T H E I N D E P E N D E N T D A I LY AT D U K E U N I V E R S I T Y
The Chronicle
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2012
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ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTH YEAR, ISSUE 11
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DNC DELEGATES NOMINATE OBAMA Female leaders, women’s rights take center stage at DNC
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Yep, that’s one former and 4 one current president on the big screen. #dnc2012 #chrondnc
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by Nicole Kyle THE CHRONICLE
The Secret Service closes down all entrances to the arena. Is Obama here?
Clinton spent 48 minutes outlining exactly how Obama’s policies trump those of Romney and the Republican Party platform in his address Wednesday night. He covered many of this election cycle’s most contentious talking points—job creation,
CHARLOTTE — Wednesday night was ladies’ night at the Democratic National Convention. Men delivered the majority of the 55 speeches on the schedule, but in an election season where questions regarding health care and equal pay play an important role in both campaigns, it is not a surprise that women’s issues were woven into nearly all of Wednesday evening’s remarks. “The hard-won rights of women are on the ballot,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said in her speech. “Democrats trust the judgment of women…. When you go the polls, vote for women’s rights.” Democrats used the Affordable Care Act of 2010 as the primary platform to display President Barack Obama’s support for women. Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, spoke at length about what Obamacare will do for women and what is at stake if it is repealed under a Republican president. “This year, women learned that if we
SEE CLINTON ON PAGE 5
SEE WOMEN ON PAGE 12
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Chants of “Si se puede” erupt in the arena following remarks from Cristina Saralegu of Miami, FL.
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The #DNC2012 in three words? “Jolly good time,” @Piersmorgan told The Chronicle.
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President Barack Obama embraces former President Bill Clinton after Clinton endorsed Obama in a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte Wednesday.
Clinton lauds Obama at DNC, despite rocky past by Jack Mercola
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#DNC2012 #AskChron #chronteam #chrondnc ELIZA STRONG/ THE CHRONICLE
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CHARLOTTE — After former President Bill Clinton waxed lyrical about President Barack Obama’s time in office so far, the two shared a warm embrace on stage at the Democratic National Convention amid riotous cheers of approval from the crowd.
Deep-sea crabs use UV light to find food
Ethical questions rise as circumcisions fall
by John Barker
by Andrew Ball
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Crabs that inhabit the darkness of the deep-sea ocean floor can detect ultraviolet light. A team of researchers studied the visual sensitivities of crabs in the Bahamas and discovered that their eyes employ two distinct visual pigments to detect light in both the visual and ultraviolet spectrum. They hypothesized that this “two-channel system” allows the crabs to see in color to distinguish between the faintly green toxic corals in their habitat and the ultraviolet light emitted by their bioluminescent food, since very little sunlight and practically no ultraviolet radiation can reach the crab’s habitats. “They have a second visual channel that’s most sensitive to ultraviolet and violet light, which is a real surprise because
Decreases in circumcisions reflect widespread concerns about the ethics of the procedure. Circumcision, the surgical removal of the foreskin of the penis, has been declining in popularity in recent decades, but a recent finding by the American Academy of Pediatrics has affirmed the medical advantages of the procedure. Because circumcision often occurs shortly after birth, it raises questions about whether it is ethical to administer the procedure without the individual’s consent, said William O’Barr, professor of cultural anthropology, sociology and English, and author of the upcoming book “An Anthropologist Looks at Circumcision in American Life.” “Some people feel when they discover it that their body has been permanently altered without their permission,” O’Barr
SEE CRABS ON PAGE 4
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Duke researchers have found that deep-sea crabs can detect ultraviolet light when searching for food.
said. “Does anyone have the right to alter someone’s body without their consent?” Last week, the American Academy of Pediatrics reversed the long-standing understanding among scientists since 1975 that there was no demonstrable medical need for routine circumcision. The opinion reflects the findings of scientific papers over the past decade which have provided a favorable stance toward circumcision, Wiener said. The AAP statement, released Aug. 27, said that the health benefits of circumcision for newborn males outweigh the risks it poses, so it should be available for families that want the procedure. Circumcision lowers the risk for cancer of the penis, urinary tract infections and transmission of sexually transmitted diseases, such as HIV. The Academy, however, did SEE CIRCUMCISION ON PAGE 5
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Wednesday at the DNC, in short Convention swag-off
Say hello to Pelosi
Political conventions are a time for showcasing presidential nominees, discussing party platforms and creating communities around contentious political and economic issues. But they can also be a time for fun, creativity and consumerism, as proved by countless street vendors who camped right outside the Democratic National Convention proceedings all week. Pins, shirts, artwork and hand puppets were among the pro-Obama products sold by these merchants. The Chronicle’s Jack Mercola spoke to several vendors about their wares and interactions with convention guests.
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‘Truckers for Obama’ —I sold that one to a teenage girl.... I don’t think she was a trucker.” —pin vendor Melanie Stanton
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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi greets the crowd at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte Wednesday.
Former Gov. Jim Hunt compares Obama to past Duke pres. Sanford by Jack Mercola THE CHRONICLE
CHARLOTTE — Jim Hunt, the longest-serving governor of North Carolina, cited Duke in a speech promoting government investment in elementary and higher education at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday. Welcoming delegates, members of the media and convention-goers to the state, he highlighted Research Triangle Park and local universities, attributing North Carolina’s success to the thriving of those institutions. He said institutions like RTP and universities sustain North Carolina’s “high-tech and thriving” economy of today, tying the education system to former governor and Duke President Terry Sanford and his policies. A longtime friend of Sanford’s, Hunt once called him “one of the greatest leaders in North Carolina history” and often heralds the dedication Sanford had to providing fair, high-quality education to people of all races and socioeconomic backgrounds. “Fifty years ago, this was a poor
state—poor, rural and rigidly segregated. But we had a governor named Terry Sanford—a hero of mine,” Hunt said in his DNC address. “He broke with most southerners in 1960 and endorsed John F. Kennedy. When other southern governors stood in the schoolhouse door, Terry Sanford stood up for civil rights. He worked with SEE HUNT ON PAGE 6
I sell so many of the ‘once you vote black, you never go back’ pins.... I can’t say if that’s accurate, though. I wasn’t old enough to vote then.” —button vendor Grant Harper
When I designed this shirt, I wanted it to be clear that Mitt Romney is America’s enemy.” —T-shirt seller Maggie Weaver
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I’m painting the crowd outside of the DNC. I was doing the same thing at the RNC last week... I’ll be selling them in a series and donating the proceeds to an arts organization.” —artist Andrew Perchen
My favorite part of selling at the convention is meeting people—finding out where they come from, why they are here... it is a community of people who believe in democratic principles.” —tote bag merchant Xavier Allen
I like it when the protesters come by and make a scene. I can sell more that way.” —puppet salesman Ben Frederick
This painting I call ‘Great Minds.’ Barack, Dr. King, Malcolm X, Mandela— these are the men that represent our struggle to overcome.” —art salesman Andrew Nichols
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Former Gov. Jim Hunt compared President Barack Obama to former Gov. and Duke President Terry Sanford Wednesday.
