felt right to us and kind of a—first of all, we wanted to give our Hamgan, member ofthe Kronos Quartet, draws mspiration from Monk. audience a large sense of the music. Harry Partch David ”

”

”

.

.

_

..

.

.

...

,

..

...

British Columbia’s Hot Hot Heat arrive HAPPINESS LTD. Sept. 11 with their WARNER BROS. fifth full-length album Happiness Ltd. The new album boasts work from producers Tim Palmer and Butch Walker, who have worked with Fall Out Boy, U 2 and The Cure. The eleven new tracks took shape over the two years the Canadian quintet spent on tour promoting the less-than successful Elevator. According to lead singer Steve Bays, the band returns this year with Happiness—a “darker and dirtier” repertoire.

On their new endeavor, the synth-rockers seek to maintain their indie sound while lyrically wading into, dangerously-emo territory. Frontman Steve Bays croons, “Happiness is limited, but misery has no end,” on the title track over bloated orchestrations, piano arpeggios, and an epic chorus of his fellow-band members. The rest of the album becomes his personal dumping ground for his relationship woes. The single “Let Me In” maintains the band’s catchy synth-y vibe, but the lyrics border on stalker-ish as Bays describes himself screaming at someone’s door, begging her, obviously, to ‘let him in’. Other songs like “Good Day To Die” and “So So Cold” sound like confessions from Bays to his therapist against a synth backdrop that borders on annoying.

On this album, Hot Hot Heat follow the mantra of the more instrumentation, the better. Unfortunately, it doesn’t do the trick and ends up sounding silly and overthe-top. The band is successful in recreating the magic of their debut album with “5 Times Out of 100” and “Harmonicas and Tambourines”,guitar-driven dance anthems. The rest of the album, however is bloated both lyrically and musically. Hot Hot Heat manages to create a decent club album, full of repetitive choruses perfect for chanting at a show but the rest of Happiness leaves us aching for more sophisticated content.

—Stefanija Giric

HOT HOT HEAT

Centerfest celebrates local art by

Nancy Wang

THE CHRONICLE

The 34th annual CenterFest Arts Festival is the largest and longest-running community arts celebration in North Carolina. This two-day long festival, held on Foster St. in the historic Central Park district of downtown Durham, falls this year on Sept. 15 and 16. It not only includes numerous artists and vendors, but also features performances ranging from Audioform, a jazz-funk group from Charlotte, to the Bouncing Bulldogs, a nationally-ranked rope

skipping team.

Organized by the Durham Arts Council in partnership with local sponsors, CenterFest hopes to be a unique open-

community event, offering up local foods, back-to-back varied performances on three different stages, an incredible array ofartists and activities to keep everyone engaged.

“We don’t have that many events in town that focus on the arts,” said Sherry DeVries, executive director of the Durham Arts Council. “Sure there is the Bluesfest and the Eno festival, but CenterFest is the big signature arts festival.

I think it’s important for communities to have a venue for local and regional artists to showcase and sell their work.”

The range of visual artists represented this weekend will be extensive. The 104 artists picked by a jury of local art professors and studio owners will offer hand-crafted works for sale, varying from wood to glass to photography pieces and more.

Originally created as a venue to highlight the quality and quantity of local craft artists as a means for them to sell their pieces to the public, CenterFest has evolved into a full interactive and entertaining event that appeals to more than just art aficionados. In addition to arts and entertainment, there will even be 30 non-profit organizations present to promote community awareness of the projects and opportunities they are involved in.

“One of the things I’m most proud of, when you look at the people who come, it’s people you’ve never seen before,” said Margaret DeMott, the director of artist services at the DAG. “The community really is here, wants to come and feels welcomed.”

A major part of the festival entertainment consists of the performing arts. With three stages located throughout the festival area offering up more than 25 performances total, this year’s showcase will be no exception. The North

Jazz

tember 13,2007

recess

PAGE 6

Stage will feature jazz, gospel a capella and even an oldtime string band, whereas the South Stage will serve up some R&B, blues and reggae music as a nice compliment.

And if you’re into performances with a bit more movement involved, there is the Midway Stage offering international flair. Among its two-day line up are groups dedicated to Indian Bhangra dance, classical Asian dance, Spanish Flamenco dancing and even cheerleading... performed by the grandmother-aged Durham Seniorette Divas.

A private non-profit group, the Durham Arts Council funds and coordinates numerous programs focused on nourishing the arts in both Durham and the triangle area ofNorth Carolina throughout the year, with CenterFest as the culminating event. And with temperatures dropping and the mid-semester crunch in sight, CenterFest is a celebration fit for the end of summer.

CenterFest will be held Sept. 15from 10 a.m.-6p.m. and Sept.

16 from noon- 6 p.m. There is a suggested donation of $4 per

person.

Claire Finch

THE CHRONICLE

Most men in their late sixties are busy reveling in their retirement, spending their days playing golf or searching for the perfect assisted living community which their grown children will force them into when they begin having chronic health problems a few years down the road.

But not guitarist John McLaughlin.

At 65 years old, McLaughlin, alongside his latest group The 4th Dimension, is just beginning a new tour which starts Thursday Sept. 13 at Durham’s own Carolina Theatre. McLaughlin isn’t just any old guy with a guitar. He’s a guitar legend, recognized by many as one of the most

courtesy johnmclaughlin

Legendary guitarist John McLaughlin willplay theCarolinaTheaterthisweek.

currently being developed.

Perhaps even more importandy, the program re-

minds students that outside actors aren’t the only artists with knowledge to share and works in progress.

Bell, the Department of Theater Studies’s resident playwright, will discuss his current writing project and the Department’s New Works Festival for the Spring of 2008 this Friday, Sept. 14. Always eager to enlist the involvement of a wide range of Duke students, Storer also signed up to be a speaker at one of the Lunch Box sessions. Storer is not only the co-founder and artistic director of Manbites Dog Theater, but he is also the director of next semester’s play, Spring Awakening. In Nov. 16’s session, he will hold an informational forum—as well as a read through of—the upcoming production, which he hopes will be helpful for students wanting to audition.

Events such as the forum parallel Lunch Box’s vision of providing inspiration, guidance and opportunities for students to broaden their theatrical scope.

