Summer Issue 2012

RI AL celebrating the Duke & UNC-CH connection

Political Leanings page 8

communities page 15

VOLUME 7 ISSUE 4 / SUMMER 2012

letter from the editor SUMMER 2012

LIVING FOR THE PRESENT...KIND OF.

College is an awkward yet wonderful transition period between childhood and adulthood. Although these four years seem carefree, many people spend a lot of time worrying about the future: Will I get a good job? Will this look good on my resume? Will I be financially stable enough to support a future family?

Society — and often our own family — instills in us the desire for an “ultimate plan.” During college, we are supposed to get good grades and good internships allie barnes so that we can get a high-paying job. After establishing is a junior at The University of this introduction to a successful career, we are then North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

She can be reached via email supposed to get married and start a family. And to at BARNESAC@LIVE.UNC.EDU accomplish this, many people sacrifice enjoying the present in order to prepare for future success.

This “big picture,” while attractive, isn’t standardized, and is not for everyone.

Because the future is so intangible and abstract, how can we actually prepare for it? Of course we try to take steps that will lead us toward what we hope to accomplish, but hope and reality are two completely different things. Living doesn’t start at some predetermined time; it is already happening and we are in the middle of it. And as I continue to live, I know that what I want most in life is happiness. I’m going to do everything I can to be happy now, and not make myself miserable for what I think will make me happy in the future.

That is not to undermine the importance of long-term goals. Goals that require extended commitment and times of fleeting discomfort, such as college graduation or weight loss, are invaluable. Those pesky “character building experiences” are good for the person you are now, and thus are important to endure, even if it takes a long time to do so.

However, joy is irreplaceable. I would much prefer to take my life one step at a time, and be generally happy during each step. I don’t know what my future holds, and I don’t know how long I’m going to live. What I do know is that I want to enjoy life. So, as I become a senior and have many unanswered questions before me, I’m not going to worry. Speculation won’t change anything — I don’t know how I am going to change between now and the undetermined future. But I’m going to make sure that the time I spend developing is as enjoyable as possible.

Cheers,

content

editor-in-chief

duke managing editor unc managing editor photography editor art director editorial director

allie barnes kathie sun carson blackwelder julia wall shannon coffey trent tsun-kang chiang

unc contributing writers

kasey el-chayeb caroline land caroline leland miranda murray stefanie schwemlein

duke contributing writers

alex bloedel akshatha kommalapati lauren paylor paula rambarat emily mcginty

columnists

sports columnist staff designers

alyssa bailey lilly knoepp becca ward laurel burk shannon coffey ga ming gao moira gill philip hoover tashiana wesley

contributing photographers allie barnes katherine drye rodrigo martinez aleise preslar bloggers cover design cover photo

allie barnes shannon coffey rodrigo martinez

business

public relations director treasurer unc faculty adviser

bhumi dalia kirsten brown paul cuadros

Rival is a joint publication between Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that seeks to reinforce and redefine the historic rivalry. Rival is independently recognized at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is also a member of the Duke University Undergraduate Publication Board.

Funding for Rival Magazine was provided in part by The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Student Congress and the Duke University Publications Board.

?

Allie Barnes Editor-in-Chief

did you know:

Loo Looking for something fun to do during the summer? The Duke Lemur Center, off of Erwin Ro Road, is the world’s largest colony of endangered primates. Tours are available MondaySa Saturday via reservation, and university students receive a discount. For late night activities ties, UNC-CH’s Morehead Planetarium offers evening shows focuses on planets and star constellations. The show also offers updates on the upcoming astronomical events, such as meteor showers and eclipses.

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All content, pictures, graphics and design are the property of Rival Magazine © 2011-2012. All rights reserved.

the mailbag:

Tell us what you think at Rival1112@gmail.com And we’ll tell you what we think at rivalmagazine.wordpress.com

in this issue Student Activism page 8

Students plan to make an impact on big political subjects such as the National Convention and Amendment One.

Constructing Communities page 15

Although physically close, the two schools are structured extremely differently when it comes to on-campus living.

The Robertson Switch page 18

Two Robertson Scholars describe their experiences during the beginning of their first semester at the “other” school.

2012: The Year in Review

8

page 21

Duke and UNC-CH have seen big changes during the 2011-2012 school year. Rival reviews some of the most memorable.

in every issue Pregame

Athlete’s Corner

The Community Empowerment Fund and the Kenan-Biddle Grant, develop bigger and better projects to make lasting impacts on the communities surrounding The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University.

Duke’s Laurel Burk discusses the virtues and vices of large sports programs at Division I schools.

Top V

Want a global perspective? Read what Alyssa Bailey, one of our abroad columnists, has to say about the city of love: Paris!

page 4

page 6

Want to know a secret? Check out what we wish we’d known as first-years.

Devil’s Advocate page 12

Duke’s Becca Ward reflects on her four years in college and offers advice for the upcoming first years.

Tar Tracks

18

page 13

UNC-CH’s Lilly Knoepp talks about how to make the most of summer opportunities.

page 14

The Width & Breadth Of It page 24

By The Book page 26

Think you’ve got it bad? Rival compares Intro to Linguistic classes at each university.

Out of the Blue page 27

Tired of seeing the same old people? Get to know some new campus faces you won’t want to forget.

SUMMER 2012 • RIVAL MAGAZINE

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pregame quick, pick-me-up shorts Lending a Helping Hand

BY KIRSTEN BROWN, UNC-CH DESIGN BY MOIRA GILL, UNC-CH

O

n a typical weekday afternoon, the Community Empowerment Fund (CEF) office on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, and Housing for New Hope’s Dove and Phoenix Houses in Durham are filled with energetic student volunteers helping members of both communities who wish to transition out of homelessness and poverty. Three years earlier, most of these community members would only have had the option to visit social service agencies for small cash grants that would not help individuals become fully financially stable.

CEF is a local nonprofit organization that was launched in the summer of 2009 by a group of students, shelter residents, faculty and community members in Chapel Hill. By creating partnerships with HOPE, Carolina Microfinance Initiative and the UNC-CH Law School Center on Poverty, Work & Opportunity, CEF was able to successfully pilot the micro-loan program with eight student volunteer loan officers and five pilot borrowers. Unemployed and underemployed individuals within Chapel Hill now have the opportunity to not only gain assets to transition themselves out of poverty, but to develop relationships with other individuals within the community. “CEF is a great way to connect with the community,” says Clay Hackney.

Today, CEF is more than just a microfinance model that provides small loans to start businesses in Chapel Hill. CEF has partnered with Duke University and expanded its personal development offerings. Individuals in Chapel Hill and Durham can obtain savings accounts, attend small business and savings educational classes and receive personal support from student volunteers.

After attending a series of opportunity circle classes, individuals in Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Durham are able to open a safe-savings account in their names through Self-Help. By depositing money into Self-Help credit union through CEF, 4

RIVAL MAGAZINE • volume 7 • issue 4

PHOTO COURTESY OF CEF

Christine Dragonette, a CEF member advocate, helps CEF member Amanda Abbott, right, at the Community Empowerment Fund office on Franklin Street.

individuals are eligible for a 10% match from CEF funds once they reach their savings goal. This encourages individuals to continue to save over a long period of time with the hopes of sustaining them out of poverty. In total, members with safesavings accounts have saved over $42,000 to date.

Additionally, individuals have the opportunity to attend a series of small business classes in English or Spanish to learn how to start and sustain a small business in Chapel Hill or Carrboro.

Afterwards, the individual can apply for a small interest-free loan. Small businesses such as Friendly Cleaning have been able to succeed based on the personal and financial support of CEF funding based on grants and donations. Friendly Cleaning is a locally based business that provides good service at a fair price.

Although CEF would not exist without continuous outside financial support; the core foundation of CEF depends upon the student and community volunteers who help these individuals that are seeking self-sufficiency. Students and community volunteers are encouraged to attend a member advocate training where they obtain the necessary insight into helping an individual transition out of poverty.

Additionally, students and community volunteers can attend or teach opportunity circles and small business trainings. Not only are students and community volunteers giving back to the community, they are also learning personal finance skills that are applicable to their own personal development. “Attending business trainings, opportunity circles and meeting with members has taught me a lot about personal finance,” says Vish Sridharan.

BY ALEISE PRESLAR, UNC-CH

Kenan-Biddle Partnership a Smashing Success

BY PAULA RAMBARAT, DUKE DESIGN BY MOIRA GILL, UNC-CH

T

he Kenan-Biddle Partnership was established last year to strengthen ties between Duke University and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and to provide opportunities for students to initiate, develop and implement innovative collaborative projects that enrich scholarship and service on both campuses. Funded jointly by the William R. Kenan Charitable Trust and the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, the partnership offers $5000 to accepted project proposals.