Especially after her speech last night, we’ve been selling straight through the ‘I love Michelle’ bracelets—folks can’t get enough of her.” —bracelet seller Khalilah Hasan
CHELSEA PIERONI/THE CHRONICLE
Vendors are peddling a wide array of merchandise promoting President Barack Obama outside of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte this week.
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Environmental, social activists protest Duke Energy outside DNC by Nicole Kyle THE CHRONICLE
CHARLOTTE — Duke Energy shareholders are not the only interest group unhappy with some of the energy giant’s recent dealings. Representatives from Greenpeace, Energy Action Coaliton, CREDO Action and other groups gathered Wednesday at Duke Energy Headquarters to protest the company’s funding of the American Legislative Exchange Council, an organization of conservative state legislators who advocate free-market enterprise and limited government. The protesters oppose
the company’s funding because ALEC supports voter identification laws, which they said discriminate against minorities and other demographics. The company donated $50,000 to underwrite ALEC’s meeting in Charlotte in May. “Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers took out a $10 million loan for the [Democratic National Convention], yet donated to ALEC earlier this year,” said protester Connor Gibson, a researcher for Greenpeace. Duke Energy Spokesperson Dave Scanzoni said that the
Duke alum Shinseki applauds Obama’s commitment to veterans from Staff Reports THE CHRONICLE
CHARLOTTE — Secretary of Veterans Affairs Gen. Eric Shinseki, Graduate School ’76, recalled common ground with President Barack Obama as the chief source of his bond with the president. The retired four-star general and Vietnam War veteran emphasized Obama’s commitment to veterans’ rights in his remarks Wednesday evening, calling the president’s devotion steadfast and strong. Upon meeting Obama in 2008, Shinse-
ki said he and the president realized they shared similar upbringings and values. “We were both shaped and inspired Eric Shinseki by family members who served in World War II,” he said. “Three of my uncles helped liberate Europe, and when they returned home they helped raise me…. They
CHELSEA PIERONI/THE CHRONICLE
Various environmental and social organizations protested Duke Energy outside the Democratic National Convention Wednesday.
As expected, college affordability was a primary talking point at the meeting of the Youth Council Wednesday, though health care policies took center stage in council discussions, said Charlotte resident and council meeting attendee Brendan Carol. Members of the Youth Council and audience members reflected on the state of the youth vote and briefly outlined goals for the last leg of the presidential campaign, in-
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cluding efforts to mobilize the base and register new voters. Four outside speakers were in attendance including second lady Jill Biden and former New Jersey Secretary of State Regena Thomas. Biden spoke briefly—for three minutes—and restricted her remarks to increasing voter turnout, skimming over key youth-oriented topics such as student loan policy and the DREAM Act. Carol said. “She basically just said, SEE YOUTH ON PAGE 6
SEE DEMS ON PAGE 6
SEE SHINSEKI ON PAGE 6
Youth Council focuses on college affordability at its second meeting THE CHRONICLE
by Jack Mercola CHARLOTTE — Predicted thunderstorms in Charlotte have let down many Duke students who planned to attend President Barack Obama’s nomination acceptance speech Thursday. Duke Democrats planned on busing over 100 students to Charlotte’s Democratic National Convention Thursday to see Obama accept the Democratic presidential nomination. Due to forecasts of inclement weather, convention organizers announced Wednesday that the location of the speech has changed from the 73,778-person capacity Bank of America Stadium to the Time Warner Cable Arena, which holds only 20,200—forcing Duke Dems to cancel their plans, much to the disappointment of the of the organization and students who planned on attending, said Duke Dems co-presidents David Winegar and Adrienne Harreveld, both sophomores. “We are disappointed to report that…all community credentials are no longer valid and we will not be travelling to see the speeches tomorrow,” Winegar said in an email Wednesday afternoon. About 65,000 people who obtained community credentials to Thursday’s event will no longer
SEE ENERGY ON PAGE 6
by Nicole Kyle
Weather stops Duke Dems from seeing Obama
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DSG reviews proposals regarding LGBT space, housing by Elizabeth Djinis THE CHRONICLE
The Senate unanimously passed a resolution confirming Duke Student Government’s support for the efforts of the Center for LGBT Life to increase the size of their new programming space to at least the size of its current space. Representatives from Blue Devils United presented the layout of their new space as it is currently planned, noting the lessened space allotted for programming. The center will move from the West Union Building to the Bryan Center by Fall 2013. Blue Devils United president Denzell Faison, a junior, noted that as planned, the programming space of the new office—which will be located on the top floor of the Bryan Center—would be half of its current size. He added that student representatives from Blue Devils United were not consulted during the formulation of the layout. “All we’re asking for is what we were previously promised and what we believe we deserve,” Faison said. “We were told we’d get half the space, but we got considerably less.” The center’s goal is to accommodate the growing population of LGBT life on cam-
CRABS from page 1 there’s almost no light of that type down there remaining from the sun,” said biology professor Sönke Johnsen, who authored the study, published today in the Journal of Experimental Biology. “Having a channel for that would seem completely pointless— you’re being sensitive to something that’s just not there.” Because bioluminescent colors come in subtly different shades of blues and greens, possessing this type of visual channel allows the crabs to sort the colors out and discern between food and toxins, he added. Although the researchers knew the crabs were capable of detecting ultraviolet light, they were unsure as to why they would need this ability, said Tamara Frank, a biologist at NOVA Southeastern University who worked on the study.
pus with an expanded space. “The LGBT center serves hundreds of students on campus,” said senior Michael Pruitt, a representative from Blue Devils United, noting that the center is staffed by two people, excluding students. “We were hoping to expand the office to make it so that there was a regular student section, and now that’s out the window.” Junior Stefani Jones, vice president of equity and outreach, noted that the resolution is timely given the fact that the plans have not been solidified. “The inside of the space hasn’t even been approved yet,” Jones said. “This is definitely a stage in the process where we can be talking about this and [making] this request.