“Lunch Box provides, students with a no-pressure, hands-on experience where they can explore new theatrical horizons, if only for an hour or so every Friday,” Michael Bergen said. The sophomore recently appeared in the 75-minute long Meet the Bard production originally titled The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

(Abridged).

The Department of Theater Studies has a long history of hosting a number of workshops and programs, but Lunch Box is shaping up to be one of the most

RICHARD SPRINGS/CAPTURED IMAGE PHOTOGRAPHY

The CenterFest Arts Festival will be heldfor two days in downtownDurham.

great take s triangle tour by

LUNCH BOX FROM PAGE 1

heavily attended. So far, student turnout has exceeded the directors’ expectations even though many students themselves are not surprised by the enthusiastic response. And for those early birds who R.S.V.P. by noon the Thursday before the program, a free box lunch is included—an incentive that Bergen observed to be a drawing factor for the program. “These sorts of things seem to be most attractive when there is food on the table, like a big theater family dinner,” Clum said. He added that he felt delighted the University’s theater community seems to be excited about Lunch Box. “The nature of our college experience is that, no matter how intimate the classroom is, there is and will always be a wall that exists between students and faculty,” Hankla said. “The Lunch Box program attempts to break down that wall by giving students an opportunity to talk with complete frankness with people about work, beliefs and any other topics raised. It is a satisfying experience, and one that is greatly needed.”

influential forces in jazz-rock fusion. “[McLaughlin] probably influenced just about every guitarist... He is looked upon as one of the giants, in the true sense of giant, not just commercially. What he has done with his instrument, no one has done it, ever. He is a true pioneer of the guitar,” said Souvik Dutta, president and founder ofAbstract Logix, McLaughlin’s new record label.

The legendary guitarist first achieved prominence when jazz great Miles Davis invited him to play with his band in the late sixties, culminating with his participation in Davis’s 1969 album Bitches Bmu. .

“John was so good that Miles said ‘Hey why don’t you form your own band?”’ Dutta said.

And he did just that, forming the jazz-rock fusion group Mahavishnu Orchestra in the seventies. During the next thirty years, McLaughlin participated in a slew ofacclaimed bands/collaborations and made original forays into both Indian and Flamenco music. McLaughlin continues his legacy ofjazz-fusion with The 4th Dimension.

The extensive list of his ventures and accomplishments doesn’t even begin to define his music, which takes on a new depth when experienced live.

“Music is more than just the notes together, it’s about playing together and playing with people,” McLaughlin said. “Music serves as a kind of bridge with which we interact on stage with each other.... Once you establish this kind of portal in live performance, the listener, the audience, can enter that and participate in the play that’s going on between the musicians themselves, and then they get absorbed in the music—that’s the whole point of going to a concert.”

McLaughlin’s show promises the opportunity to engage with a legendary musician to a backdrop of innovative music—what better way to spend a Thursday night?

McLaughlin will perform tonight with the 4th Dimension at 8 at the Carolina Theater. Tickets start at $38.50.

p, m.

Jeff Storef,cc>fout>der ofLunch Box, holds vveekiy seminarsat Brody Theater.

recess music

ember 13,2007

THE

GO! TEAM

PROOF OF YOUTH

Based

out

of

Brighton, UK, The

G ! Team sounds MEMPHIS INDUSTRIES astonishingly like their name suggests; loud, energetic and increasingly annoying.

Their newest album, Proof of Youth, stays true to their signature sound—a combination of early hip-hop, indie rock and cheerleader chants with a touch of 70’s funk. Featuring Conde do Role’s Marina Ribatski, Solex vocals and the Double Dutch Divas, the album also incorporates the Rapper’s Delight Club and Public Enemy’s Chuck D. Overall, the beats are undeniably strong, due in part to the presence of two drummers in the six-piece co-ed band. Yet, this becomes both a blessing and a curse.

The album starts out ambitiously. The four-minute-long opening track “Grip Like a Vice” certainly sets the standards high with an easily danceable mix of guitar riffs, hand clapping and cymbal crashing.

It’s catchy without being repetitive, upbeat without being over-the-top.

But then those expectations come crashing down with the band’s second track and newest single, “Doing It Right.”

The single is disappointing at best and migraineinducing at worst. The drums, previously energizing, become simply noisy, never really regaining the addictivenesss it possesd in the opening song °

BLACK FRANCIS BLUEFINGER COOKING VINYL

Nirvana,

Radio-

head, Modest Mouse and

anyone

who

plugged in a guitar after 1987 all owe

The Pixies.

The sound of The Pixies influenced alternative rock in the ’9os. So surely their leader singer, Black Francis, would have something to say about how bands are rocking out today.

Bluefingeris Black Francis’ answer to the over-produced, beat-driven rock of today. Hipsters beware: this may not be for you. While his answer is certainly rock ‘n’ roll it’s also a litde down home. If you’re expecting classic Pixies you may be disappointed, though Pixies’ fans should know better than to expect the predictable from Francis.

The album starts offfast-paced with the guitar heavy track, “Captain Pasty.” It’s here that we hear Francis’ characteristic rough voice. Bluefinger 1s single “Threshold Apprehension” harks back to the days of vintage Pixies’ records like Doolittle. “Apprehension” features crazed, intense, beats combined with the screaming

throughout the rest of the album. The lyrics, which already sounded like a mediocre version of Lady Sovereign, slip into the excessively repetitive chant of “Do it / Do it / Alright.” Despair sets in when the strangely muffled, Arcade Fire-like quality of the vocals—a quality no longer welcomed when it’s supposed to complement loud, energetic shouts—continues into tracks like “Titanic yandalism” and “Universal Speech.”

Unfortunately, the youthful, energetic tone the album seems to reach for falls away into a noisy mess reminiscent of a certain Clap Your Hands Say Yeah concert last year, minus the wailing lead vocalist. Covering your ears may be excessive, but a bottle of aspirin could come in handy.

—Lucie Zhang

vocals that characterize Francis’ older style, Black Francis shows that he has more rock in one song than most artists have in a single album. Luckily, Francis is aware that an album full of that much rock would be tiring, making his transition to a softer folk sound smart. The twang he puts in his voice shifts the album’s feelfrom rock to rockabilly.

Uncle Tupelo, eat your heart out.

Songs such as “Lolita” showcase the Nashville sound Francis has developed over his last few albums. Instead of the yowling scream of late ’Bos angst, we hear a folk singer with a harmonica.