In 2011, the grant initiative received around 90 project proposals. A selection committee, comprised of administrators from each university, met and discussed the project proposals that most aligned with the partnership’s mission.

“The selection committee looks first to see whether proposed projects meet the basic requirements of the grant program, that is whether the project is year-long, truly inter-institutional, student-initiated, collaborative, furthers the scholarly and/or public service missions of the universities, and includes a public exhibition, presentation, or performance,” says Carol Tresolini, the UNC-CH liaison to the program and Vice Provost for Academic Initiatives at UNC-CH. “ The committee then looks for projects that will have an especially broad impact on both campuses and, in the case of service projects, significant benefit for the community,” In 2012, the program received 50 project proposals, however administrators are not worried about this lower number.

“The smaller number, we believe,

reflected better understanding of what was fundable and thus, though fewer in numbers, they [the project proposals] were all quite remarkable,” said Larry Moneta, the Duke liaison to the program and Duke’s Vice President for Student Affairs.

From food initiatives and educational efforts to poetry and micro-grants, the project proposal topics vary greatly and have caused much excitement amongst the program’s leaders.

“What is exciting to me is to see the great variety that the projects encompass, both in emphasis and approach,” said Tresolini. “Some have involved global engagement while others have emphasized local service. Collaborations have been about everything from poetry to microfinance to biodiversity conservation to computer education, and many points in between.”

Art, music, drama, lectures, gardening, tutoring, mentoring, panel discussions, partnership development, film screenings, and many other approaches have been used to achieve the goals of the projects.

“The creativity and energy with which the students approach their work is terrific,” said Tresolini.

Many of the projects from last year have been completed, and others continue without funding from the program this year. Angela Jiang, a senior Duke student majoring in Program II: US Health Disparities and Child Development from Troy, Michigan, recently completed her project proposal which sought to expand collaboration between the Duke and UNC-CH chapter of FEMMES, a studentrun educational outreach program that

seeks to encourage young girls to explore their potential in the sciences. She said that the Kenan-Biddle grant facilitated the growth and development of both universities’ chapter of FEMMES. Nicole Page, a senior Duke student double majoring in Economics and Spanish from Commack, New York, who was also program director along with Jiang, added that the grant really helped boost the success of the club.

“I think the initiative is fantastic,” Page says. “We helped to start up a chapter of FEMMES at UNC-CH recently, and it has been really rewarding to see the program help get girls in the Chapel Hill area more engaged in math, science, and engineering.”

The program is making an impact on both campuses, and administrators are excited about the future. “Judging by the variety and strength of the proposals and the quality of the funded projects, I would say that the program is a smashing success,” says Tresolini.

BY RODRIGO MARTINEZ, UNC-CH

SUMMER 2012 • RIVAL MAGAZINE

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Top V UNC-Chapel Hill

BY KASEY EL-CHAYEB, UNC-CH DESIGN BY SHANNON COFFEY, UNC-CH PHOTOS BY RODRIGO MARTINEZ, UNC-CH

Akai Hana

Akai Hana is a Japanese restaurant and sushi bar in Carrboro. “Akai Hana is the best sushi in town,” said Sam Shearer, a UNC-CH senior and history major from Durham. A sushi meal doesn’t have to break the bank, as Akai Hana lowers their prices during the lunch hours. This restaurant uses fresh ingredients and has been chosen Best Sushi by Triangle Citysearch.

2 miles/ 7 minutes from campus

Mediterranean Deli

“The Mediterranean diet is arguably one of the healthiest diets in the world. And the deli is vegetarian friendly,” said English major Christina Clark, UNC-CH senior from Chapel Hill, NC. Mediterranean Deli is an authentic Middle Eastern and Mediterranean restaurant located on Franklin Street. The Franklin Street Mediterranean Deli has a large menu with many delicious and healthy options. The owner’s also operate a smaller version of the restaurant on campus in Lenoir Dining Hall, with a much smaller menu.

1.1 miles/ 4 minutes from campus

Weaver Street Market, located 2 miles from campus in Carrboro, and EVOS at Eastgate provide healthy, affordable alternatives to traditional fast food.

EVOS

Weaver Street Market

Whole Foods

2.6 mile/ 7 minutes from campus

2 miles/7 minutes from campus

2.4 miles/6 minutes from campus

EVOS is an alternative fast food restaurant located in Eastgate shopping center down East Franklin Street. Environmental studies major Sean Murphy, a UNC-CH senior from Pickerington, Ohio, recommended the restaurant. “EVOS is a healthy and affordable alternative to traditional fast food in Chapel Hill.” This non-traditional restaurant serves healthier All-American burgers, shakes and fries by using the freshest ingredients and Airbaking instead of deep-frying.

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Weaver Street Market is a communityowned grocery store in downtown Carrboro. Profits are returned to owners, donated to the community, or redistributed back into the cooperative. Weaver Street sells organic products, has a great bakery, a hot bar and a cold bar. “I highly recommend Weaver Street’s breakfast hot bar,” says UNC-CH senior Peter Noone, a biology major from Chapel Hill. “It’s every day, but open later on weekends. It’s fun to grab some food and sit outside.”

Whole Foods sells natural and organic products of great quality. Located at Eliot Road and East Franklin Street, the Chapel Hill Whole Foods is a great place to grab lunch or dinner. The prepared foods section and bakery serve a wide variety of healthy choices. “It’s a great place to get a hot meal,” says Elizabeth Peterson, a UNCCH senior and journalism major from Chapel Hill.” I also like making my own meal at the salad bar. There are always a lot of great fruit and vegetable options.”

Duke University

BY AKSHATHA KOMMALAPATI, DUKE DESIGN BY SHANNON COFFEY, UNC-CH PHOTOS BY RODRIGO MARTINEZ, UNC-CH

Local Yogurt

Affectionately nick-named “Lo-Yo,” Local Yogurt caters to those of us who love ice cream but who aren’t looking for a sugar overload. Their fresh fruit toppings and interesting flavors (Irish mint, anyone?) make it easy and painless to have healthier desserts.

Jimmy John’s

Famous for their late-night delivery runs, Jimmy John’s can become a great, healthy option if you can pull yourself away from the “bad” toppings and stick with veggies, tuna, turkey, roast beef and even ham. In the mood for a side? Try the Skinny Chips — they’re healthier than the other options.

Chipotle

Who doesn’t love the HUGE portion sizes at Chipotle? Everything is made to order, so stick with the meat/protein choices and avoid the sour cream. You can even make your burritos and soft tacos go a long way by saving some for tomorrow.

Elmo’s

Elmo’s believes that nutrition and good food are not mutually exclusive. For breakfast you can try their delicious pancakes, custom omelets, and cereals while during lunch the healthy menu includes savory salads, soups, and burgers.

Chopped Greens

Elmo’s Diner, with a locations in Carrboro and Durham, serves healthy and delicious breakfast all day long, as well as traditional lunch and dinner options.

By redefining what constitutes a salad, Chopped Greens attracts both health nuts and people who like good food. Try building your own salad wrap using their local and fresh ingredients—you won’t be disappointed.

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POLITICS STORY BY CAROLINE LAND, UNC-CH DESIGN BY GA MING GAO, UNC-CH PHOTOS BY RODRIGO MARTINEZ, UNC-CH

P

olitics is a hot topic among both liberal and conservative students at Duke and Carolina. The North Carolina Republican Presidential Primary, the Democratic National Convention, and the vote on Amendment One, an amendment to the North Carolina Constitution that would limit the types of domestic unions recognized, in the upcoming months have kept politicallyminded students extremely busy.

CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT

College Republican groups on both campuses hope to foster and provide an outlet for conservative minded students to get together to discuss issues and influence campus politics.

“We try to mobilize students who might feel as though the more liberal culture that we have [at Duke] doesn’t align with their beliefs,” says Sophomore Political Science major Taylor Imperiale of Arrowhead, Cal., secretary of Duke College Republicans. “We think a lot of students feel as though they’d like to have a group that has the same kind of common political ground, a baseline of ideas, and we try to provide that, mobilize and influence the conservative culture.”

The mobilization of students to participate in the political processes has proven to take a different route between the two campuses.