Committee comprises the Surplus Trustee Committee along with four student senators. The amendment would make the four senators official members of the committee. DSG will vote officially on this amendment at their next meeting.
In other business: Sophomore Jacob Zionce, vice president of residential life, proposed an amendment to the Residential Group Assessment Committee. The committee aims to strengthen the relations between selective housing groups and Duke’s residential community as a whole. Previously, RGAC rated selective housing groups at the beginning and end of each year based on a rubric.
Zionce noted that he wishes to expand these ratings to three times a year, including a mid-year assessment that would not have any long-term consequences to the groups but would simply check on their progress. He also hopes to change a specific rubric qualification which, in the past, had awarded points to selective living groups who hosted events with fellow groups to link the community. If this amendment is passed, there will no longer be any points given for this action. The Senate then discussed the three members—freshmen Elizabeth McGlamry and Nandita Singh and sophomore Ciera Echols—who had applied and interviewed for a position on the Board of Elections. As these students had to monitor freshman election campaigns, they were not present at the Wednesday meeting. The Senate voted to temporarily elect the candidates to the Board of Election positions until the senate can formally meet them and decide on their capability. An amendment to the Student Organization Finance Committee bylaw was introduced. The bylaw would change the membership structure of the surplus trustees. Currently, a five-member Executive Board
Frank said the crabs were usually almost immobile but that over time, the researchers noticed them reaching for and apparently eating from the corals beneath them. The long delays between their movements were explained by the crabs’ “long-exposure” vision—their eyes slowly assemble a coherent and detailed image from what little light is available in their surroundings, Frank said. As a result, the crabs had difficulty tracking motion or reacting quickly to visual stimuli, but moved very precisely once they had fully processed the environment. Because the crabs cannot eat the coral they live on, they had to get a precise image of their environment in order to extract the plankton that was stuck on the coral. “They weren’t eating the [coral] structures they were sitting on, but they were periodically picking stuff off those structures,” Frank said. “[Sönke] thought that maybe they were using the two-pigment visual system to tell the dif-
ference.” The researchers had to travel to the ocean floor to collect the crabs for study, rather than dragging a net, which would likely damage the environment and kill the crabs. Reaching their habitat was difficult, however, because the crabs live a half-mile below the ocean’s surface, where it is almost pitch black, Johnsen said. The researchers also had to take special measures to avoid blinding the crabs whose vision they were attempting to study. As a result, researchers could not use the bright navigational lights employed by most submersibles. “We had to convince a submersible pilot to travel around with very dim red headlights,” Johnsen said. “It’s very difficult to see, but it works because then the animals aren’t blinded when you try to collect them.” Johnsen is curious to see whether studies of the crabs’ unusual vision may be applicable in other fields of study, such as machine vi-
sion. The ability of the crabs to discriminate between different colors and shapes, even in near darkness, could be used to improve digital eyes. “As a human, you can easily walk around under starlight and perform most normal activities,” Johnsen said. “Trying to do this with your average camera system is next to impossible.” Although the researchers have not yet fully studied the crabs’ eyes, surprising innovations in optics have come from nature before. For example, lobster eyes have inspired the creation of new X-ray telescopes. Because data was only collected from two areas in the Bahamas, however, the researchers plan on collecting more raw data before looking into possible innovations. Frank said she would like to study the optics of other animals in similar areas to see whether UV adaptation is more common than previously realized.
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Sophomore Jacob Zionce, DSG vice president of residential life, discussed the Residential Group Assessment Committee Wednesday.
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CIRCUMCISION from page 1
CLINTON from page 1
not find sufficient evidence to recommend universal newborn circumcision. This trend of support for the procedure from the medical community runs counter to wider societal trends. Although the newborn circumcision rate in the U.S. ranged from 90-95 percent between 1950 and 1970, it declined to about 33 percent as of last year, O’Barr said. This drop could be attributed to an increase in anti-circumcision groups that have voiced concerns about the ethics of circumcision and are striving to ban the practice altogether. The decrease could also be linked to states no longer funding the procedure, said Dr. John Wiener, section head of pediatric urology at Duke Hospital. Seventeen states, including North Carolina, no longer provide financial support for the procedure. O’Barr said that circumcision should not be viewed as right or wrong, comparing the procedure to a girl who has her ears pierced. “Either you are [circumcised] or you aren’t,” O’Barr said. “[There’s] nothing wrong with either way.” Because circumcision has traditionally been so prevalent among men and in popular culture, the desire to fit in may pressure individuals to undergo the procedure, he said. Not only do drawings and models depicting circumcised males promote the procedure, but the use of terminology such as “uncircumcised” suggests that not being circumcised is undesirable. Adjectives such as “intact” or “natural” would be more appropriate and conscious of the sensitivity of the issue, O’Barr said. He noted that there are multiple techniques for the procedure, each involving different instruments. The differing methods result in different aesthetic looks, which may account for the wide scope of male opinions on the subject. It is possible, however, to distinguish between safe and unsafe ways to conduct the procedure. “Circumcision is not a foolproof thing—you can lose your penis in the process. Do not try this at home,” O’Barr warned. “Some people do, but that’s another story.”