However, the flow of the album could use some work. Francis constantly and sloppily reminds us that we’re listening to rock—often switching back and forth between hard and soft sounds. One moment Francis is rocking out, the next he’s singing the blues.

Bluefingerwon’t be as groundbreaking and influential to the rock community in the ’oos as Come on Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa were in the ’9os. But despite any shortcomings, Black Francis still has a thing or two to teach the bands of today.

—Liz Tramm

Cat’s Cradle 300 E. Main St. Carrboro

967-9053

PAGE?

RAP from page 1 You just look like a rapper’ and he took me into the studio. And that’s how I got into recording. Now I’m at the point where I can do most of the recording myself, which is the best way to get the sound you want.”

Today, Roberts records his own material under the moniker J.Bully—a partial reference to the city he calls home. In the process he has built up an impressive resume, having also played the part ofaudio engineer, songwriter and producer.

This wealth of experience plays an essential role in his class at Duke.

In addition to conducting close analysis of existing tracks, Roberts’ students are expected to personally write and record their own original songs. At the end of each semester, Roberts divides his students into small groups and assigns each to various rap sub-genres, such as gangster or “mack pimp.” The groups each select a beat—provided by Roberts—write lyrics and perform renditions of their respective songs.

Roberts then records and mixes each track before compiling them onto a CD. The intent of the intensive project is to give the students a deeper understanding of process behind the music.

“It was unique to be given the opportunity,” Trinity ’O7 graduate Chase Perfect said. “It gave a totally new perspective of what it takes to make a song.”

“I believe that, in order to appreciate something, you have to try it,” Roberts said. ‘You can’t really appreciate what an MC does until you try to MC. It’s very easy for a lot of people to sit back and even say that the simplest raps aren’t complicated or don’t have artistic value, until you try to do it.”

It was this creative approach that set Roberts’ class apart when it was first introduced three years ago. The music department had been considering a course in hip-hop for some time when it was first approached

by Roberts. Byway of the Department ofElectrical and Computer Engineering—where his wife is a faculty member—Roberts came to the music department with his proposal.

“What I found especially appealing was how the class would focus on the making of the music—that the students would write their own lyrics and that they would learn about the performance modes, as well as how to make beats and be part of the production of the track,” Vice Provost for the Arts Scott Lindroth said. “This was something that was offered nowhere else in the University. There were plenty of courses that might look at rap as a sociological or a cultural art form, but not really look at it from the standpoint of a practitioner.”

With almost no resistance, the course was immediately green-lit.

Since then, it has been widely regarded 21s a success—well-received by faculty and students alike. Hip-Hop/Rap Music Appreciation has quickly filled beyond its capacity each semester, leaving it largely reserved for upperclassmen lucky enough to draw an early window. Its success has even inspired certain imitators, such as at North Carolina Central University, where a similar class is taught by Patrick Douthit, aka 9th Wonder.

With the strong reception ofRoberts’ course, the music department is looking to add similar ones in the future, according to Lindroth.

“I’d love to have some additional courses that address popular music with a hands on perspective, I think that’s definitely something we need in the department.”

CAT'S CRADLE (919) 967 9053 300 E. Main St. Carrboro www.catscradle.com

SEPTEMBER 2007: 13 TH; Black Lips 14 FR: ABBEY ROAD LIVE / Sgt Pepper Lives!

15 SA: Johnny Irion CD Release 21 FR; Leukemia/ Lymphoma Benefit.: THAD COCKRELL, BRENDAN JAMES, Big Fat Gap ($10) 22 SA: THE OLD CEREMONY **($10) 23 SU: ATMOSPHERE, Mac Lethal, Grayskul, Luckiam**(slB/ $2O) 24 MO; AMOS LEE w/ Ryan Shupc** 25 TU: Magnolia Electric 26 WE; The Sea And Cake *(sl3/ $l5) 27 TH: Animal Collective** 28 FR: OF MONTREAL **(sls) 29 SA: Tres Chicas, Two Dollar Pistols, Great Big Gone ( Carrboro Music Festival kickoff) 30 SU: CARRBORO MUSIC FESTIVAL ( 3 PM -midnight)

Git's Crddle is at; E. Main St Carrtofo 2 TU: Okkervil River w/ Damien Jurado** 27510 3 WE: Pinbaclt w/ MC Chris**(sl3/ $l5) 919 967 9053 6 SA: I Was TotallyDestroying It CD Release www.catscradle.com NOW SERVING 7 SU; Die Good Life. Erie Choir**(slo / $l2) CAROLINA BREWERY 8 MO: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club** BEERS ON TAP! 9 TU: State Radio 11 TH: DAVE BARNES and MATT WERTZ**(SI4/ $l6) 12 FR: THE DONNAS, Donita Sparks**(sl3/ $l5

OCTOBER 2007:

)

Sei

..

We

are

also

presenting:

Interpol w/ Liars / Sept. 16 / DISCO RODEO (Raleigh) Dashboard Confessional -solo / Meymandi Hall (Raleigh) The Shins w/ Vetiver/ Oct. 19 / Memorial Auditorium (Raleigh) THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS OCT. 26 @ CAROLINA THEATRE (DURHAM)

Tire Decernberists / Nov. 6

AND 7 / Millennium Center (Winston Salem)

PAGES

;ember 13,2007

recess

What do you craOe}

Let us help. Visit The Chronicle's menu online for alt your dining options.

www.dukechronicle.com/dguide

the menu

oydAA^e/

sep tember 13,2007

Bl Di Gi

MEN'S TENNIS

FOOTBALLI SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

MEN'S LACROSSE

Duke swings into its

Danowski

fall season

surgery

by

undergoes Attackman Matt Danowski underwent successful surgery on his right foot Tuesday to repair a lisfranc ligament injury suffered last week. The fifth-year senior is expected to be out for at least four months.

Danowski was the best player in the nation in 2007, amassing an ACC-record 96 points—44 goals and 52 assists—and winning die Tewaaraton Trophy. He teamed with senior Zack Greer, who scored 67 goals, to form the second-best scoring duo in NCAA history. The two combined for 190 points and led the Blue Devils to both the regular season and ACC tournament

Gabe Starosta THE CHRONICLE

After a disappointing end to the 2007 team season, the Blue Devils return to the court this weekend, albeit in an individual format, determined to improve on last year’s finish. “[The fall season] is just kind of an introduction to college tennis for our ffeshmen, and away for our returning players to cmciw get back into the swing preview of things,” associate head coach Ramsey Smith said. “We start off at a pretty high level, though, and we’ll get to see where we are right away.”