“I would say that Duke students are significantly different because most Duke students aren’t from North Carolina,” says Imperiale. “It is probably a lot easier for the UNC College Republicans to have a unified effort because for the most part they have an interest in North Carolina politics and on things like Amendment One.” While Duke College Republicans may have more of a national focus rather than on state level politics, that does not mean that they are not preparing for the North Carolina Primary on Tuesday, May 8, 2012.

Duke College Republicans put together a Voter Awareness Week with the Duke Political Union, Duke Democrats and other campus organizations to increase voter registration in North Carolina among students.

Students cannot vote for state issues if they are not from the state. This restriction can have a negative impact because students reside in the state for a couple of years.

“We’re hosting a lot of different events like political trivia, showing political efforts and having tables to increase mem-

“ We think a lot of students feel as though they’d like to have a group that has the same kind of common political ground, a baseline of ideas, and we try to provide that, mobilize and influence the conservative culture.”

-Taylor Imperiale, Secretary of Duke College Republicans

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BY KATHERINE DRYE, UNC-CH

The UNC-Chapel Hill Young Democrats celebrated “Proud to be a Democrat Week” March 19-23. Members and leadership set up a booth in the Pit from 10am-2pm everyday promoting safe sex practices, selling UNC Young Dems T-shirts, and providing voting registration forms.

bership,” says Imperiale. “There is a focus on getting people to register in North Carolina, instead of where they are originally from if they so choose.”

A LEFT LEAN

Like College Republicans, there are Democratic organizations at Duke and UNC-CH that hope to engage liberally minded students.

“I like to say Young Democrats at UNC-CH is an umbrella association,” says the Vice President of this organization, Junior Political Science and Global Studies major Lauren Hovis of Winston Salem. “We like to try to advocate for different progressive issues and we try to be a community for those who want to advocate those issues. A lot of our members have different stances on issues such as abortion, but we try to include everyone and their opinions.”

While there seems to be a divide in

participation on the state political level for College Republicans, Young Democrats at UNC-CH and Duke try to work together in order to promote more awareness and reach out to more students.

“We do a lot of similar things, we’ve tried to collaborate in the past,” says Hovis. “Duke Democrats come to our cocktail and we do a lot of things together through College Democrats of North Carolina. We hope to do even more with them in the future; they’re a great group of people.”

UNC-CH Young Democrats’ agenda stresses a focus on state and local level politics in non-presidential election years, while they shift their focus to the national level during presidential election years.

“Last semester in the fall we worked really hard on Lee Storrow’s campaign for Town Council,” says Hovis. “We always try to have a presence on Town Council and get to know the people doing it. I

think it is really important to know the Orange County politicians as well as the state and national level.”

This year, the presidential election brings more than just a national focus to student organizations in North Carolina.

The Democratic National Convention will be held in Charlotte this upcoming fall.

This will be the first nominating convention of a major party ever held in North Carolina and Democratic student organizations are hoping to participate.

“We are trying to reach out to the Davidson Democrats to see if we can do anything with the Convention,” says Hovis. “We are willing to do anything, even if that means setting up chairs and take out trash. We’re working on it right now.”

With the Democratic National Convention being held in September, Democratic student organizations have a lot of time until then to commit to other issues such as Amendment One. SUMMER 2012 • RIVAL MAGAZINE

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“We like to try to advocate for different progressive issues and we try to be a community for those who want to advocate those issues. A lot of our members have different stances on issues such as abortion, but we try to include everyone and their opinions.”

-Lauren Hovis, Vice President of Young Democrats at UNC-CH

“We are a big grassroots group, so we do a lot of campaigning,” says Hovis. “We go knock on doors all of the time and make phone calls. This semester we are really focusing on state level politics with Amendment One coming out and then in the fall we’ll be doing both state and national level politics with the presidential election.”

DISCRIMINATION COMMUNICATION

Duke Together Against Constitutional Discrimination was created to fight the passage of Amendment One. North Carolina is the only southern state that does not have a constitutional amendment banning same-sex unions.

“We are a coalition of student groups, faculty and staff from Duke and across the entire institution and we are a coalition dedicated to mobilizing the entire community against Amendment One,” says Sophomore Jacob Tobia of Cary, the chair of Duke Together.

Amendment One on the ballot has outraged many on both campuses who believe the amendment is constitutional discrimination. The amendment would not only affect homosexual couples, but heterosexual couples as well. It would change domestic abuse laws, as well as, the adoption laws for both straight and gay individuals.

“Personally, I think it is affront to all families across the state,” says Tobia. “It is a threat to our state and it is ignorant legislation that has been poorly thought out. It is the result of bad politics, bad legislative process and it is a deeply personal attack in order to garner conservative political support.”

“Overall, Amendment One is an amendment that takes people’s rights away,” says Junior Psychology and Sociology major Adryen Proctor of Garysburg, N.C., co-president of UNC-CH’s Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgendered Straight Alliance. “It’s the first amendment that I know of that is taking away rights. I don’t think the state of North Carolina should 10 RIVAL MAGAZINE • volume 7 • issue 4

Former Republican presidential contender Herman Cain spoke at UNC-Chapel Hill on Thursday, March 22. The event was hosted by UNC College Republicans, the UNC Economics Club and Young America’s Foundation, and cost the organizations $10,000.

be able to do that.”

Tobia’s work with Duke Together Against Constitutional Discrimination has sought to engage many facets of the Duke system in garnering support against Amendment One than with just students.

“We got Duke to issue a statement against Amendment One,” says Tobia.

“We had a big rally at Bryan Plaza and had people all across campus speaking out against the amendment. We are organizing a second rally and we are working on getting a resolution against the amendment.”

In addition, Tobia’s group has also held a phone-a-thon, as well as organization of “dorm captains” that will work on their student communities, an effort at engaging more students. Duke Together Against Constitutional Discrimination is also creating a “Make It Better” campaign in which well-known people at Duke have contributed and held that they will be voting against the amendment.

“The government is communicating that the LGBTQ community are not people of worth [with Amendment One],” says Tobia. “They are communicating that we are not welcome or valued and should just go away. If I can’t raise a family here, I know that I will be moving. There is a national emphasis on LGBTQ bullying and it is ironic that the biggest bully has been the government.”

Many other campus groups that have felt similar sentiments are fighting against the passage of Amendment One by promoting awareness. “[UNC-CH Young Democrats] are partnering with Coalition to Protect All North Carolina Families and have been selling shirts to vote against Amendment One,” says Hovis. “Students have been wearing the shirts across campus. In addition, we’ve been canvassing, knocking on people’s doors, making phone calls, and we’re supporting groups on campus against

“The government is communicating that the LGBTQ community are not people of worth [with Amendment One].”

-Jacob Tobia, chair of Duke Together

Amendment One. We’re trying to get the word out.”

In addition to promoting awareness, many groups on both campuses have secured early voting sites on both campuses in order to garner more voter participation, whether in the North Carolina Primary or in regards to Amendment One. Both the North Carolina Primary and Amendment One votes are the same day, May 8, 2012.

“Securing a one-stop early voting site on campus for the primaries will be perfect for Duke because most Duke students are out-of-state,” says Tobia. “They can register and vote in the process and it will make a huge difference because more people will be able to have a voice.”

For many students, being involved in campus political organizations has led to an outlet in which their voices and opinions cannot only be heard, but also acted upon.

“Being involved and working against Amendment One has helped me find my voice and engage everyone in the fight against discrimination,” says Tobia. “It has broadened who I engage with in a beautiful way. It has brought the Duke community generationally in a way I could have never imagined. I am going to be so much stronger coming out of this fight no matter who wins.”

SUMMER 2012 • RIVAL MAGAZINE 11

devil’s

T becca ward

is a senior environmental policy major at Duke University.

hese days, I find myself sitting through more and more inspirational speeches that claim to prepare me for the outside world. They vary in quality and substance, but most are reduced to kernels of wisdom that are supposed to help us ‘make sense’ of this upcoming transition to ‘adulthood’ and the lessons I was supposed to have internalized from my college experience. I find these kernels unpalatable if not mind-numbingly generic. So naturally, I’m going to do the same thing to you poor, young, unsuspecting souls. However, in sharing with you the things that I felt most changed my outlook or habits during college, I hope to avoid the torpor of nonspecific platitudes and move to things I believe are more applicable to an undergraduate’s life.

1. Don’t text when you walk.

Seems simple, right? Keep your head up and actually look where you are going. Interact with the people you pass. It’s a small step that translates into a more cognizant and intentional lifestyle. It becomes all too easy to move on autopilot, so try to combat that mesmerizing gleam of your iPhone’s screen.