national debt, Obamacare and welfare reform—and chastised Republicans, claiming that they have been unwilling to compromise across party lines. With nearly the entirety of Time Warner Cable Arena on its feet, Clinton maintained his familiar charisma while ad-libbing and going off script to interact with the crowd several times. “President Obama’s approach embodies the values, the ideas and the direction America must take to build a 21st century vision of the American Dream in a nation of shared opportunities, shared prosperity and shared responsibilities,” he said. But the relationship between Clinton and Obama—and their ideologies—has not always been so peachy. Both men have been publicly at odds with the other, most notably during the 2008 presidential election. Through the Democratic primary, which pitted Obama against Clinton’s wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, harsh words were exchanged as Obama accused Bill Clinton of utilizing dishonest and “troubling” campaign tactics while Bill Clinton called Obama’s campaign platform a mere “fairy tale.” Eight years prior to the primary battle filled with barbs, Clinton worked to defeat Obama in a 2000 Illinois congressional race. Obama was running against Democratic incumbent Bobby Rush in the primary, and Clinton endorsed Rush a week before the election took place, ushering in a loss for Obama. But Clinton put history and differences aside—even poking fun at Obama’s appointment of his wife—as he took the stage the night before Obama will accept his nomination, usurping a position that is typically filled by the vice presidential nominee. With his enduring popularity among the American public, he may be just the strong arm that Obama and Democrats need to achieve the sought after “convention bump” in pre-election polls. Clinton and first lady Michelle Obama, who spoke Tuesday night, are Democratic faces that are well-liked by the public—they earned a 69 percent and she a 65 percent approval rating, respectively, in a Sept. 5 USA Today/Gallup poll. Both nights, the DNC crowd reflected this support, receiving both Clinton’s and Michelle Obama’s speeches with great praise. If Americans trust in Clinton, as the polls suggest, he
may have aided Democrats with his address, as he not only backed up pro-Obama rhetoric with facts on the empirical benefits of many of Obama’s policies, but also worked to discredit much of the Republican discussion from last week’s Republican National Convention. “In Tampa, we heard a lot of talk about how the president and Democrats don’t believe in free enterprise and individual initiative,” he said. “Well since 1961, Republicans have held the White House for 28 years, the Democrats 24. In those 52 years, our economy produced 66 million privatesector jobs. What’s the jobs score? Republicans 24 million, Democrats 42 million.” Clinton cited other statistics to explain how Obama would better serve the American people on not only job creation, but on working to balance the federal budget, achieved by Clinton and a Republican-controlled Congress during his presidency. “Obama has offered a plan with $4 trillion in debt reduction over a decade, with two and a half dollars of spending reduction for every one dollar or revenue increases, and tight controls on future spending,” Clinton noted. “It’s the kind of balanced approach proposed by the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles committee.” Clinton also addressed the GOP’s relentless attacks on Obamacare. He said Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s vision for Medicare and Medicaid neglects those in the greatest need. The GOP ticket’s plan for these programs would show Americans the end of modern Medicare by 2016, he added, because the plan would bolster insurance companies while asking seniors to pay more for medication and shorten the life of the Medicare trust fund by eight years. “But it gets worse—[Romney and Paul Ryan] want to block grant Medicaid and cut it by a third over the coming decade,” Clinton said. “Almost two-thirds of Medicaid is spent on nursing home care... and on people with disabilities, including kids from middle class families with special needs like Down’s syndrome and autism. I don’t know how those families would deal with it. We can’t let that happen.” To conclude his speech, Clinton put his full support behind Obama and his vision—an America that prospers as a “we’re all in this together” society, Clinton said. “If that’s what you believe—if that’s what you want, we have to re-elect President Barack Obama,” he said.
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6 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2012
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DEMS from page 3
ENERGYfrom page 3
HUNT from page 2
YOUTH from page 3
be able to attend, DNC committee CEO Steve Kerrigan wrote in an email Wednesday morning. In lieu of the trip to Charlotte, Duke Dems will be holding a dinner and watch party in the Sanford building at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Winegar added. There will be a conference call with the president Thursday afternoon exclusively for those who had community credentials. Winegar said he encourages Duke’s ticket holders to tune in to that call.
company belongs to a number of different organizations, but that does not mean it agrees with the groups on their political stances. “ALEC has been an effective way to make connections with various elected officials to discuss energy policies,” he said. Duke Energy leadership never disclosed the amount of money it acquired for the DNC, but it guaranteed an unusual $10 million line of credit, The Charlotte Observer reported. In addition to the company’s political allegiances, protesters spoke out against dirty energy practices. Protesters chanted, “No coal, no hikes, no fracking way!” as onlookers and media formed a circle around them. The latter reference is to hydraulic fracturing, the practice of extracting natural gas deposits by pumping water and chemicals deep into shale rock formations. The procedure has prompted concerns of groundwater and air pollution around fracking sites. “We want Duke Energy to move away from coal and mountain top harvesting and instead move to clean energy,” Gibson said. Sanzoni noted the green energy practices that the company already has in place, particularly Duke Energy’s level of engagement in renewables such as wind and solar power. The utilities company has been in hot water with investors and the public since its merger with Progress Energy in early July. The merger sparked scandal and significant media attention when Duke Energy’s board ousted the CEO it promised to keep throughout the merger just hours after the deal was complete.
business leaders, political and education leaders to build our great universities, our 58 community colleges and our public schools.” Hunt then likened Sanford’s efforts in education to those of President Barack Obama. “In the depth of the near depression, that he faced when he came in, Barack Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress provided recovery funds that literally kept our classrooms open,” he said. Obama’s educational stimulus helped save nearly 20,000 teacher and education jobs in N.C. alone, Hunt noted. He also touted Obama’s loyalty to providing and improving early childhood education. Still, North Carolina’s unemployment rate was at 9.6 percent as of July, higher than the national rate of 8.3 percent. In addition to Obama’s dedication to public elementary and high school education, his support of increased funding for Pell grants and lower student loan interest rates sets him apart from Mitt Romney, Hunt added. Obama also invested $115 million in historically black colleges and universities in North Carolina, he said. Hunt said he admires Obama as a leader for the same reason he did Sanford—because he is not afraid to act in accordance to his beliefs though they may not be popular in all camps, noting his Race To the Top program as the most ambitious public education program the U.S. has seen. “President Barack Obama is a doer,” Hunt said. “And we in America will do big things with him.”
come out and help my husband and his boss,” he said. Biden noted the Bidens’ and Obamas’ ability to identify with students—the couples at one time held student loans of their own—as a strength of the Democratic ticket. “All this energy you have here today, it can’t just stay in this room, it can’t just stay at the convention,” Biden concluded. “You’ve got to be out there, and you’ve got to be working your networks, recruiting new volunteers, getting out the vote and getting people energized.” Carol added that in contrast, Regena Thomas’ remarks had the room on its feet for nearly the duration of her speech. Thomas’ passion was contagious. “[Thomas] came out with, ‘You fired up? You ready?’” he said. “She did her job fantastically—she really motivated the crowd.”
SHINSEKI from page 3 worked hard, played by the rules, and loved this country. I learned those values from them.” Shinseki, who served as Army chief of staff from 1999 to 2003, highlighted expansion of post-traumatic stress disorder and brain injury treatment programs as well as job training for veterans as evidence of the Obama administration’s stance on veterans’ rights. “No president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt has done more for veterans,” Shinseki added. “We could not ask for a stronger advocate.” Shinseki, who received his Master of Arts in English literature at Duke, was appointed to Obama’s cabinet December 7, 2008. His appointment was made public during a news conference recognizing the 67th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attacks. The secretary has revisited Duke on a number of notable occasions: to lead the rededication of the University war memorial in October 2009 and to receive an honorary degree at the 2011 commencement ceremony.