The fall season, in which players take on opponents from other schools with only their own ranking at stake, places a different set of demands on the competitors. Instead of simply playing two matches, one doubles and one singles, in one day like in the dual match, spring format, players compete in several matches over a period ranging from two to five days.

championships.

CHI

IICLE FILE PI

Duke will face the Wildcats for the first time since 2003 when it travels to Evanston, 111. Saturday.

SEE M. TENNIS ON PAGE 10

Wildcats look for 1 st 3-win start in 45 years by

Stephen Allan THE CHRONICLE

A year ago at this time, despite being just two games into the season, Northwestern may have been at one of the lowest points in program history.

ALYSSA KAHN/THE CHRONICLE

Senior David Gouletand Duke hope to use the fall season to prepare for a successful spring.

In June 2006, Randy Walker, who had led the Wildcats for seven years, died suddenly of a heart attack. Walker was one the most successful coaches in Wildcat history, leading the team to a share of the Big Ten title in his second season and becoming the only coach in the school’s history to win four or more Big Ten games in three straight years.

About a week later, Pat Fitzgerald was named head coach of theWildcats. Atjust 31, he was—and still is—the youngest Division I-A head coach in the country. But after starting just 2-7 in 2006, Fitzgerald has gone 4-1 since, including victories in his first two games this year.

The most recent triumph, a 36-31 nail-biter over Nevada, featured a gamewinning drive of 80 yards with just 72 seconds left. It was a wild day for the Wildcats, as they gave up 141 yards rushing to Wolfpack running back Luke Lippincott—who had minus-five rushing yards on four carries the week before—and allowed a 48-yard Hail-Mary touchdown

In Danowski’s four years in Durham, die Blue Devils have won two ACC ddes and have made two appearances in the NCAA championship game, with Duke finishing as the runner-up to Johns Hopkins both times. Danowski, one of four seniors to exercise their options for an extra year of eligibility, and Greer were expected to lead a veteran-laden squad with NCAA fide aspiradons in 2008.

“We expect Matt to have a complete recovery,” head coach John Danowski said.

“Obviously, he’ll be out ofaction forawhile.

The healing process begins now, and we have all the confidence in the world that everything will work out for him. You hate for any student-athlete to have an injury of any kind, but we’ll march forward in hopes that he’ll be ready to go in the spring.”

—from staffreports

pass as the first halfended Still, the fact thatNorthwestern found away to win demonstrates tremendous growth for the team, Fitzgerald said.

“It’s great to be here 2-0 and to win a football game the way we did on Saturday,” he said. “I’m very excited about the direction we’re headed here into a very important week for us to improve on what we’re doing and get one week better in our preparation. I thought last week we learned a valuable lesson as a football team to go into a game week with the sense of urgency to play a new

opponent.”

Their 2-0 start heading into a matchup with Duke at home is even more significant because the Wildcats have not opened a season with three consecutive wins since 1962.

Unfortunately for Fitzgerald, he may have to go up against the Blue Devils without star running back Tyrell Sutton, who is questionable for Saturday’s game with an ankle injury.

Losing Sutton would be a huge blow for the Wildcats. Although a mere 5foot-9 and 190 pounds, Sutton has rushed for at least 1,000 yards and 12 SEE

ON PAGE

12

PETE

KIEHART/THE

CHRONICLE

Fifth-year senior Matt Danowski likely will sit out four monthsafter surgery to correct an ankle injury.

THE CHRONICLE

10 I THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13,2007

DURHAM BULLS

Durham evens series at 1 game by

Byrnes THE CHRONICLE

Patrick

The Durham Bulls took Game 2 of the Governor’s Cup Thursday night at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, beating the Richmond Braves 5-1 to square the best-of-five series at one game apiece.

After Tuesday night’s gut-wrenching loss to the Braves in Game 1, Durham manager Charlie Montoyo said 2Tyear-old RICHMOND Longoria Evan 5 woulddo something DURHAM special before the series was over. The third overall pick in the 2006 draft did not wait around very long to prove his manager correct.

In the bottom of the first inning, Longoria put the Bulls ahead 1-0 with an opposite-field two-out single. The Braves got the run back in the third on a home run by Gregor Blanco, but in the sixth, Longoria laced an RBI double to the left-field corner to put Durham ahead for good.

As Longoria spurred rallies for the Bulls’ offense, fellow youngster Jeff Niemann kept up his end of the bargain on the mound. The fourth overall pick in the 2004 draft dominated the Braves over eight innings, striking out nine and allowing just one run on six hits.

The final three games of the series will be held in Richmond starting tonight.

M.TENNIS

from page 9

The matches are not held simultaneously, and several courts are used at each site, making it difficult for both coaches and teammates to be present for all matches.

“We still support one another and act like a team, but individual play is a little bit of a ‘me-against-the-world’ mentality,” sophomore Aaron Carpenter said.

Perhaps the most important function of the individual season is to get the team’s freshmen accustomed to playing at the collegiate level. While some tournaments, like the ITA All-American Tournament in early October, require players to qualify based on the previous season’s results, others, like this weekend’s UVa Fall Invitational, allow teams to bring as many players as they want. Duke will have eight players involved in singles action this weekend.

“I remember when I was a freshman last year, the first couple of individual tournaments were a really good experience in getting used to the competition,” Carpenter said. ‘You also really get the chance to bond with your teammates.”

Despite the fact that the Blue Devils have had four months to rest since their last team match, the players are not in perfect shape physically. Senior David Goulet is still recovering from a severe ankle sprain suffered in May, and freshman Jared Pinsky will be out for a couple of weeks with a back injury. Sophomore Dylan Araould also had a lingering foot injury that limited his summer play, but he appears to have recovered.

This weekend in Charlottesville, Duke will have the opportunity to play against some of the very best players in the country.

The UVa Fall Invitational will consist of nine different drawsof 16players each, with three

Join the Board of Directors of

a million-dollar-a- ear

organizat The Chronicle’s pub

Duke Student Publi Company Inc. (DSP 1 is looking for a grad student to join its Board of Directors.

Candidates should be available for a two-year term.

Members gain real-world experience as they help guide the campus news media into the future.

