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Moviemakiing Marathon sweeps Durham thiis weekend, RECESS
Trial version of online student wtTtTW calendar to launch in Fall, PAGE 3
Blue Devils pummel NCCU 10-2 on the road, PAGE 7
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DSG elect! on postposed by software snafu Officials hope system will bereadybyFriday by
David Graham THE CHRONICLE
the most power to change that.” Giordano argued that as executive vice president and vice president for community interaction last year, he has not only spent the most time and energy working within DSG but also forged important relationships with administrators, leaders of student groups and students in general. “Because I’ve had the experience to know what’s worked and what hasn’t
Duke Student Government will postpone its presidential election until Friday, Attorney General Paul Zarian, a sophomore, announced early this morning. In an e-mail to' candidates and election commissioners at 12:42 a.m., Zarian wrote that glitches in software for the voting Web site had forced the move. The software, designed by CollegiateLink Corporation, typically forces users to create a profile on their site before using it, said DSG President Paul Slattery, a senior. He said a company employee had been convinced to override the option by Chris Roby, director of the Office of Student Activities and Facilities, after concerns that it would confuse voters. But the change was reversed when a ColJegiateLink employee realized it constituted a violation in company policy. “I immediately contacted the guy at the company but he was unable to get a hold of the IT guy who made the changes.... So basically, people weren’t going to be able to vote tomorrow without having to go through a fairly lengthy/confusing process to ‘create an account’ first. I thought that this would have horrible implications for voter turnout and would be unacceptable for a fair DSG election,” Zarian wrote. Earlier Wednesday night, Zarian decided to move the election window from a 7 a.m.-to-9 p.m. slot to a 10 a.m.-to-lO p.m.
SEE DEBATE ON PAGE 3
SEE ELECTION DELAY ON PAGE 5
ZACHARY TRACER/THE CHRONICLE
Candidate AndrewTutt speaks at a DSG presidential debate in the Great Hall Wednesday as candidatesKevin Troy (center) and Jordan Giordano (right) look on.
Presidential candidates talk experience, transparency at debate in Great Hall by
Marisa Siegel THE CHRONICLE
The Great Hall was a little louder and a little tenser last night when three candidates for Duke Student Government president faced off in a pre-election debate. DSG Executive Vice President Jordan Giordano, DSG Chief of Staff Kevin Troy and DSG webmaster Andrew Tutt, all juniors, spoke to a crowd of about 20 students, many affiliated with the campaigns, along with some who stumbled upon the event while eating dinner. A fourth candidate, junior Lawrence
Chen, skipped the event, put on by The Chronicle and DSC. The debate began with opening remarks by each candidate, followed by six questions posed by moderator David Graham, a junior and editor of The Chronicle, and closing statements from candidates. All three candidates’ platforms stressed the importance of changing DSG’s culture to make it more effective and better integrate the input of senators and students. “DSG is only as irrelevant as the people within it,” Tutt said. “The students in DSG are the reason that DSG hasn’t been reach-
ing out to students and the fact of the matter is that the DSG president is the student with
Library laptop thefts on the rise Probation officer never met with murder suspect by
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION
BY MAYA ROBINSON/THE CHRONICLE
A rumor hascirculated that a man with a FedEx box has been taking laptops in libraries, although DUPD officials said there is no evidence.
Troy Shelton THE CHRONICLE
Chance: Pay $1,200 to replace your stolen computer. No, it’s not the latest version of Monopoly, but just one attempt by Duke libraries staff to prevent laptop thefts. Many students’ laptops have disappeared from the campus’ libraries recently, including Perkins, Rostock and Lilly. Library administrators have tried to increase awareness of thefts, but efforts have not been a good substitute for student responsibility, they said. Karen Jean Hunt, director of the John Hope Franklin Collection, said she encountered a laptop thief in the library March 17. She said after leaving a meeting, she came upon an older, tall, black male acting suspiciously on the second floor of Perkins Library near the Breedlove Room. Ultimately, the man left the library and Hunt pursued him,realizing he was carrying a black laptop bag, she said. She approached the guard near the West Campus bus stop
from Staff Reports Chalita Thomas, the probation officer in charge of Laurence Lovette, never met the 17year-old now charged with the murder of two students, The (Raleigh) News & Observer reported Wednesday.
According to probation records,
Laurence Lovette
Thomas went by Lovette’s mother’s Durham residence Feb. 28, but Lovette was not there. Thomas entered additional records detailing missed meetings and phone calls into computer records
SEE LAPTOP ON PAGE 4
SEE LOVETTE ON PAGE 4