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NCAA should let Wells play The NCAA has a rare chance to look good this week—all it needs to do is let Dezmine Wells play immediately for Maryland. Wells landed with the Terrapins earlier this week after a whirlwind transfer process that started just three weeks ago. The sophomore guard, who made the Atlantic-10 allrookie team after averaging 9.8 points per game last season, was expelled from Xavier on Aug. 21 for a “serious violation of the Code of Student Conduct,” Chris according to a school release. Shortly thereafter, reports surfaced that Wells had been accused of sexual assault. The decision was made by the University Conduct Board, a group of students, faculty and administrators—much like the similarlynamed group at Duke. Only one little problem—Wells is innocent. The school acted before the legal process could play out, which it did in just one week. Hamilton County prosecutor Joe Deters declined to prosecute the case, stating that based on the evidence he had, “It wasn’t even close…. We would never take anything like this to court. It just wouldn’t happen.” He also added that Wells’ expulsion was “fundamentally unfair,” and the case “should never have gotten to the point where someone’s reputation is ruined.” But it did, and now the NCAA has a chance to take a step toward improving its tattered image by letting him play. Under normal circumstances, a transfer cannot play in games during his first year at a new school, but can receive financial assistance and practice. Maryland is applying for a hardship waiver on Wells’ behalf, though, stipulating that his unique situation merits an exception. Why, as a Duke fan, should you support the cause of Wells—who immediately becomes one of the ACC’s top guards—and the Terps? If a noble quest for justice isn’t enough, you could remember that the Blue Devils have a unique transfer case of their own on the football field. Jeremy Cash joined the Blue Devils in January, several weeks after the NCAA announced sanctions on Ohio State for its major rules violations under head coach Jim Tressel. The infractions were committed before Cash ever put on a Buckeye Jeremy Cash uniform, going back as far as 2002. Tressel even knew about the transgressions in April 2010—the same month Cash committed as a high school senior.
THURSDAY September 6, 2012 www.dukechroniclesports.com
WOMEN’S SOCCER
ALL HAIL DECESARE
Kim DeCesare leads Duke in scoring this season after moving to forward by Tim Visutipol THE CHRONICLE
Recruited as a defensive player, Kim DeCesare never thought she would be playing striker. But that is what she has been doing this season, scoring six goals and notching three assists to lead the No. 4 Blue Devils to a 4-1 start. The redshirt junior has come a long way, both figuratively and literally, from her days in high school. As an outside back from Massapequa, N.Y., DeCesare was often far from the goal. It seems every year, though, that she would move closer and closer to the opposing goal. After recovering from an ACL tear her freshman year, she became a defensive midfielder, before being placed in an attacking role in the midfield and then finally a striker this season. “Wherever Kimmy ends up playing, we know we’d get Kimmy’s maximum effort,” head coach Robbie Church said. DeCesare knew of the possible switch from midfield last spring when teammates Mollie Pathman and Kelly Cobb were considered for selection to compete for the United States at the U-20 World Cup in Japan. Church felt the change would get her minutes and was a short move from her role last season as an attacking midfielder. “Last year she’d play some, but she didn’t start and she came off the bench,” Church
Cusack
SEE CUSACK ON PAGE 8
Visit the sports blog tomorrow as we go behind enemy lines to interview a writer from the Stanford Daily to get the inside scoop on the Cardinal football team.
ELYSIA SU/THE CHRONICLE
Since moving to forward this season, Kim DeCesare leads Duke with six goals, adding three assists.
SEE DECESARE ON PAGE 8
FOOTBALL SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Stanford looking vulnerable in 2012 Stanford
by Tom Gieryn THE CHRONICLE
Cardinal 1-0 (0-0) CARDINAL 20 PPG 155 RUSH/G 125 PASS/G 2 TD 2-2 FG-FGA SACKS-YDS 3-17
OPP 17 71 217 2 1-1 1-14
After having four players selected in the first two rounds of the 2012 NFL Draft, including No. 1 overall pick quarterback Andrew Luck, Stanford barely escaped San Jose State 20-17 in its season opener. But the Cardinal return top talents at running back, tight end and linebacker that will look to repeat their 44-point performance against Duke from last year.
On September 3, 2011, a week before last season’s road matchup with Duke, Stanford hosted San Jose State in the opening game of its season. Behind three touchdowns from junior quarterback Andrew Luck, the Cardinal trounced the Spartans 57-3. They then beat Duke 44-14 and rolled through seven straight more wins en route to an 11-2 season and a heartbreaking overtime loss to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl. This is not that team. Luck left early to take his place as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. Gone also are offensive linemen David DeCastro and Jonathan Martin, who were first- and second-round choices, respectively. Tight end Coby Fleener, who caught ten touchdown passes, rounded out the quartet of Stanford players to be taken in the first two rounds. This year, behind inexperienced senior quarterback Josh Nunes, the No. 25 Cardinal needed a late interception and a 46-yard field goal from oft-maligned kicker Jordan Williamson to hold off San Jose State 20-17 in the season’s first game. After Luck converted a remarkable 52.6 percent of third downs last season, Stanford went just 2-of-13 on third down last week. “[It was] the ugliest game that we’ve played since I’ve been at Stanford,” senior defensive end Ben Gardner tweeted.