2. Have the courage to do it sober.

If you like someone, or if you just find someone attractive and want to have some fun, don’t swill liquid courage to make yourself take the first step. It may make the night easier, but it almost always makes the next morning a lot worse. The first kiss is a quintessential memory of a relationship… try to do it in a state where you’ll actually keep the memory.

3. Look deeper before you judge someone’s intelligence or character.

Above everything I’ve learned at Duke, a key realization was that people have more depth than you can imagine. Before you call people ‘dumb blondes,’ ‘stupid jocks,’ ‘socially challenged,’ ‘common grounders,’ or ‘frat stars,’ get to know them and their interests. You’ll be shocked at what’s underneath the pinnie or lettermen’s jacket.

4. Every day, make someone’s day.

You know those days when you feel like you live for work, and you might as well move your mattress into Perkins Library?

Those days are part of an undergraduate lifestyle, but try inserting –random acts of kindness every so often: compliment a stranger, buy your friend a cookie from Von der Hyden, or write someone a notethe specifics don’t matter. Connecting with those around you helps you realize there is a reason you are working to the bone to eventually make the world a better place, and you can start by making someone’s world a little better. (Or, if you just want to

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make bank right out of school, you better at least start building up some good karma).

5. Fake it.

Not something you typically hear as good advice, but I am talking about those days you wake up and feel like nothing can go right; you’re sick, tired, and stressed, and all you want to do is brood in the tenth ring of hell you’ve created. On those days, ditch the pjs, fix your hair and slap a smile on your face. If you walk out of your room acting like everything is spectacular and you are ready to take on the world, you may start to believe it. Act with confidence, smile to the world and it will make your daily grind a lot more manageable.

6. Relationships are supposed to make you happy.

If they don’t, you shouldn’t be in them.

This goes for both romantic relationships and friendships. You are surrounded by a very eclectic group of individuals, and not everyone will be right for you. Find people (or a person) who make you appreciate who you are and enable you to be better. You should never tolerate a relationship that makes you act and feel like someone you’re not and you don’t want to be. College will be over faster than you think, so surround yourself with people that make you happy.

7. It doesn’t matter who you were yesterday, be who you want to be today.

It doesn’t matter what chronic mistakes you’ve made or whether you have fallen into certain undesirable patterns. Discard the excuse, “but I always do that,” and take the opportunity to be person you strive to be. Let past mistakes be informative experiences rather than templates for how you live your life.

With those tidbits hopefully internalized, I’m off to the real world… with a small layover in Myrtle Beach. Duke, it’s been real.

lilly knoepp

is a sophomore journalism major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Summer should encourage change and adventure

I

n college we become consumed in our own worlds, and only things that happen at UNC-CH seem to matter to us. Everyone’s life revolves around class, homework, friends, clubs and work. The student body was collectively distraught when point guard Kendall Marshall broke his wrist. It seemed like the only important news of the day.

But as summer approaches, we have many choices about what to do outside this small university world in Chapel Hill.

A number of my friends have chosen to go far away to study abroad for the summer in places from Copenhagen to Prague. While there, they will physically get out of this little bubble and learn about the culture of another country hopefully realizing that other things are important besides what classes you’re taking next semester. Studying abroad in the summer is a great opportunity for people who do not have enough time during the regular school year to spend a semester in another country.

But if you are unable to get out of the country this summer, there are still ways that you can make summer different from your school year.

Many students try to gain valuable work experience through summer internships.

You can intern practically anywhere, and whether it is paid or unpaid, it will teach you valuable life skills, even if it’s just how to make a great cup of coffee for your boss.

Hopefully you will be able to find work that is a bit more rewarding than that, but any experience can be a good experience. Working in any setting can teach

you about employment as an adult in the future. In many industries, an internship is the gateway to a full-time career. This is how many powerful people in the world first got their start, by climbing their industry’s ladder from the bottom up.

This summer, making a huge change in my life might be hard since I am planning to stay in Chapel Hill for summer school.

Nevertheless, I still think that it can be a whole new world. I will be trying to get an internship in addition to taking classes, and it will also be my first experience living away from my parents outside of the dorms. By changing what I am doing in Chapel Hill from solely going to school to working and living in a new place, I will be making a change in my life this summer.

Living in North Carolina, there are other ways that you can do something different and make a change. This summer the state will be a political battleground as the presidential election heats up. The N.C. Congressional race will also be taking place, and many bills are up for public vote. By far the most controversial bill up for vote is for the amendment to the state constitution, commonly referred to as Amendment One. This amendment will put a state constitutional ban on any marriage that is not defined as being between a man and a woman in North Carolina,

‘‘

though it is already illegal in this state for same-sex couples to wed. But by adding this to the constitution it will make the law much more permanent, as it is harder to change the state constitution then to enact a bill in the state legislature. This amendment will be up for a vote on May 8 on the primary ballot. Voting, or even campaigning for either side, is something that you can do to make a difference in your life and in that of others as it makes your voice heard. Making that difference is meaningful to me.

I think that the reason that I am so set on making a difference in my life this summer is because of the way I spent last summer. Last summer, I went home and lived with my parents. I was rehired at my high school job at Dairy Queen. It was so weird to be back in the world outside of college where school isn’t as important as what time my dad is going to be cooking dinner.

I had a good summer there, but the whole time I was home I wished that I had something meaningful to do. Something that would help me in the next year besides the few dollars I saved from making ice cream cones. I want this summer to give me the feeling that I am doing something worthwhile, and hopefully you can find something that gives you that feeling too.

I want this summer to give me the feeling that I am doing something worthwhile, and hopefully you can find something that gives you that feeling too.

SUMMER 2012 • RIVAL MAGAZINE 13

athlete’s corner A

merican colleges and universities cannot decide what to think about the role of sports in higher education. Do they, as an admissions officer might say, build campus community and reflect individual character? Is a professor’s in-class reference to the Duke-Carolina rivalry a legitimate example of an academic concept or forced pandering to student interests? Especially in the case of Division I programs, is athletics’ influence on the university beneficial, detrimental, or a combination of both?

In one corner, you have your abolitionists. To these people (often faculty members, but sometimes students as well), major athletics have no place at a university like Duke or UNC-CH. To these folks, sports are not just a distraction from studies—they are profoundly antiintellectual. These are the people who, in discussions of athletic subsidies, spout in the school newspaper or The Chronicle of Higher Education something resembling the following argument: ‘If Martians landed on campus tomorrow and saw the amount of space and money we devote to our football and basketball stadiums, they would be confused about the purpose of our institutions.’ Well, for my part, I don’t think any Martians are coming tomorrow, and even if they are, I don’t see why they should be shaping institutional policy.

Associated arguments that fall just short of athletic abolition are those calling for an end to athletic scholarships or a conversion of all academically serious D-I schools into D-III schools. Acceptable athletic topics in the classroom might include discussions of scandals as indicative of a toxic culture in sports, and exclusion, discrimination, or homophobia in sports.

Another, more moderate university stance on athletics is taken up by the sport-as-an-extracurricular camp. This mentality is best exemplified by admissions officers. Every information ses-

14 RIVAL MAGAZINE • volume 7 • issue 4

sion and brochure is going to include that picture of the smiling kid with the painted face at a basketball game. Sports, at the varsity, club, and intramural levels, are considered part of student life and enhance the sense of campus community.

Applicants are encouraged to list their athletic participation as extracurricular activities and are told that sports participation fosters leadership and commitment. Some professors seem to see it this way too. They are the ones who tell you not to expect an e-mail response during the game. They use the occasional sports example in lecture and tend to be aware of the athletic affiliations and accomplishments of their student-athletes. Sports are a common experience and an acknowledged part of students’ college lives.

A third perspective challenges both of these positions. Sports are not a malignant tumor threatening the viability of the university’s brain, but neither are they mere extracurricular activities. These are the professors who make sports part of the curriculum. Here is a sampling of academic courses about athletics offered at Duke or UNC-CH: Baseball in Global Perspective, Sport as Performance, Philosophy of Sport, Issues in a World Society: Sports and Competition, American Women in Sports, and Embodying Japan: The Cultures of Beauty, Sports, and Medicine. I’ve argued before in this column that sports are interdisciplinary undertakings, and this diversity of classes supports that claim. This isn’t a case of one rogue department dreaming up a throwaway elective; it is a trend across institutions and across disciplines. Rather than decrying the influence of sports on intellectualism, this approach intellectualizes sports. Instead of warning that sports are a threat to the life of the mind, those teaching these courses trust in the power of knowledge, scholarship, and analysis to annex athletics and bring them into the intellectual fold of the university.

