TECHNICIAN
Ambassador talks Venezuelan election Taylor O’Quinn Staff Writer
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Ambassador Patrick Duddy speaks to students and faculty on during the “After Chavez - Oil, Venezuela, and the United States” in the 1911 Building on Monday, April 15. The Ambassador served under American Presidents Bush & Obama.
Capriles, without support from Chávez, won elections against two of Chávez’ former vice presidents in gubernatorial elections. However, on the presidential level, Capriles only knows defeat — last fall he
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Former vice president under Hugo Chávez Nicolás Maduro was elected president of Venezuela Sunday night, but the former U.S. ambassador to Venezuela didn’t hint at any congratulations during a talk on campus Monday. It is no coincidence that former ambassador Patrick Duddy’s talk carried weight and relevance in light of current events, and the diplomat spoke about renewing relations with Venezuela. In 2008, Venezuela broke off official diplomatic relations with the U.S. Duddy spoke Monday about problems surrounding the election held Sunday in Venezuela. Maduro considered himself Chávez’s “hand-picked” successor, and he ran against Henrique Capriles Radonski of the opposition party. According to the National Electoral Council in Venezuela, Maduro is the president-elect with 50.66 percent of the vote, while Capriles received 49.07 percent. Capriles demanded a recount Monday because Chavistas, followers of Chávez’s socialist ideology, control the election board in Venezuela, and election results were within a 1 percent margin. The opposition is now demanding a recount. “Given Capriles’ track record, the results of the election are questionable,” Duddy said. “However, this doesn’t mean that the results are in fact wrong.”
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lost the election to Chávez by 10.8 percent. Maduro’s approval ratings were up by 10 to 14 percent in the polls until last week, but Capriles revamped his campaign, Duddy said.
“Maduro had a rather unusual campaign,” Duddy said. “He claimed that he was the true son of Chávez.” Maduro said the late Chávez visited him in the form of a small bird and that he was somehow related to the president. Duddy said these eccentric statements had the opposite effect on his campaign than he had intended. Duddy said he met with Chávez and Maduro during his tenure as ambassador and that Maduro worked his way up the political chain from his occupation as a bus driver. “Maduro didn’t just arrive from the bus station,” Duddy said. “He worked his way up the legislature.” Though Chávez defeated Capriles last October, it became clear after the announcement of Chávez’s death that Capriles would run again, according to Duddy. Joscelin Diaz, a Ph.D. candidate in biological and agricultural engineering, is a student from Venezuela who said she doesn’t support the Chavista agenda. She said she was relieved when she found out about Chávez’s death. “I’m really hoping that everything will change and get better now,” Diaz said. Ignacio Xavier Domínguez La Salvia, a Ph.D. candidate in computer science, said life in Venezuela is hard on everyone regardless of socio-economic status and that he thinks the Chavista socialist agenda is flawed.
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Students in Boston survive bombing Jeniece Jamison Sports Editor
At least three people died Monday as two explosions rocked downtown Boston at the 117th running of the Boston Marathon. An unnamed White House official told the Associated Press Monday night the attack is being treated as an act of terrorism. At 2:50 p.m., about 4 hours after the race began, two bombs went off near the finish line. As of press time, the blasts had killed three and injured 144, 17 critically, according to the AP. One of the confirmed dead was an 8-year-old boy. The images of the explosions, including a runner who lost both of his legs as a result of the blasts, dominated the airwaves throughout the afternoon and evening. According to CNN, at least 10 people lost their limbs in the incident. Three N.C. State students were among the nearly 27,000 runners who participated in the marathon.
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Cherokee Chief awarded William C. Friday Award for leadership Ravi Chittilla Deputy News WRiter
COURTESY OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is escorted by Moon Seoung-hyun and accompanied by United States Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Sung Kim upon his arrival in Seoul, South Korea, on April 12.
Tensions in the Korean Peninsula: ‘Business as usual’ South Korean students and alumni take no alarm to North Korean threats.
Mark Herring Editor-in-Chief
After three weeks of threats directed toward South Korea and the United States, North Korea is not backing down from its bellicose rhetoric. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry finished his Asian tour to Seoul and Tokyo to meet with leaders from South Korea, Japan and China to negotiate with North Korea, call-
ing leaders from Pyongyang to rekindle talks about nuclear disarming that foundered four years ago. As the international community has reacted to North Korea’s multiple threats calling for nuclear attacks against the U.S. and South Korea, many South Koreans and American expatriates call the threats “business as usual.” “To be honest, it’s not that big of a deal,” Leslie Alvarez, a 2012
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The Park Scholars’ class of 2013 presented Michell Hicks, principal chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, with the William C. Friday Award Monday afternoon in Hunt Library. The William C. Friday award was established in 2000 and named for the former president of the University of North Carolina system. It is an annual honor presented by the senior class of Park Scholars on behalf of the entire Park Scholarships program. The award honors Bill Friday’s legacy by recognizing people who exhibit dedication and excellence in leadership, scholarship, character and service. Past recipients of the award include Jim and Ann Goodnight; General Hugh H. Shelton, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Larry Monteith, chancellor emeritus of N.C. State; James A. Joseph, former U.S. Ambassador to South Africa; as well as the namesake of the award, Friday himself. Hicks was the first recipient to be chosen since Friday’s death, as the former system president passed away October 2012. Virginia Ross Taylor, who served as executive assistant to Friday for eight years, was also in attendance. Since Friday’s passing, Taylor has served as community and university relations coordinator at the William and Ida Friday Center for Continu-
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Michell Hicks, Principal Chief of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation answers questions after being presented as the 2013 William C. Friday award recipient in Hunt Library on Monday. The Friday Award is selected in part by the graduating class of Park Scholar.
ing Education at UNC-Chapel Hill. Taylor described Hicks as a “savvy and astute political mind” who holds “a deep dedication to his Cherokee tribe.” Prior to being elected chief 10 years ago, Hicks worked as certified public accountant in New York City, where he established a successful career.
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Hicks was drawn back to his Cherokee roots and was excited to use the skills he learned in the financial sector to help his own people. With a staff of 4,600 people, the Eastern Band has one of the largest payrolls in North Carolina,
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