The close call all left Stanford hanging just ust inside the top 25, with th many experts in doubt bt about the Cardinal’ss postLuck future. But ut the losses have nott left Stanford completely pletely bereft of talent. t. Senior running back Stepfan epfan Taylor, who ran for 1,330 30 yards and 10 touchdowns last season, could emerge as a darkhorse Heisman candidate. He was one of the bright spots for head coach David Shaw last week, k rushing for 116 yards at 4.5 yards per carry. But Taylor and his fellow backs managed just 37 yards on 20 carries in the second half against the Spartans. In his post-game press conference, Shaw was asked what happened to the rushing game after halftime. “That’s what I want to know,” he said. “Next question.” The running game figures to improve, though, as the offensive line adjusts to the losses of Martin and DeCastro, since tackle David Yankey and center Sam Schwartzstein are both NFL prospects. Nunes’ maturation will be crucial as well. He battled inconsistency SEE STANFORD ON PAGE 8
8 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 06, 2012
THE CHRONICLE
CUSACK from page 7 Unfortunately it’s too late for Cash, whose final appeal was denied in the same week Wells was expelled, but it isn’t too late for the NCAA to show that it can distinguish whether or not a player is at fault for his transfer. The NCAA approves about half of the undergraduate hardship waivers it evaluates every year in football and basketball, approving 132 and denying 133 between April 2007 and April 2012, and there aren’t 132 players who have gone through the same hardship Wells has over the last month, and Cash did last winter. Unfortunately, Wells may not meet the NCAA’s non-Webster approved definition of hardship, just as Cash didn’t. The waiver is “for student-athletes who are compelled to transfer because of financial hardship, or an injury or illness to the student-athlete or a member of their family.” But just a few months ago, Central Michigan guard Trey Zeigler was granted a waiver to play immediately at Pittsburgh because his father was fired from the Chippewa head coaching position. Now is that an injury or an illness? There has also been public outcry against Wells’ appeal from some who believe approving his case would set a bad precedent. CBS college basketball analyst Seth Davis tweeted Tuesday, “Regardless of whether Wells got the shaft at X, it’s hard to see reason to grant him waiver to play this year. Talk about a slippery slope.” The NCAA has shown its willingness to make enough slippery slopes to cover a mountain range, though, with Zeigler as the most recent example. What if his uncle had been fired? His second cousin? Or what if his father had been just an assistant coach? Or a professor at the university? And how often does a case like Wells’ come around? A prematurely and wrongfully expelled student-athlete was forced to find a school still sitting on an available scholarship in September, then made all his recruiting visits and final decision before the semester started. This doesn’t have to set a precedent. NCAA spokesman Cameron Schuh told ESPN.com in July that “each case is reviewed and determined based on its own merits.” Xavier has regretfully maintained its silence since the expulsion announcement. Not only do they owe Wells a public apology, but they ought to lobby the NCAA on his behalf. And the NCAA ought to finally do what’s right, and for once, make an exception in their rulebook that benefits not a big-money university or coach, but a player who has handled himself admirably throughout a trying period. When Wells announced his decision to attend Maryland via Twitter Tuesday morning, he wrote, “I’ve learned that it is a major responsibility that comes with being a student athlete at all times.” It’s time for Xavier and the NCAA to show that responsibility exists on both sides.
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After cruising to a 44-14 victory against Duke last year, Stanford appeared vulnerable in its season-opening 20-17 victory against San Jose State.
STANFORD from page 7 in his first start of the season but showed potential during a 16of-26 performance for 125 yards and a touchdown. Nunes will need his vaunted pair of tight ends to step up if the offense is to be dangerous. Six-foot-8 Levine Toilolo and 6-foot-6 Zach Ertz provide a pair of massive targets, but they were largely invisible against San Jose State. Toilolo caught only one pass, and Ertz had four catches for just 26 yards. Offense was only half the problem for the Cardinal last week, though. The defense looked porous, especially up front. Stanford had to rely on nickel back Usua Amanam as its best pass rusher. Amanam registered two sacks, four tackles for loss and a fumble recovery as the Stanford defense struggled to get to the Spartan quarterback. “Should we have gotten to the quarterback more?” Shaw said in his press conference. “Doggone right we should have.”
The pass rush should benefit next week from the return of top linebacker Shayne Skov, who missed most of last season due to a torn ACL and was suspended for the first game of this season following a DUI arrest in February. Skov will pair up with Chase Thomas, who passed up the NFL draft to return as a redshirt senior, to form one of the most talented pairs of rush linebackers in the nation. After a long time off the field, Skov is eager to get back on the field. “I’m ready to jump out of my skin,” he said. “It’s easier [to watch games] when you’re team is doing well. When you’re losing or not performing to the capacity that you know your team can, it’s very difficult, knowing there is nothing you can do about it.” Shaw and his staff will hope that another week of practice and Skov’s return will help get Stanford performing to its capacity. Otherwise, its place in the top 25 could be on the line during this weekend’s contest against Duke.
goal tally, but also in the efficiency in which she has recorded these strikes. Her six goals with 23 shots means she averages a goal every 3.8 shots. “The amazing thing for me is she doesn’t need a lot of said. “We had to find some time for her, so we talked about it shots to score goals,” Church said. “Most strikers need around and she spent time working on it.” 4 or 5 shots to score.” And work on it she did. She spent her summer training to DeCesare said that her transition to the position is helped become a forward, doing a lot of shooting and starting to get by the fact that she is flanked by Cassie Pecht and Weinberg, into the mindset of a lead attacker. In the New York area, she who supply her with many opportunities to score. was able to meet and train with teammates Callie Simpkins, “They’re so talented,” DeCesare said. “They beat their deLibby Jandl and Laura Weinberg, who spent the summer in fender and cross the ball into a scoring area, and I’m usually New York City. She also played for the Long Island Rough the closest to it, so all I have to do is touch it.” Riders, a club team, but did not play as a striker. At 5-foot-10, she is usually the tallest on the field, which The evolutionary anthropolhelps her reach the crosses ogy student was also able to fit played to her. in a research trip to Costa Rica “Long strides and her huge heart, Now as a veteran leader on the team, she makes sure that during the summer, where she that’s a great combination” new players understand the imstudied primates such as spider monkeys and capuchins. — Robbie Church, portance of using their teammates effectively. While DeCesare said that she women’s soccer head coach “I love my team,” DeCesare likes animals and nature, she has said. “We all help each other not found something she is as out. The first thing I tell the passionate about as soccer, and freshmen when they come in [is]… it’s not just you compethopes to have a career that keeps her a part of the game. “I think coaching is going to be my calling, to be honest,” ing with everybody else. You make friends and everybody DeCesare said. “My mind is open, so unless I find something wants you to do well, that it’s not just you alone.” No matter where DeCesare has played, she has demonelse I love I’m going to stick with soccer, not just playing but somehow related to soccer…. I definitely want to play after col- strated doing whatever it takes for Duke to win. Last season at N.C. State, a ball bounced off goalkeeper Tara Campbell lege. I have realistic views on it. If it works out, it works out.” This passion, hard work and perseverance are traits and was rolling toward the Duke goal with the ACC regularChurch associates closely with DeCesare, describing her as a season title on the line. The closest player for the Blue Devils was DeCesare, who sprinted back after the ball. “self-made player”. “The only reason I didn’t think it was going in the goal was “We talk about what it takes and a lot of people say they’ll do what it takes. But with Kimmy her actions spoke much because Kimmy was chasing it. If anybody else was chasing it I louder than her words. She wanted to know what it took, but think it would have gone in the goal,” Church said. With her long strides DeCesare caught up to the ball and she went and did it,” Church said. “Her desire and work off the field has put her in the position she’s in and I couldn’t be slid in for a game-saving clearance, and without concern for her body she hit her head on the concrete behind the goal. happier for her.” DeCesare has what Church describes as a “knack of being That play is one Church considers to be one of the biggest in the right place at the right time.” He highlights DeCesare’s of last season, and one that epitomizes what Kim DeCesare ability to accelerate and to separate herself from defenders as is all about. “Long strides and her huge heart,” Church said. “That is her strongest assets as a striker. Her success so far is shown not only by her team-leading a great combination.”