DSPC, a North Carolina nonprofit corporation, is neither governed nor funded by Duke University.

Please send a resume and a cover letter to Ambika Doran, chair of the nominating committee, at akdoran@gmail.com

Application Deadline: September 20

LEAH

BUESO/THE CHRONICLE

Sophomore Dylan Arnould is one of several Blue Devils looking to come back from injuries this season. of the draws including only nationally ranked players. The players are naturally motivatedfor the start of the season, but they are also looking to improve on a poor result at this event last season. All eight Blue Devils were knocked out of their main-draw brackets in 2006.

“We want to make a statement about how good we are going to be this year,” Arnould said. “The individual season is kind of a test run for the spring, but we are hoping to get as many wins as possible under our belt right away.”

THE CHRONICLE

CLASSIFIEDS RESEARCH STUDIES

ANNOUNCEMENTS ATTENTION SENIORS!! Information meeting for Seniors interested in applying to Business School.

Wednesday, September 19, 129 Social Psychology, 5:30 pm. Please

PAID PARTICIPANTS NEEDED! Duke Psychology Lab needs research participants. Studies pay $lO/hour and typically last 1-2 hours. Tasks may include studying words, sentences, or pictures, and taking tests. For information about specific studies, contact dukestudy@hotmail.com. Must be at least 18, a Duke undergraduate, and US citizen.

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Need to be organized and hard working. Good penmanship and/ or calligraphy skills essential. Must have good people skills. Weekday work with an opportunity to work some university events. This is not just another office job! Contact: call 684-3710 or e-mail audrey.reynolds@duke.edu

BARTENDER NEEDED Bartender Creative, can draw customers, percentage of profit for new business, Wed - Sat, 10 1:30 or 2 am. Waiter/ Buser needed. Apply Wed & Thurs after 3. 919-682-5225 -

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STUDY STUDENT WANTED The Budgets, Planning and Institutional Research Department of the Provost Office is looking for a P/T Work Study Office Asst. Must be dependable, flexible, have some computer knowledge.

Involves phone coverage, filing, deliveries on campus, copying and stocking of supplies. Great office environment. Pay $7.50/ hr. Fr or So pref. Email resume to: sarah. revels@duke.edu. 919-684-3501

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Pleasant working environment near Duke. Excellent computer skills mandatory, sense of humor helpful. $l2/hour. Email resume and cover letter to teton@earthlink.net.

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CHILD CARE PART TIME Looking for a responsible nonsmoking Duke student for flexible part time child care for my three children ages 6,3 and 1. Ideally one 3-4 hour time period per week for 12 children, then one evening every other week with all three, email at jen.cobb@yahoo.com Needs own

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BABYSITTER NEEDED Seeking nursing student or graduate student to watch our 3.5 yo and 7 month old 1 or 2 times per week.

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THE CHRONICLE

12 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13,2007

FOOTBALL

WOMEN'S TENNIS

page 9

touchdowns in each of his previous two seasons and was a preseason candidate for the Maxwell College Player of the Year Award.

“I think he’s feeling better than he did Saturday,” Fitzgerald said. “We’ll work through rehab and take it one day at a time and get ready for a game-time decision.”

Even if Sutton cannot go, the Wildcats still have a quality backup in senior Brandon Roberson, who has rushed for 172 yards and a touchdown off 24 carries this season. Quarterback CJ. Bacher has also performed well, running out of the spread offense for 81 yards and one touchdown offl4 rushes.

Last week against Nevada, Bacher threw for 227 yards with three touchdowns, but his completion percentage was relatively low. The junior went 20-of-45 on the afternoon.

While there is always room for improvement, so far the offense has matured well and made the necessary plays to win, Fitzgerald said.

“Our discipline’s been good,” he said.

“I’d like to see us have a little more disciplined execution along with our disciplined football. Those two combined will be a great asset to us as we move forward in our football season.”

And Saturday, with a win, the Wildcats have a chance to move forward in away they have been unable to for 45 years.

Players earn preseason

ITA honors

CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced its 2007 preseason rankings Tuesday, and several Blue Devils were named among college’s best.

In singles, junior Melissa Mang is listed as the No. 72 player in the country while teammate Elizabeth Plotkin currently sits in the 102nd spot.

Mang has earned All-ACC honors in both of her first two seasons and was the first Blue Devil since 2002 to be named as the conference’s Freshman of theYear. The junior went 11-9 in her sophomore campaign and paired with Daniela Bercek to go 15-6 in doubles play, finishing the season as the No. 15 duo in the nation.

Plotkin, a sophomore, ended last season with a 11-9 record in dual matches.

In the doubles rankings, the tandem of Mang and senior Tory Zawacki sits in 22nd, and the combination of Plotkin and freshman Ellah Nze are No. 35.

Nze is a member of Duke’s freshman class, which was ranked second in the country by tennisrecruiting.net.

The Blue Devils will have to stop Northwestern's running game Saturday in order to pull out a victory.

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THE CHRONICLE

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13,2007 | 13

THE Daily Crossword

Stick It! Seth Sheldon Just In

but why?

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The Chronicle What we learned at beer school: The pilgrims landed at plymouth 'cause they needed beer., sean, nick david, shreya, jia good news girls, beers are nutritious: "Alcohol is just yeast poop": anne lisa, ryan "lager" means "to store" in German: meredith, beaton, joe beer is "yummy": Beer..."it was just this accident from God":... maya, kheart, irem lb blacks out after two beers: Ibdouglas all pilsners are lagers, but not ail lagers are pilsners: amia Roily Miller prefers skunked busch lights: Roily

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THE CHRONICLE

14 I THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13,2007

Provost's report beg ins to pick up CCl's slack the release of the regarding student social life, Interim Report on housing and dining, Most importantly, though, the Undergraduate at Duke the University, suggestions and conduExperience Provost Peter Lange provided sions are realistic, making the repOlt m re the Duke oilitnrial CullOilal accessible and community relevant to stuwith a muchdents—a major shortcoming of needed and highly anticipated to of the issues the earlier CO report. some response Furthermore, the interim reraised in last February’s controversial and inadequate Report port attempts to tackle issues that of the Campus CultureInitiative the CO foiled to truly address, most notably that of alcohol’s SteeringCommittee.

Although still not a final role in campus sociallife.