My club basketball team plays a tournament at the University of Virginia almost every year. Painted in the lobby of UVA’s recreation center are the words of Thomas Jefferson, founder of the university and founding father of our country, extolling the value of exercise and demanding that students set aside two hours a day for it. In fact, Jefferson reportedly went so far as to say, “Leave all the afternoon for exercise and recreation, which are as necessary as reading. I will rather say more necessary because health is worth more than learning.”

It is hard to imagine that anyone would want to refute this sentiment and stress the value of intellectual engagement over physical well-being. Disagreement comes when we consider the university’s role in promoting this message. Should the university concern itself solely with academic learning and leave it to the individual student to develop healthy habits of exercise? Or, as is currently the case, should schools like Duke and UNC-CH continue to endorse athletics as part of their ‘brand’ and encourage the development of community through physical activity? I don’t see Duke and UNC-CH ever distancing themselves from major athletics, nor do I think they should.

But now I’m talking to you, prospective first years (or ‘p-frosh,’ as we call you at Duke): though the Tobacco Road universities are often stereotyped as universally sports crazed, whatever your views on sports and higher education, you’re likely to find both sympathizers and challengers on both sides of the rivalry.

laurel burk

is a sophomore English major from Duke. She is also a member of Duke’s student athletics club, The Inferno.

College: A Living Experience A closer look at UNC-CH and Duke housing communities STORY AND PHOTOS BY CAROLINE LELAND, UNC-CH DESIGN BY TASHIANA WESLEY, UNC-CH

W

hile strolling around either campus, it is clear to the casual observer that residence halls play a major role in campus culture at Duke and UNC-CH. From the architecture to the large-scale layout, the differences in housing at the respective universities seem obvious. But how much do students really know about the housing systems, even at their own home campus?

THE BASICS UNC’s on-campus housing is occupied by 46 percent of all undergraduates. The average semester’s rent is $2,865, which includes all utilities, high-speed internet and cable television. All UNC-CH dorms, and many Duke dorms, have air conditioning— although many rooms only have window units. Duke dorms don’t have cable TV except in common areas. 85 percent of undergraduates live on campus at Duke. Housing at Duke costs $13,240 on average per year.

Comparing Duke University’s and UNC-CH’s housing systems can be difficult because there are very few parallels between the schools’ respective models. At UNC-CH, first-year students are required to live in university housing; however, there are no designated “first-year” dorms. That said, 85 percent of first-year students live in dorms in the southern region of campus. The

increased distance from class buildings typically makes that area less desired by upperclassmen, who have priority in selecting residence halls. UNC-CH recently decided to stop reserving space for first-years on North Campus, so starting with the 2012-2014 school year, the number of first-year students on South Campus is likely to be even higher than it is now.

Duke, on the other hand, requires all students to live on campus for the first three years of enrollment. Additionally, all firstyear students are required to live in one of the 14 dorms on East Campus, which is a separate area removed from the apartment complexes on Central Campus and the upperclassmen dorms and classroom buildings on West Campus. The intent in this separation of the first-year dorms is to foster a strong sense of community within the class, encouraging close relationships between new students. Duke’s multiple bus lines, including the C-1, C-2, and C-3 buses, run between East, West and Central campuses for the students’ convenience.

THE DUKE HOUSE MODEL While the setup on East Campus will remain the same, Duke is currently in the process of significantly changing the way it organizes student living on West and Central Campus. Duke is transitioning to the new Duke Houses model, which entails breaking SUMMER 2012 • RIVAL MAGAZINE 15

between students of different years. He especially hopes to build mentoringbased relationships between older and younger students. Each house will have its own funding for projects and events, and some will have live-in faculty to foster student relationships with faculty members. Next year, unaffiliated students will be randomly assigned to houses. This process has received mixed response from students, some of whom were frustrated at not being able to express a preference for Central or West Campus.

LIVING-LEARNING COMMUNITIES

‘‘

Approximately 600 students of UNCCH’s 18,600 undergraduates are involved with a living-learning community.

down West and Central Campus into smaller communities called houses. These houses will be granted certain abilities and rights, such as the right for students to return to their house in subsequent years. Joe Gonzalez, Duke’s associate dean for housing, dining and residential life, said many student groups that exist as recognized organizations but not as living communities have jumped at the opportunity to secure housing. Next year, 20 new or existing groups will be granted group housing for the first time on West and Central campus, nearly doubling the number of student groups living together on campus at Duke. The houses, which will total 45 in number next year, will consist of groups of 20 to 110 people. This 16 RIVAL MAGAZINE • volume 7 • issue 4

change creates much smaller communities than the current setup of quads on West Campus, which typically house 550 people each.

Currently, students not in selective living groups have no guarantee that they can return to a given living arrangement from year to year. The new house model adds continuity to student housing by guaranteeing students the ability to return to their houses in subsequent years. “We’re really inviting them to start personalizing their house,” Gonzalez said.

He said students will be encouraged to come up with names and start their own traditions. Another aspect of the new model is a more intentional three-class representation to foster connections

According to UNC’s assistant director of housing and residential education Rick Bradley, Approximately 600 students of UNC-CH’s 18,600 undergraduates are involved with a living-learning community.

Carolina’s living-learning communities, according to the UNC-CH Housing and Residential life website, are designed to be “a unique, inclusive residential learning experience that connects classroom learning with residence life.” A student applies for a group that interests him or her when applying for housing at UNC. Living-learning communities, which are based within residential halls, bring together students who share a similar interest. UNC-CH currently has ten livinglearning communities whose focuses range from Chinese or Spanish language and culture, to service and leadership, to substance-free environments, to environmental sustainability, and more.

Duke also has living-earning communities, but significantly fewer. UNC-CH does not have any LLCs exclusively for first-year students, but three of Duke’s freshman dorms have specialized themes: wellness living (Brown Residence Hall), the performing arts (Pegram Residence Hall), and interdisciplinary opportunities (the Focus Program). Duke has similar communities on West Campus, including a group focused on wellness living and the selective Baldwin Scholars program for women.

Some of Duke’s most popular and visible housing programs are selective living groups (SLGs), of which there is no true equivalent at UNC-CH. Gonzalez confirmed that 1,600 students will live in SLGs next year. SLGs are student-run organizations where current members select incoming members through a rush process. “I rushed different groups because I liked the idea of being part of a larger community,” said Kevin Lieberman, a se-

nior Mechanical Engineering major from Washington, D.C. Lieberman, who is in the SLG Brownstone, said he enjoys the supportive nature of SLGS, and the fact that each group has its own personality.

GREEK At UNC-CH, Greek housing is privately owned, managed, and operated. Of the 54 Greek organizations recognized at UNC-CH, 30 have houses. All Greek houses are off-campus but are immediately adjacent to the University. The town of Chapel Hill actually has an ordinance that prohibits more than four unrelated people from living together in a dwelling that is not an apartment or rental complex, but Chapel Hill makes a special exception for sorority and fraternity houses. In effect, sororities and fraternities recognized by the University are granted their own zoning category by the town of Chapel Hill, which allows such large groups of unrelated individuals to live together despite the law that normally prohibits these arrangements. Aaron Bachenheimer, Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life at UNC-CH, said at the last consensus, 867 students occupied 29 Greek houses (The sorority Pi Beta Chi just bought a house this year). However, it is important to note that not all Greek organizations at UNC have houses.

Duke does not have traditional Greek houses for fraternities and sororities.

Instead, these groups can reserve sections of dorms for their members to live in together. The University reserves that space for the group in subsequent years, as long as they are able to fill all the spaces allot-

ted to them. Gonzalez said it is rare for a group to lose housing, explaining that in the past eight years, only three groups “sort of disappeared” due to insufficient student interest. UNC-CH does allow such blocking in dorms, but allots the space on a year-to-year basis and does not permanently reserve any space for groups other than LLCs. All but one of Duke’s fraternity chapters have housing reserved in residence halls, and the majority live on West Campus. Gonzalez added that all nine of Duke’s Panhellenic sorority chapters, which currently do not have housing, will be granted housing on Central Campus under the new Duke Houses system.

GENDERED HOUSING Another significant difference in the housing policy of the two Universities is currently a hot topic: gender-neutral housing.

UNC-CH has four femaleonly dorms and two maleonly dorms, whereas all of Duke’s dorms are co-ed.

UNC-CH residents must be of the same gender in order to share a room.