DECESARE from page 7
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Let’s talk about housing Duke’s Panhellenic Associ- housing. With the implemenation will host move its recruit- tation of the new house model ment from on-campus to the this year, sororities must fill a Durham Convention Center target number of beds, the this year. In the past, recruit- same as any selective living ment has been across East and group. For the first time in West Campuses, Duke history, with potential the choice to editorial members shutjoin a Panheltling among all nine sororities lenic sorority will likely involve in venues ranging from the living in that sorority’s secVon Canons to Brodie Gym. tion. The likelihood depends Consolidating recruitment in on factors including the size one location will be more con- of the sorority, the size of the venient for everyone involved. sorority’s house and the ratios It will also hopefully ensure all of sophomore to juniors to sesororities hold their rounds in niors. equitable venues. In last year’s recruitment, However, the content of re- Panhel explicitly forbade socruitment is more important rority members from talking than the location. This year, about housing with potential Panhel must recognize in its new members. “Buildings” was recruitment process the most added to the list of traditionfundamental change in the ally taboo topics that included Duke Panhellenic experience: “boys,” “booze” and “bucks.”
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Given that cohabitation is now a large part of the Panhellenic experience, it should be discussed with potential new members insofar as they understand they may be effectively making a housing commitment. Especially for freshmen, the housing matter is not trivial. Small sororities or sororities with more beds to fill may impose more pressure on their members to live in section. If a freshman desires to live on West Campus, to room with a non-sister or to block with her freshmen friends, she should have a minimally good idea which sororities can ensure these possibilities remain open—preferably before she accepts a bid. We understand Panhel’s attempt to level the recruitment playing field by deem-
phasizing housing differences. We agree that relatively trivial variations—such as location, layout or amenities of the different houses—do not significantly impact the overall sorority experience and are thus irrelevant to the recruitment process. However, when it comes to one of the most important factors in a Duke student’s social life—“Where will I be living?”—potential new members cannot be left completely in the dark. There is much to gain from the newly enhanced Panhellenic experience. Living in section is a wonderful opportunity to strengthen sisterhood by creating a space the sorority can call its own. Yet without informing potential new members about housing obligations that vary by soror-
ity, Panhel risks disappointing those women who might have imagined a different residential experience for themselves. Joining a sorority is certainly a bigger commitment this year, and potential new members should understand what this commitment actually entails. A feeling of being misled might even lead to increased deactivation rates. As Panhel plans its recruitment, it should be both excited and transparent about the experience it is offering— excited because of the many new benefits sorority housing has to offer, transparent because those benefits may not actually appeal to all potential new members. To that end, housing should no longer be considered a dirty word in Panhel’s recruitment process.
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commentaries
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n a world over-saturated with visual stimulation, tractive expression ever. Even aesthetically it looks it’s easy to think that any one image doesn’t good: The contrast between the colors of garish matter. From print advertisements to Internet water gun and jewel-green forest background make sidebars to Facebook events, the amount of visual it seem almost surreal. And it matches my cover information we process on a given photo—what more could I want in a day is astounding. It has become profile picture? easy to see how large quantities of In a lot of ways the photo seems images can cause societal changes. perfect for a fun, end-of-summer proBut what can just one image do? My file update, but after some thought I answer: a lot. realized that it didn’t represent me Most of us, at some point or anwell at all. I lean pacifist, and even other, have come across findings that though I do, in certain cases, suplink the hyper-sexualized imagery of hannah anderson- port guns and warfare, I would nevwomen in the popular media with er take these subjects lightly. baranger negative body image or increased Somehow, when a moment is state of the arts sexual harassment. But unfortunatefrozen and captured forever in the ly, in this case, one image that deviform of an image, it takes on more ates from the norm can’t change the status quo. meaning than the action itself. The fact that I Like the rest of the world, Duke suffers from ava- might enjoy spraying water at my friends on a hot lanches of visual information. Flyers, plaza boards, day to cool off is not more serious than it sounds, emails, Facebook postings, Duke memes, banners. but our minds instantly link an image of a toy gun … Everywhere we turn, online and offline, there is to real guns, to war, destruction, hardship and always something trying to catch our eye. In a lot struggle. We have an immediate and visceral reacof ways this is great—it shows that we are an active tion to such images, a reaction that we are often campus, with many great programs and events. unaware of. But what we often fail to realize is that each imIn the case of my profile picture, a viewer age we post on Facebook, or associate ourselves could subconsciously connect me to all that real with online, reflects on us, perhaps more so than guns bring to mind—for better or for worse. That non-visual information. Some people like to say we connection could make them feel uncomfortable are in the Information Age, or even the Technology “friending” me or could cause them to question Age. Well, I say that we’re entering the Visual Age. how seriously I take the ramifications of war. I Nowadays, one image is all it takes for our, well, im- would never want anyone to subconsciously write age to be changed. me off on the basis of something as trivial as my I recently started paying more attention to how profile picture. I represent myself visually, beginning with what I haven’t untagged myself or removed the picto allow on my Facebook profile. At some point ture, because it’s an important memory of my sumwithin the last year, the site introduced the option mer reunion with my high school friends. I did, to require approval before tagged items appeared however, change my profile picture. Maybe no one on one’s profile. Since then I’ve used the feature, would ever have noticed it. Either way, I would not but I’ve always indiscriminately approved them all, have known how the photo was received until it was thinking, “I don’t have anything to hide.” And I too late. don’t. But now I’m reevaluating my arbitrary secuI encourage all of us to reconsider how we reprity system. resent ourselves visually, whether it’s on the InA couple of weeks ago I decided to remove my ternet through social networking sites or offline profile picture, a photo of me making a ridiculously through organization flyers. It might seem extreme excited face while holding a rather intense-looking to consider the personal, ethical ramifications of water gun. I realized that I didn’t want to be thought one image, but as we enter the Visual Age, this will of as someone who was pumped to be engaging in become ever more important. Actions may speak war-like activities, even if the war-like activity was louder than words, but sometimes images speak nothing more than posing with a child’s toy. loudest of all. The picture in question is a pretty appealing photo. I look happy and silly, but I’m not making Hannah Anderson-Baranger is a Trinity junior. Her the dreaded happy face that equals the most unat- column runs every other Thursday.