All of these steps are logiproduct, thereport approached cal—the original report largely a numberof key issues in a realistic and logical —albeit often foiled to gamer widespread student response and feedback. circuitous and long-winded This report picks up the slack left manner. In the next three edits, this board will evaluate the by the CO Steering Committee, report’s preliminary findings andfor thatLange and his team should certainly be praised. on social life, housing and dinConcerning University ing at Duke.

The Lange report is fairly social life, the conclusions perceptive on student issues of the Lange report moved

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ontherecord '

“I think the whole key to [Duke’s] high APR rate is we do a great job on our front end. Our coaches are very careful and selective about who they recruit. If they ’re not a goodfit as a student, they don’t recruit them. ”

Associate Director of Athletics Chris Kennedy on ||||| Duke’s placement in a three-year-old NCAA system of academic evaluation for athletes. See story page 4.

The Chronicle welcomes submissions in the form of letters editor or guest columns. Submissions must include the author’s name, signature, department or class, and for purposes of identification, phone number and local address.

Letters should not exceed 325 words; contact the editorial department forinformation regarding guest columns.

The Chronicle will not publish anonymous or form letters or letters that are promotional in nature. The Chronicle reserves the right to edit letters and guest columns for length, clarity and style and the right to withhold letters based on the discretion of the editorial page editor.

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Direct submissions to Editorial Page Department The Chronicle Box 90858, Durham, NC 27708 Phone: (919) 684-2663 Fax; (919) 684-4696 E-mail: letters@chronicle.duke.edu

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mentoring programs

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The Chronicle is publishedby theDuke Student Publishing Company, Inc., a non-profit corporation independent ofDuke University.The opinions expressed in this newspaper are not necessarily those of Duke University, its students, faculty, staff, administration or trustees. Unsigned editorials represent the majority view of the editorial board. Columns, letters and cartoons represent the views of the authors.

Toreach the Editorial Office at 301 Flowers Building, call 684-2663 or fax 684-4696.T0 reach the Business Office at 103 West Union Building, call 684-3811.T0 reach the Advertising Office at 101 West Union Building call 684-3811 or fax 684-8295. Visit The ChronicleOnline at http://www.dukechronicle.com.

O 2007 The Chronicle, Box 90858, Durham, N.C. 27708. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior, written permission of the Business Office. Each individual is entitled to one free copy.

Lasdy, the idea of creating

a centralized social space on West Campus is a paramount priority for the University.

Current options in both McClendon Tower and the Bryan Center are too compartmentalized and lack the openness of spaces such as von der Heyden Pavilion. With this in mind, the University should make West Union, arguably the most central building on campus, a space to fill such needs.

Overall, the report succeeds in addressing a number of important issues. That’s not to say that the report was without some problems, which this board will address in the upcoming days.

Most noticeable, however, was the fact that the report failed to adequately address how to properly “engage di-

versity” at Duke, a critical focus of last year’s CCI report.

Such an initiative may be worthwhile but is inherently idealistic and intangible.

The focus on Duke in the aftermath of the lacrosse incident left many questioning diversity at the University and the best way to “fix it.”

In the end, we recognize that such an issue is by no means an easy problem to solve. In reality it’s a problem that may never have top-down solution. But at the same time, it still needs a hard look, and concrete recommendations should be made in the final report to President Brodhead in January.

This is thefirst in a three-part series responding to the Office of the Provost’s Interim Report on the Undergraduate Experience at Duke University.

The changing environment Three years ago today I was dripping wet and happily exhausted, having just hiked from 10,000

feet in the Peruvian Andes down into the Amazon lowlands A colleague and I were collecting soil samples to study the diversity of tropical microbes. A Wake University Forest friend was using the different elevations to understand how climate change might global health at duke: part 111 in a series affect rainforest diversity. A writer for Smithsonian Magazine interested in deforestation was trying to keep his camera and notebooks dry.

As we hiked through the jungle, I was struck by the changes we saw, including clear-cutting, forest fragmentation and soil erosion, and by the farreaching impacts those changes might have.

From diversity to deforestation, the environment and human health are inseparable. The environment gives us food, shelterand an abundant source of medicines. The changing environment is what I’d like to focus on here—howissues such as climate change, deforestation and the quest for clean water affect human health today. Tackle these problems and we’ll save lives; ignore them, and health crises are possible.

The World Health Organization recently estimated that climate change is already claiming 150,000lives a year through the spread of diseases, heat waves and other factors. Warming temperatures allow the mosquitoes that spread malaria and dengue fever to expand their ranges. Cases of food poisoning from salmonella and other pathogens increase with higher temperatures.

In 2003 an unprecedented heat wave in Europe killed more than 30,000 people. The city where I was born, London, hit 100 degrees for the first time since climate records were first taken there in 1870.

(It crossed the 100-degree barrier again in 2006.)

While no single heat wave can be blamed on global warming alone, long-term datasets show that the length and severity of heat waves have increased in recent decades. Severe weather, both heat waves and storms, is our likely future.

Human changes to habitats can increase outbreaks of new diseases. Population growth in the tropics is putting increased pressure on rainforests and other tropical environments. A new logging road, for instance, can open a large area to bushmeat hunting; the very first HIV/AIDS infection may have occurred when someone killed and butchered an infected

rob jackson

LETTERS POLICY to the

away from the unrealistic alcohol recommendations put forth in the original CCI. Alcohol is not going away anytime soon; it’s a part of American college culture, and the new report recognizes this outright. Instead of trying to remove the ingrained facet of campus social life, the new report seeks to find thebest way to deal with alcohol in a constructive and consistent manner.

Peer mentoring was anotherwell-addressed portion of the report. Besides providing a social atmosphere, selective living groups provide students of all years with a great support network and allow for “inter-generation” interaction for which this interim report astutely called.

In its attempt to better social life, Duke must look to extend such networking and

chimpanzee for meat in Cameroon Closer to home, forest fragmentation across our state is making Lyme and other tick-borne diseases

more common. The white-footed mouse and the white-tailed deer, two important tick hosts, both prefer the forest edges that are now common in our area. Fewer predators and a mosaic offorested and cleared plots mean higher densities of hosts and ticks. Several people I know who work in the Duke Forest have recently had tick-home diseases.

In my case, it was only a few months ago.

Perhaps no resource is so clearly linked to human health and well being as access to clean water.