Despite a petition that garnered more than 1,100 signatures, UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp vetoed

a gender-neutral housing proposal last month. He said his decision was based on concerns about understanding and support from “stakeholders off-campus.”

Although the effort was delayed, the students who led the initiative resolved to have the proposed policy implemented for the 2013-2014 school year.

At Duke, gender-neutral housing was made available last year after two years of discussion. Co-ed apartments are available on Central Campus, but individuals of the opposite sex may not share a bedroom. Duke currently offers gender-neutral housing on a case-by-case basis, but the organization Duke Students for Gender Neutrality, led by junior Jacob Tobia, is pushing for a gender-neutral housing policy for all campus housing. “Students have massive support for gender-neutral housing,” he said. Tobia said his group is committed to making all houses co-ed by the 2013-2014 school year. The group submitted a proposal to Duke housing administration and expects to hear a response sometime this week.

It’s apparent that there are vast differences in housing at each university— both on the surface and on a deeper, more systemic level. It’s interesting to think about how something seemingly as simple as a cluster of buildings can have such a profound impact on the lives of individual students, because where, how and with whom a student is permitted to live is a major aspect of his or her college experience.

SUMMER 2012 • RIVAL MAGAZINE 17

the

Robertson

Switch

BY RODRIGO MARTINEZ, UNC-CH

PHOTOS BY ALLIE BARNES, UNC-CH // DESIGN BY PHILIP HOOVER, UNC-CH

This library may look boring, but just wait until the weekend...

I

am currently in transit on the now incredibly familiar stretch of Highway 15-501 that connects Durham and Chapel Hill. The particularly uncharming expanse of this urban sprawl flies by, and I look on as the “Duke University” bumper stickers travel by alongside a flock of Carolina blue-clad vehicles.

For literary effect (read: gross exaggeration), I often tell people that this eightmile stretch is one of the longest in the world, separating two of history’s greatest rivals. I liken this complacent patch of concrete and car dealerships to the DMZ. Or the West Bank. Or the Mason-Dixon line.

I have spent countless hours this semester on this stretch of contested pavement, constantly between the two universities. Flitting back and forth for classes, meetings and events, I often find this juxtaposition of the two schools and cultures rather dizzying. This time in transit has given me the chance to consider and appreciate the contrast between departure and destination. I have learned to value those differences, and in doing so my

18 RIVAL MAGAZINE • volume 7 • issue 4

appreciation for my “home” institution in Chapel Hill has grown The Robertson Scholars’ bus traverses a far greater divide than the tremendously.

8-mile distance suggests.

In my first article about my experience living in “enemy However, like most Robertsons I know territory at the height of war,” I recounted that my time at Duke has shaped me as a an embarrassing blunder that occurred student, a leader, a friend and an indiwhile I was still getting used to the quirks vidual, perhaps more than anything else of living in a new place as an outsider. during my time in college. So why would This time, I want to discuss what I have that be, when on the surface it looks like gained from the collection of all the social all I’ve done is switch rooms and develop blunders, conversations, academic experi- my deep personal knowledge of the local ences, and new friendships I have experitraffic patterns? enced since then, and which now define I think it’s actually all these little my Switch. inconveniences that pushed me to start It can be somewhat difficult to articudeveloping in new and real ways. Having late the benefits of this distinctive piece of less time for schoolwork meant I spent it the Robertson experience. On the surface, more wisely. The fear of losing friendships it can seem like a burden, maybe even a prompted me to work harder to maintain major hindrance to success as a leader old ones and build new ones. Exploring on a scholar’s home campus. Living on more opportunities forced me to shave off a different college campus quite literally commitments that I had not realized I was separates a student from commitments, less passionate about. My time away from friends and sometimes from academic Carolina has also taught me to love the pursuits. Driving back and forth for meet- things I had previously taken for granted: ings and classes can be a huge time sink. the beauty of the quad, the openness

and passion of the student body, and the appreciation for relaxation. The world beyond Chapel Hill is not always like that, and it took a semester eight miles away for me to realize that.

My time in Durham has taught me to value and appreciate Duke as well. It is truly a land of extremes. “Work hard, play hard” is no exaggeration. The competitiveness and drive of the student body to reach success, whatever form it takes, is remarkable. The friends I have made and people I have met at this university work incredibly hard to reach their goals, and they know their priorities while still knowing full well how to have fun come Friday night… or earlier. While there are

certainly high achieving and incredibly academic students at Carolina, the student body on a whole does not reach the level of academic competition and dedication I have seen at Duke. Of course, every generalization I can make about each university has huge contradictions—large segments of the populations of Duke and Carolina serve as excellent examples of how I am completely incorrect. One semester can only give me so much insight into the differences between these two universities.

Indeed, I doubt that four full, switch-free years would be enough to understand each school.

So what use has this all been? What have I learned from my time as a Duke

student? I have learned more about myself. I have learned to appreciate my very limited time in college. I have learned that Duke and Carolina are more similar than many students may want to admit. I have learned that choosing Carolina was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I have learned to love Duke. I have learned how to love my community—whether that be by sharing tears of disbelief after a one point buzzer beater, by rushing Franklin Street after an 18-point demolition, or by allowing 3 hours to fly by in conversation with a new friend from a rival university. I have learned… a lot. Switch gauge at week ten: Still a Tar Heel, but perhaps my Carolina blue blood runs slightly darker.

F

ebruary 8 was a long day. It was also a really, really good day. (If you don’t recognize the date, check Duke or UNC-CH’s 20112012 Men’s Basketball schedule.) After finally getting out of class at Duke at 7pm, I rushed to dinner with a professor and some friends. By 8:30pm, I sat in Perkins trying to finish a problem set that just wouldn’t end. Two hours later, I caught the last Robertson bus back to Chapel Hill and, checking the half-time score of the DukeUNC-CH game on my phone, sighed with another Duke rider about what seemed like a definite defeat.

Forty minutes later, I was a covert operative, deep in enemy territory at the height of war. I was watching the last few minutes of the game in Cobb common room, a UNC-CH dorm. Anyone who watched the game knows what happened then. Three, two, one… Rivers’ shot drops, and the room explodes. One of the other Dukies runs through the hallway, cheering.

Elated, I try to tame my grin. Angry shouts around me included various combinations of “Duke,” “Austin Rivers,” and a slew of four-letter words that I’m not allowed to write.

And that is why February 8 was a great day. Victory is, after all, that much sweeter when you see firsthand how much your opponent wanted to win; or, in the words of a Duke meme, “that awkward moment when your [opponent’s] team goes to Hell.” I went

UNC-CH fans may hate to admit it, but Duke also has a beautiful campus and filled with open spaces and exquisite architecture. to bed a happy fan at 4 a.m. that night.

Flash-forward a month, to March 3: it’s Saturday and spring break is officially in session. Since Personal Checks on Thursday night (the most intense set of “tent checks” conducted during the whole tenting process) virtually every undergraduate still on Duke’s campus has been in K-Ville.

Spirits are at an all-time high. What’s more, by 7:30 pm, the Tar Heels should be well on their way to hell for the second time in the 2011-2012 season.

Of course, that last part didn’t turn out as the Blue Devils planned. And while the Duke basketball fan in me hates myself for writing this, I’m kind of glad about the loss.

Blasphemy, I know, but hear me out.

Consider an alternate world in which the victories were reversed so that both

teams win at home. I shrug off the away loss and then promptly forget about it while burning benches after the win in Cameron.

More fun? Probably. But that would have spoiled the main takeaway.

What I’ve come to realize over the course of this Semester Switch is perhaps best expressed as a variant on the old adage that you don’t realize how important a thing is until it’s gone. To really understand what is going on in your day-to-day life, you need to step outside of it for a bit.

It’s all too easy to walk through life both shortsighted and with a bad case of tunnel vision – especially as a student at a highly competitive university like Duke or UNCCH. It’s always about the midterm coming up, that sweet frat party on Friday night, or how to get the coveted internship next SUMMER 2012 • RIVAL MAGAZINE 19

“While the Duke basketball fan in me hates myself for writing this, I’m kind of glad about the loss.” summer. Don’t get me wrong, universities like ours work a great deal to expand their students’ horizons, out of the classroom by bringing them together with a diverse group of exceptional men and women from around the world. In the classroom, we directly connect with and learn from some of the world’s eminent scholars.

But precisely because of this – because we’re so driven to squeeze every drop out of the opportunities granted to us – it’s very easy to stop thinking critically about the little things or, for that matter, to step outside your own little bubble. For example, for those at Duke: how many new faces

have you randomly said “hi” to since your first semester here?

