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Eight semifinalists nominated for post on Board of Trustees, PAGE 3
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200 students shut out of DukeClemson basketball game,PAGE 3
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No. 4 Duke uses a 2nd-half run to blow out Clemson,93-80,PAGE 11
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CRIME WAVE SWEEPS DURHAM
Spate
ofrobberies
areas
around campus by
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Grad student killed in
off-campus apartment
Wenjia Zhang THE CHRONICLE
A string of events—including the death of a graduate student by gunshot, a nearrobbery of a recent graduate and two armed robberies—has left students questioning the strength of existing off-campus security measures this weekend. A graduate student and a Duke employee reported separate armed robberies near the Poplar Manor Apartments on Campus Walk Drive less than one mile from West Campus around 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Sunday night, respectively. The graduate student said he gave the gunman his wallet, cell phone and iPod, and the Duke employee said the criminal robbed him ofhis wallet as he walked homewith his wife. Both victims described the criminal as a five-feet-eight-inches tall black male wearing a black coat withbrownfur trim, black pants and white sneakers. The man was also described as wearing a black or black-and-whitebandana. Similar suspects havebeen linked to a series of robberies—more than 30 since Jan. I—targeting the Hispanic community, according to a Durham Police Department press release. SEE ROBBERIES ON PAGE 7
by
Chelsea Allison THE CHRONICLE
A Duke graduate student was found shot to death at 11:30 p,m. Friday inside his home at The Anderson Apartments, just 1.6 miles from West Campus. AbhijitMahato, 29, was a second-year Ph.D. candidate in the Pratt School of Engineering studying computational contact mechanics. The Durham Police Department is treating the crime as a homicide, which authorities said appeared to be motivated by robbery. It was the city’s second murder of the year, with 2008’s first
killing occurring just hours earlier on Burke Street, 1.4 miles south of campus. “It’s very difficult—we all just loved Abhijit,” said Tod Laursen, senior associate ,
CHASE
OLIVIERI/THE CHRONICLE
ApartmentC-2atlheAnderson Apartments was thesiteofan alleged homiddeof a Duke graduate studentFriday night
Man blows up 9th St. house in suicide attempt BY SHREYA RAO THE CHRONICLE
Ben Adams woke up to a bang Sunday morning. The Fall 2007 Trinity graduate said he was half-awake when he stumbled outside his shakinghouse around 9 a.m. to see a one-story home engulfed in 15- to 20-foot flames just three houses away from his Ninth Streethome. “One guy had been driving and he flew over to the fire department and was
banging on the front door,” he said. “Another girl was calling 911.1 ran inside and grabbed a coat [but by then] a few other houses had caught on fire.” The home was left in pieces after what fire department officials are calling an attempted suicide. Anthony Khamala, who officials from the fire department said started the fire, was in critical condition Sunday
dean for education in Pratt and Mahato’s adviser. “It’s very unnerving in any circumstance that’s so senseless... particularly when someone is so well-liked and friendly and interesting and accommodating.” Two ofMahato’s friends, who discovered the body, had been worried Friday because Mahato had not been responding to phone calls, according to The Times ofIndia. The University community received a Formal Timely Warning, as federally mandatedby the 1990Clery Act, about the crime Saturday. The warning was sent through the new Duke Alert system some five hours after the shooting had occurred. “It may seem that there was a long period
SEE EXPLOSION ON PAGE 7
SEE HOMICIDE ON PAGE 8
Duke retires Harding’s jersey Edelmaii speech Former player of the year joins caps MLK events Alana Beard in Cameron rafters Eugene Wang THE CHRONICLE
by
by
Lauren Kobylarz THE CHRONICLE
Former point guard Lindsey Harding (left) had herjersey retired in a
ceremony during halftime of the women's basketball gameSunday.
Lindsey Harding walked onto the hardwood at Cameron Indoor Stadium Sunday, not in hightops, but in heels. Less than a year ago, the 5-foot-8 guard’s sneakers were squeaking across Coach K court as the leader of a high-profile Duke team. On Sunday, Harding watched Duke’s game against N.C. State from the sidelines as both an alum and a guest ofhonor. Duke officiallyretired Harding’s No. lOjersey in a halftime ceremony. The recognition made Harding, the winningest point guard in program history, just the second female Blue Devil to see herjersey hang in Cameron’s rafters. SEE HARDING ON PAGE 16
The influence of youth could be felt across campus this weekend as the University hosted events commemorating the life ofMartin Luther King Jr. The event series, tided“The Power ofYouth,” was headlined by a speech given by Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children’s Defense Fund, at the Chapel Sunday and a performance by the African Children’s Choir in Page Auditorium Monday. [The events] really engaged multiple segments of our community,” said Benjamin Reese, co-chair of the MLK Commemoration Committee and vice president for insitutional equity. “Focusing on youth is critically important in “
SEE MLK ON PAGE 4