More than a billion people today lack safe drinking water, and from five to 10 million people die from poor sanitation each year.

In eastern India and Bangladesh, surface waters are often contaminated with pathogens that cause cholera and other diseases. A program to dig groundwater wells in the 1970 gave millions of people access to clean drinking water for the first time. Unfortunately, many of these wells turned out to have high concentrations of the poison arsenic, linked to cancer and other diseases. The government of Bangladesh is now identifying which wells are contaminated and attempting to provide treated surface water as an alternative.

What can we at Duke do about such issues? We have world-class scientists in our medical school who are already improving human lives, seeking vaccines for AIDS and other diseases that can’t yet be cured.

Duke also has world-class leaders in ecology and the environment. Avner Vengosh in the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences is an expert on arsenic in ground water. John Albertson, a hydrologist at the Pratt School of Engineering, is leading a team funded by Duke’s Center on Global Change to predict where malaria will appear in a warmer world. Katia Koelle, a new ecologist in the biology department, studies how climate affects infectious disease outbreaks and how pathogens like cholera and influenza evolve in their environment.

Duke’s commitment to becoming a leader in global health is evident in the launch of the Duke Global Health Institute last year. Duke’s medical school and environment programs are some of the best in the world. If we want to make Duke the place to go for improving human health, the marriage of medicine and the environment is an excellent place to start.

s

Rob Jackson, professor of biology and professor of global environmental change at theNicholas School of theEnvironment and Earth Sciences, directs Duke’s Center on Global Change. He is the author of a tradebook about the environment, “The Earth Remains Forever, and a children’s book titled “Animal Mischief. ”

”

THE CHRONICLE

Tickle Two

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13,2007 | 15

commentaries

me

L-Mo

Saturdays ago, I walked into the Blue Zone at 9:45

a.m. expecting to be on the early side for my favorite Duke tradition.

Actually that’s a lie. I started out crutching, due to an unfortunate shredding of my ACL, and then convinced a Duke cop in a golf cart to give me a ride the rest of the way to the lot.

Frankly, I didn’t know what to expect. I had heard Tailgate had dan belzer come back with a vengeance last w.w.j.d year after the purported “end” to the tradition in the wake of the lacrosse scandal, but I guess I had to see it alive for myself before I could believe It. Maybe study abroad and the passage of time had clouded my memory of this holy event that is undoubtedly the pinnacle offun at Duke University, but I thought this year’s first Tailgate was absolutely on par. What I encountered early that morning was an enormous mass of students reveling in traditional Tailgate fashion: in costume, dancing and fully inebriated.

The day was a complete success. I drank for joy before the game, and if my hazy memory serves me correct even encountered a full-size fire truck, complete with its very own fireman who by the way grills a delicious sirloin burger. Then I ventured into the stadium just in time to catch esteemed Coach Ted Roofs ingenious decision to insert our slower, backup quarterback to run 3 straight impotent QB sweeps. In order to prevent myself from completely losing my buzz—and possibly committing suicide—l left thegame for the Belmont pool, where the fun only continued.

I awoke Sunday morning with only one thought; I hope to God nobody did anything to screw this up because it was amazing. That night, I got on my knees and prayed that I would not open up The Chronicle to read about a full-scale brawl ora student blowing lines in front of a cop or really anything except the headline “Tailgate SUCCESS!” So much for religion.

Monday morning’s Chronicle featured several invigorating and by thatI mean completely useless, frivolous and counterproductive—criticisms ofVice Presidentfor Student Affairs Larry Moneta’s decision to bluff on IDing those suspected of underage drinking.

It truly boggled my mind. The usually fun-hating Moneta decided, for once, to tell a white lie to cover his rear in order to make it publicly appear thathe would not support our desire to have Tailgate. In reality, his empty threats allowed the event to go on without more than a minor hiccup. The only thing the man deserved was a sloppy drunkenkiss on the lips and a big thankyou.

What ensued was an inane and useless debate culminating with a column by Moneta expressing that my beloved Tailgate is now once again in jeopardy. The beast was once again awakened.

In truth, his column raises some valid concerns from theUniversity’s perspective that deserve attention. At the same time, assuaging these concerns whilemaintaining Tailgate as we know it will not take any sort ofdramatic “conversation” or major policy changes.

Perhaps with a few small modifications on both ends we can lower the risk of Tailgate to equal that of your run-of-themill section party. Those are still acceptable, right?

1) Allow cars and allow them early. With cars comes something that was quietly missing this year—food. Food equals safety, and without cars we can’t have grills, without grills there is no food. Cars also help keep the party under control by breaking up the inevitable giant mass of students into smaller more controllable sections.

2) With cars comes the obvious temptation and danger of drunk driving. Therefore, Duke Police should assert its right to breathalyze every car leaving the Blue Zone if need be. There is only one exit, it’s not that complicated. Durham taxis will be more than happy to participate.

3) We need to stop acting like idiots. What does that mean?

Stop throwing full beer cans, you self-centered, ffat-tastic a-holes. It doesn’t make you look any sweeter, its dangerous and, most importandy, you are wasting beer. As I faindy recall, running out ofbeer was an unfortunate issue a few weeks back for some ofyou.

4) Duke needs to continue to “ID.” It’s absolutely ridiculous for us to think that they can openly endorse underage drinking. How they wish to interpret or carry out their age verification and identification process is their business. I’m not certain, but I’ve been here long enough to know Duke has no interest in giving 400 of its newly matriculated freshmen underage citations.

Next time Duke makes an empty threat, shut your mouth and say thank you. It’s their University, and as other columnists have shown before, they can and will do whatever they please.

Meanwhile, I’ll be praying to any deity that is willing to listen that Duke finds it in its heart not to get rid ofmy absolute favorite part of the Duke experience.

—

Dan Belzer is a Trinity senior. His column runs every other Thursday.

lettertotheeditor For taxpayers, lax settlement doesn’t make sense I am a life-long resident of Durham. I am a 25year employee of Duke University. I am a little confused.

The three defendants in the lacrosse case, and their families, would like for me and my fellow taxpayers to give them $3O million or face a lawsuit Oh wait, accept the terms of the “setdement” or face a lawsuit. Why drag me and my fellow taxpayers into this? We were not invited to the party. At least I wasn’t We were offered neither beer nor chips nor salsa. We had no say in the “adult entertainment”for the party. But yet, here we are.