To be fair, now that I’m relatively settled into life at Chapel Hill, I’ve begun to settle back into my own bubble – perhaps more so than I would have liked. But in the past three months, I’ve come to realize just how refreshing – and vital – it can be to challenge those personal boundaries. For these months, I’ve been an outsider to some degree wherever I’ve been. At Duke, I’ve had multiple friends ask me which team I was rooting for. It’s often said that there’s no such thing as a stupid question. After hearing that, though, I beg to differ. And while

I’ve done reasonably well assimilating at Chapel Hill, I’m still clearly not a Tar Heel.

Just the other day, for example, I was called out by the server at Subway in Chapel Hill for accidentally wearing my Duke shower sandals. Luckily for me, he too is secretly a Duke fan.

What does this have to do with basketball? In February, I saw the losers’ pain. In March, I felt it. My home is now at UNCCH, and I love it. But whenever I get off the Robertson bus at Duke, I take everything in with a fresh set of eyes, a more open mind, and can’t help but smile like I did my first day here.

BY RODRIGO MARTINEZ, UNC-CH

No matter how many differences might separate the two schools, Duke and UNC-CH will always have one thing in common: They both beat NC State in basketball this year. And last year. And the year before that...

20 RIVAL MAGAZINE • volume 7 • issue 4

the year in

review Rival reflects on the most memorable moments of the 2011-2012 school year.

STORY BY TRENT CHIANG, DUKE // DESIGN BY SHANNON COFFEY, UNC-CH

SUMMER 2012 • RIVAL MAGAZINE 21

SEPTEMBER SEPT 3 The UNC-CH Football team opened its season against James Madison University in the newly expanded Kenan Football Stadium. The $70 million project added three floors of seating, a blue zone seating among other facilities to the stadium. Tar Heels rolled past the Duke Blue Devils 42-10.

SEPTEMBER After deciding to cancel tailgate activities after a incident in the 2010 football season, the administration decided to replace tailgate with Football Game Day. Game Day attracted criticism with its decentralized location and stringent alcohol and noise rules. Student participation in Game Day has been relatively low compared to tailgate, but administration still considered Game Day a success in providing a safe alternative to promote Duke football.

BY KATHERINE DRYE, UNC-CH

OCTOBER OCT 15 Occupy Chapel Hill was founded following the nationwide “occupy movement” in the fall, and started as a few tents on the Peace and Justice Plaza on October 15. The encampment soon started to grow and led to both sanitation concerns and an aggregation of the homeless population. After three months on the plaza, Occupy Chapel Hill decided to move out of the plaza in January due to dwindling size and poor weather.

OCT 26 Duke House model: Residence Life and Housing Services (RLHS), which decided to make the controversial switch to the House Model, held a lottery to decide where living groups will be located. For the first time in the history of Duke University, all nine Panhellenic Association sororities will have housing sections located on Central Campus. In addition, fraternities and non-Greek selective living groups (SLGs) all participated in the lottery, which relocated many of these groups to Central Campus.

BY JULIA WALL, UNC-CH

NOVEMBER NOV 12

NOV 15

A group of “occupiers”, many of them not associated with Occupy Chapel Hill, moved into the vacant Yates Motor Company building on Franklin street, which led to a police raid 18 hours later. Chapel Hill Police was later criticized with the way its forces handled the raid and for handcuffing two journalists.

A game between Duke and Michigan State, two traditional basketball powerhouses, is always exciting to watch, but the victory that resulted from the game on November 15 between the two had far more meaning than just another Duke win. It was the 903rd career win of the head coach Mike Krzyzewski, which made him the all-time winningest coach in Division I college basketball. With 927 wins after the disappointing end to the 2011-2012 basketball season, Coach K has proved to be one of the most successful coaches in the nation throughout his career.

22 RIVAL MAGAZINE • volume 7 • issue 4

DECEMBER DEC 1

DEC 5

The new housing plan, which would have ended the practice of reserving North Campus residence halls for freshmen, was axed after student groups complained. Students took issue that the change intended to reduce unused beds in North Campus and encourage upperclassmen to live on campus.

Chairman of the Board of Directors Bruce Karsh and his wife, Martha, donated $50 million dollars to Duke as a permanent endowment supporting the university’s need-blind financial aid policy and financial aid for international students. The donation is the largest ever received by Duke University from an individual.

DEC 21 Laurence Alvin Lovette Jr, one of the two men who allegedly killed then-student-bodypresident Eva Carson in 2008, was found guilty of first-degree murder and will spend rest of his life in prison.

FEBRUARY FEB 8

FEB 10

Austin River’s buzzer beater silenced Dean Smith’s Center with an 85-84 victory for Duke in a game where UNCCH led most of the second half. Tyler Zeller accidentally tipped the ball in for Duke and then missed a second free throw in the last moments of the game. UNC-CH was forced to seek redemption for the game in Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 3.

UNC-system Board of Governors approved a historic 8.8 percent tuition hike system-wide, which translates into a $695 tuition increase for in-state students for the 2012-2013 academic year and $600 for 2013-2014 academic year for UNC-CH. The board also approved a $1622 tuition increase for out-of-state students starting 2012-2013 academic year.. Two hundred students from across the state rallied in the Pit on the following day to protest this measure.

FEB 9

FEB 21

UNC-CH’s 18th Rameses (UNC-CH’s goat mascot) died at the age of 8 due to natural causes, just one day after the heartbreaking basketball loss to Duke. The 19th UNC-CH ram, Bam-Bam, will have his first public appearance in the fall.

UNC-CH student body voted 57.4 percent to 40.8 percent to remain in the UNC-system’s Association of Student Governments (ASG), which is funded by an annual $1 fee from UNC students around the state. ASG has been consistently criticized with its inefficient use of student money.

MARCH MARCH 12 The NCAA imposed additional penalties after learning about the infractions of the UNC-CH football team with sports agents and impermissible benefits to players. The NCAA banned the UNC-CH football team from the 2012 postseason and will reduce the team’s number of eligible scholarships by 15 over the course of a three-year span.

MARCH 3 UNC-CH and Duke faced a familiar situation- the basketball game between the two decided the ACC regular season champion. While Duke students can still reenact the winning shot made by Austin Rivers in the game between the rivals in February, the Tar Heels did not allow that to happened again at the March rematch in Cameron Stadium. UNC-CH started this game with a large lead and held onto it throughout the match, cementing its title as the ACC regular season champion.

at Duke

BY KATHERINE DRYE, UNC-CH

MARCH 21 The University institutionalized a $20,000 fund for the Black Student Alliance Invitational, a yearly recruitment event to bring black prospective students to campus for a weekend, based on the recommendation of the Black Culture Initiative organized by the Black Student Alliance (BSA). BSA started these negotiations followed by a rally on Main West Quadrangle on January 24.

A new course numbering system will become live for Fall 2012. Instead of the original 1-399 system for undergraduates, Duke University adopted a new system ranging from 1 to 999. In addition, Duke will also start to use Sakai instead of Blackboard for course management starting Fall 2012.

SUMMER 2012 • RIVAL MAGAZINE 23

the width and breadth of it Smoother Sailing...

STORY AND PHOTOS BY ALYSSA BAILEY, UNC-CH DESIGN BY SHANNON COFFEY, UNC-CH

I

was running the other day along the Seine, idly taking in the view. Having been in Paris for two months, and I have memorized my routine; Down the Seine, along the Right Bank, past the Louvre, a lap around the Jardin des Tuileries. It was striking the first time, but now it’s just habit.

I was jogging in place, waiting for the crosswalk light to change by the Pont Neuf metro stop, the halfway point on the river portion of the run. I looked left toward the Seine, mentally reviewing my day’s to-do list: shower, get dressed, go to a museum with a friend –wait, what’s that flash of green (and it’s not the stoplight)? I did a double take, covered my mouth, and gasped.

I run every other day in Paris, but it wasn’t until that moment that I noticed the usually skeleton-like trees were getting leaves.

Winter was over. It was finally spring.

Last issue, I wrote about my experience studying abroad in Paris after my first week. It had been rough; I definitely wasn’t in love with the place. The language barrier took me off guard. I stumbled doing everything; I couldn’t understand anything. But I had hope: that my days in Paris would become the best of my 24 RIVAL MAGAZINE • volume 7 • issue 4

Every issue we take an outside perspective from one of our columnists who is studying abroad.

Alyssa Bailey is a junior at UNCChapel Hill studying abroad at the Sciences Po school in Paris, France.

Left: Rue Royale, where my internship is, at night by Place de la Concorde. I snapped the picture of traffic at 7 p.m. on my way to the Concorde metro.

Right : The impressive roof of the Palais de la Decouverte’s lobby. The museum’s interior reminds me of the Smithsonian Natural History museum from home.

life. I just had to get through winter, that adjustment period.

So now it’s done. I’m more than halfway through my classes. I’m an editorial intern at Women’s Wear Daily, the publication I interviewed for that first Friday; it’s been a wonderful experience. The editor who gave me the encouragement I so desperately needed, then, is now my boss.

I have a great group of friends from my journalism program. It’s getting warmer — slowly but surely. Last Thursday, it was 72 degrees before it dropped back to the mid-50s. It was a perfect teaser for the beautiful weather ahead.

My French comprehension is steadily improving. What was once just a slur of indistinguishable words on the metro have become conversations of which I can make some sense. The things that once terrified me — oral “exposés” or French presentations, street interviews en français — I’m tackling now one by one. I’m surviving and somehow, these challenges aren’t as dreadful as I imagined.

I’m also doing more activities with friends: my roommate and I are planning a trip to Euro-Disney this weekend, a girl from my program and I are talking about a group trip to Rome in May once classes end, and my father and I have booked our tickets for London when he comes over during my last week here.

Paris is on the upswing. So best days ever, right?

Not quite, but good days. Better days.

And that’s good enough for now.

Study abroad advertising is a bit misleading. The experience is pitched as the ultimate semester-vacation. ‘Go explore Europe or Asia or Africa! Have the adventure of a lifetime! It’ll be your best experience ever, we swear!’ What they don’t tell you is that your experience can’t be pigeonholed like that. It’s really one-of-

a-kind, different and individualized.

They can’t tell you what it’ll be like for you in Paris. I can tell you that unless you’re fluent in French and have lived in a city, there will be some kind of adjustment. But no one can promise that you will have a good experience just because you’re physically in Paris. Being in Europe or wherever else doesn’t automatically make your life amazing despite what the brochures say. It’s just a pretty backdrop, and setting is just one component of your life’s script.

So, live boldly and enjoy it while you can. Be your own director and plan, plan, plan. And if there are moments where you miss the U.S., know it’s OK. I can give you a list of things I miss in a heartbeat; we all can.

I used to be confused when I’d read the excited statuses of students abroad upon their return to the States. Counting down the days. But why? You’re in Spain for only a week more. Shouldn’t there be tears? How are you excited to return to U.S. mediocrity when you have all that around you?

Being here now, I realize that previously I just didn’t get it. It’s impossible to, until you’re feeling it. There’s a big difference between living and vacationing, but you don’t know it until you experience it. Study abroad isn’t a semester-long vacation no matter what pictures you see on brochures or on Facebook suggesting

otherwise.

You still have classes — that’s not played up as much. You can’t just skip off to the Musée D’Orsay or to Brussels when you have an 8 a.m. lecture. It’s a little pricy to go to that little cafe you’ve claimed as your own when a drink costs nearly as much as the entrée would in dollars.

At the end of the day, it’s a good experience. But let’s be frank, there’s no way to adequately describe it. My experience will be nothing like yours and nor will anyone else’s. You can’t compare so, please, get on that plane with no expectations. Erase the idea of the “best experience ever” and just let it be your own engaging experience.

“But what’s it like?” “What should I expect?” That’s what I wanted to know before I left. I wish I could tell you, but I know now that no one can. I can tell you the practical tips: get a Navigo for the metro, have plenty of passport photos on you, use such-and-such for a phone provider, take such-and-such metro line, but what it’ll be like for you? You’ll find out. Don’t be afraid..

You will probably have bad days, but that’s normal. Give it time. Come with a good attitude, be happy with ‘good enough’ and never lose faith in things getting better. Soon enough, you’ll be jogging in your little place and notice the green too. Gasp, smile, and enjoy the rest of the ride.

‘‘

You will probably have bad days, but that’s normal.

Give it time. Soon enough, you’ll be jogging in your little place and notice the green too. Gasp, smile, and enjoy the rest of the ride.

SUMMER 2012 • RIVAL MAGAZINE 25

by the book:

THE ART OF VERBAL LANGUAGE

In our By the Book section, we compare the syllabi of two similar courses—one from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and one from Duke University. This issue we take a quick look at the introductory linguistic classes at each university.

UNC-CH

DUKE

course name:

Introduction to Linguistics *sample syllabus

Introduction to Linguistics *sample syllabus

course number:

LING 101

LINGUIST 101

professors:

Misha Becker

Jim Fitzpatrick

offered in fall 2012?

yes

yes

required books:

Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction, 5th edition by: William O’Grady

Language Files, 10th edition by: Ohio State Department of Linguistics

number of quizzes:

0

daily

number of exams:

3

0

course grade:

attendance/participation: 10% assignments: 15% test 1: 25% test 2: 25% final: 25%

option 1: The average of all the daily quizzes, excluding the worst three.

attendance policy:

mandatory

mandatory

beyond the classroom:

office hours, appointment

office hours

26 RIVAL MAGAZINE • volume 7 • issue 4

option 2: The average of all the daily grades, excluding the worst three- 75% Final exam- 25%

OUT OF THE BLUE Mohamed Ismail

Qiudi Zhang

aka Moh, has been a tree-hugger since his childhood in Los Banos, Philippines, a town in the middle of a tropical rainforest. Moh grew to love the sight of wild animals and the sounds of rain in the trees, and saw the effects of environmental degradation on both nature and human living conditions. At Duke, he is working toward greener solutions. Moh is a junior studying Civil Engineering with a certificate in architecture. He wants to work in sustainable design, and improve recycling habits and reduce waste. He is active in environmental groups as the Director of Publicity in Duke’s Environmental Alliance, and is involved on the recycling and waste reduction teams in both the Duke Campus Sustainability Committee and Sustainable Duke’s Students for Sustainable Living. This year, Moh’s efforts in increasing awareness about waste and recycling garnered him an award from the Environmental Management Action Committee at Duke. Though the problem he is tackling is difficult and systemic, Moh hopes to teach others how to live more “green” on and off campus.

didn’t have a typical study abroad experience in Germany last summer. Zhang, a UNC-CH senior music major from Omaha, Neb., received the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship with fellow student Crystal Wu to commission a new piece of music from living German composer Georg Katz.

Zhang also had the chance to meet the composer in Germany, which she said was the coolest part of the experience. “Most musicians play music written by composers who have been dead – and decomposing – for the last 200 years, but I got to meet the guy who wrote my music,” she said. “He is the sweetest German old man, and getting to have tea and cookies with him and his wife at his house was more than any musician can ask for.” Zhang, who is also the principal clarinetist of the UNC-CH Symphony Orchestra, plans to continue pursuing music in graduate school after she finishes her undergraduate studies in May.

By Kathie Sun, Duke (photo self-submitted)

By Miranda Murray, UNC-CH (photo self-submitted)

Cody Poplin C

JJessica e Kim

a senior political science and peace, war and defense double p major from North Wilkesboro, N.C., m helps to widen student’s worldh vviews beyond campus. Poplin, who was a teaching assistant for the w Greatt D G Decision i i series i that brings speakers from various areas of the world to campus, recently received the Luce Scholarship for a year of study in Asia. With the scholarship, Poplin will study democratization and conflict management in India before he plans to return to graduate or law school to continue his studies in the field. He also received a fellowship in 2010 to study at King’s College London, where he did research on American efforts during the Cold War to perpetuate democracy that he is now using as the basis of his honors thesis. Poplin is also vice chair of Student Congress, as well as president of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity.

a senior Public Policy major at Duke University, will be traveling D a long way from her hometown of Los Angeles this summer after L sshe graduates. With a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship in hand, she F will ill be b working ki with ith a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Seoul, South Korea for a year with defectors from North Korea to aid them find stable employment. Her plan was to conduct research in another country, and alongside her work at the NGO, she will also examine how these defectors who come from a communist background and tend to lack the education and job skills requisite in modern service economies adjust once they try to make it in South Korea’s capitalistic society. After she completes her Fulbright, Jessica is interested in attending law school and possibly studying tax and trade law. For now, though, Jessica is excited to spend a year in South Korea and to take a much-needed break from academics.

By Miranda Murray, UNC-CH (photo self-submitted)

By Kathie Sun, Duke (photo self-submitted)

SUMMER 2012 • RIVAL MAGAZINE 27

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