Was there any misconduct at this party? Let’s see, men, beer and adult entertainment. Only they can answer that.

Was there injustice? Yes, there was a miscarriage of justice.A finger was wrongly pointed. A district attorney got a litde overzealous. But this group of young men wanted adult entertainment at their party.

Was the truth brought to light? Yes. It may have taken longer than it should have, but in the end their names were cleared. But again, this group of young men wanted adult entertainment at their party.

The former lacrosse coach may have a case for a lawsuit against his former players for losing his

job. He trusted this group of young men to do the right thing on and off the field and be responsible for their actions. Was he invited to this party? Was he asked about having adult entertainment?But yet, here we are.

Should taxpayers in college towns around the country start paying dues to a “am-not-responsibleif-there-is-misconduct” fund just in case young men want to have a party with adult entertainment?

You were wrongly accused. You were wrongly charged and jailed. You were a victim of the media who turned this affair into a soap opera just because of die name of our University. You were found not guilty. A coach lost his job. A district attorney lost his job, was disbarredand sentenced tojail. And now, I’m going to the credit union for a loan to pay my part of the “setdement.” And yet, here we are.

I am a little confused. Would I be going to the credit union for a loan if those young men had not wanted adult entertainment at their party?

Where would we be then?

Barry Buffaloe Senior Accounting Clerk, Duke Dining Services

Dude, where're my rights (Part II)?

Stark

contradictions between administrators’ statepolicy don’t bode well for the University. Nor for us, for that matter.

In 2003 the “Fundamental Standard,” a policy described by current Director of Judicial Affairs Stephen Bryan as a “catch-all,” was expunged from the Judicial Code. elliot wolf As Bryan explained to The Chronicle last week, Q.E.D “Basically, if someone [’s behavior] is contrary to the Fundamental Standard of honor, integrity and respect for the rights of others, you could be thrown out of the University.” He added, “to me that’s preposterous. You will find that nowhere in the 2007-2008 policy and procedures. We don’t want anything so broad that it’s at the whim of the administration.”

He and I are in total agreement. Our views are apparendy at odds with the current undergraduate judicial code, however, which the Office of Judicial Affairs, incidentally, authored.

Currently, “students may be held accountable for any violation of university policy that may or may not be included in [the bulletin],” whether the violation occurred “on or off-campus,” or for “any conduct adjudged unsatisfactory or detrimental to the university community,” or for “attempting or intending to commit any violation of laws and/or university policies” or for “failure to comply with directions, requests or orders of any university representative or body.”

Adapting Judicial Affairs’ new standard of “probable cause,” all that is required to initiate disciplinary action is information indicating something that someone may have done, tried to do or meant to do may have been against some university policy, written or unwritten, may be in contravention of someone’s request, order or directive or may be otherwise “detrimental to the University community.”

It is this extremely broad language, introduced between 2003 and 2006, that extends the question of undergraduate policies and procedures far beyond the group of students actually facing adjudication (the obliteration of their rights was chronicled last weeK).

Any student could be swept up by a system whose purview, to adopt Bryan’s words, is “so broad that it’s at the whim of the administration.”

This movement towards broad administrative discretion has also subsumed the only other two rights students not facing adjudication might be concerned with: (1) the right to privacy and (2) the right of student involvement in determining the policies that govern us.

Considering (1): The 1999-2000 bulletin stipulates that no information collected “in violation of the University Statements on the Privacy of Students’ Rooms and Apartments will be admissible.” This ensures that ments and written

the University will not benefit, in anyway, from violating students’ privacy rights. Mirroring the rule of law, it also discourages the University from violating its own policy in the course of enforcing it.

That prohibition has since been expunged from both University policy and practice. Effectively, Judicial Affairs reserves the right to use violations of University policy to teach us the importance of upholding University policy.

“However the evidence is obtained is immaterial.

However we learn of a behavior, we respond to the behavior,” said Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta. And lest we not forget, University policy now allows any “university representative” —which includes resident assistants —to request, order or direct students to abdicate their privacy rights.

Considering (2): The 1999-2000 bulletin stipulates that its policies and procedures could be amended “only on the recommendation of a duly appointed judicial review composed of undergraduates, faculty and deans acting under [the Vice President for Student Affairs’] supervision.”

Beginning in the 2001-2002 school year, however, they could “be amended at any time by the Vice President for Student Affairs,” period.

In practice, according to Dean of Students Sue Wasiolek, Bryan proposes changes in consultation with an informal group of Undergraduate Judicial Board members, and “the vice president either accepts those recommendations or not.” The (token) students involved are neither accountable to the student body nor in a position to veto changes to the policy. Judicial Affairs then decides on the final wording and forwards changes to the Office of the University Registrar to be included in the bulletin.

“Whatever Stephen says, goes... if he tells me that students are no longer permitted to breathe heavily, then I’ll print that in the Bulletin,” said Rob Hirtz, coordinating editor of University Bulletins in the Office of the University Registrar.

Not coincidentally, most of our rights were thrown out of the window since the amendment clauses were revised in 2001-2002. Also added since thenwas a prohibition against “throwing or in any other way propelling objects or liquids from windows.”

Next week: Judicial Affairs’ unholy collusion with the Durham Police Department.

An addendum; Bryan’s main complaint following my last column was that the online transcript of our interview was not exactly correct. In an e-mail, he exclaimed, “I also have a recording of our conversation,” and I subsequendy agreed to correct anything upon his request.

Although I had requested and received permission to record our interview, Bryan’s recording was made without my knowledge, with equipment that was not visible in his office. Take that as you will, especially as Nixon’s 70th Duke Law reunion was held this year.

Elliott Thursday.

Wolf is

a

Trinity senior. His column runs every

THE CHRONICLE

16 I THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13,2007

THANK YOU DUKE STUDENTS University The Lobby Shop is a

0

department of Duk

OVER $25,000 in groceries will be given away to YOU. Thursday, September 13: 11 am 2pm & Friday, September 14: 11am 2pm Outside the Lobby Shop, Bryan Center ■

■

Free pizza and fountain drinks will be served.

Fill out a survey card and you will be entered in a drawing for 4 great prizes which will include 2 Microsoft® Xbox 360.. video game systems and 2 Magnavox Portable DVD Players.

Please Note: This event is for Duke students ONLY You must present your DukeCard student ID.