THE CHRONICLE
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 06, 2012 | 11
commentaries
Honoring Rachel Corrie
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n 2003, a recent college graduate went abroad to ue. Instead of individuals with their own hopes and stand up to an injustice she saw in the world. Like dreams, they are terrorists. It is what makes home demany of us, she found a cause worth fighting for molitions, an indefinite military occupation, a blockand used her privilege to dedicate her time and en- ade on an entire population and continued displaceergy toward it. That cause was Palestinian solidarity. ment possible. For some, May 14, 1948 is known as Israeli IndeThough both Israel and those resisting the occupendence Day. For others, it is known as “Nakba,” or pation admittedly commit human rights abuses, one “the catastrophe.” It marked the start of main difference, aside from the differthe displacement of hundreds of thouence in power, is the fact that our own sands of people, whose descendants government supports the abuses of Isranow number in the millions and comel. When Israeli Prime Minister Benjaprise the largest refugee population in min Netanyahu visited Congress in 2011 the world. Since 1967, Israel has occuhe received a standing ovation from pied territories in the West Bank, Gaza members across the aisle. When Israel Strip and the Golan Heights and has is brought up in a presidential debate, shown no plans to end the occupation. competition begins, as each candidate ahmad jitan In fact, Israel has continued to displace tries to bend over backwards farther in Palestinians and establish illegal settle- indecent family man support of her. A defense that there are ments to expand their territory. Those other parties also committing human living in the occupied territories have no freedom of rights abuses all around the world holds no water. It movement; they must wait hours and hours at any of doesn’t undo the injustices committed by Israel, nor the hundreds of roadblocks and checkpoints to travel does it acknowledge that no other country receives from city to city, only to be turned back by Israeli au- more U.S. military aid (over $3 billion annually). thorities. They live as a stateless people with virtually We allow the continued oppression of the Palestinno political rights. Contrary to recent comments by ians not just from a failure to pressure our political presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, it is not culture but representatives but also from our economic choices. occupation and political suppression that prevent the The Coalition for a Conflict Free Duke taught us how occupied territories from developing economically. something as simple as the cellphone in our hands Those living within Israel live as second-class citizens can contribute to suffering half a world away. It also in the Jewish state. taught us that, more than our individual consumer Rachel Corrie saw these injustices and decided to choices, responsible investment by institutions can do something about it. Since 1967, Israel has demol- have the potential to effect real change through ecoished 25,000 Palestinian homes and internally dis- nomic pressures. If a company that Duke invests in placed over 160,000 souls. As Rachel Corrie was non- through its endowment takes part in an illegal ocviolently protesting the demolition of a Palestinian cupation (for instance Caterpillar, which provides home of a family that she had come to know, she was the bulldozers that have demolished Palestinian brutally crushed by a bulldozer operated by the Israeli families’ homes), then we have a moral obligation to Defense Forces. Last week, an Israeli court ruled that divest from such companies. Students at other uniher death was no one’s fault but her own. versities, such as Arizona State, have already divested, Criticism of the court’s decision isn’t limited to targeting corporations that are directly involved in Palestinian peace activists—top U.S. officials have also Israeli occupation. There’s no reason Duke can’t do weighed in. The American ambassador to Israel Dan- the same. iel Shapiro denounced the investigation as lacking in Today I also make a stand in solidarity with Palesthoroughness, transparency and credibility. Former tinians: those living under occupation, as second-class President Jimmy Carter commented, “The killing citizens or in exile with a dream of one day returning of an American peace activist is unacceptable. The home. Solidarity with Palestine does not mean denycourt’s decision confirms a climate of impunity, which ing the Jewish people a right to safety, security and facilitates Israeli human rights violations against Pales- happiness wherever they are, but it also doesn’t mean tinian civilians in the Occupied Territory.” supporting a state that deprives those rights to othSince her untimely death, Rachel Corrie has be- ers. No one, regardless of religious or ethnic identity, come the poster child for the extent of Israeli aggres- should live in fear that their home will be demolished, sion even in the face of non-violent protest. The sad that they’ll never be able to visit their families, that fact I must cope with, however, is that she probably they’ll be born and die in a refugee camp. only has this place—that I am writing this column about her—because she is a white American. To most Ahmad Jitan is a Trinity senior. His column runs every of the American public and our political representa- other Thursday. You can follow Ahmad on Twitter @Ahmtives, Palestinian lives are not human enough to val- adJitan
lettertotheeditor It’s time to pay attention to the election Duke students have always struck me as apolitical. And yet if memory serves correctly, Duke students voted en masse—at about 74 percent, if I recall correctly—for Democratic candidate Barack Obama during my sophomore year. Perhaps it may be time for current Duke students to pause to assess the sagacity of their forebears’ mass votes for messianic “hope and change.” What have youngsters gotten these past four years in exchange for their intractable Obama fealty? Let’s see. By most accounts, around half of those recently graduating from college are either unemployed or underemployed. Social science research into the topic suggests that starting at such a comparative disadvantage has a substantial deleterious effect on long-term earning potential. The president extended federal Stafford loans’ low 3.4 percent rate, but at a great cost. Such a low rate places American taxpayers at great interest rate risk when the Federal Reserve decides to sell off the trillions in Treasury debt it has accumulated since the 2008 crisis. Perhaps most egregiously, the Obama administration has overseen the seizure of 90-plus percent of the student loans market. The
government now has an effective monopoly on student loans, which is of great danger given the public sector’s blithe indifference to profit maximization. Institutions of higher education surely realize this, which is why tuition costs have exploded under this administration even more so than they previously had. Infamously, the Obama administration has also accumulated $5-plus trillion in national debt. Pandering to the sacrosanct AARP-guarded elderly, the Obama administration has steadfastly refused to acknowledge the ticking time bombs of Medicare and Social Security. The result will be our generation picking up the tab later in the form of higher taxes and, eventually, higher interest rates to accompany unreformed entitlements and escalating debt. Our generation suffers the most from an expanded entitlement society. Duke students are among the brightest in the country. You have an obligation to think critically about your vote before settling for more “hope and change.” Josh Hammer Trinity ’11
What I learned in Muhuru Bay
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his summer, I went to Muhuru Bay, Kenya for DukeEngage to conduct research and teach at local primary schools. My experiences were markedly different from some, but many of my peers completed DukeEngage with thoughts similar to mine. This column isn’t intended to support or betray the institution that allowed me to have a remarkable summer, only to qualify its end as more selfish than selfless. In Muhuru Bay, I was a cetravis smith lebrity. The shadow that walked and i was all like... with me was not formed by the African sun, but rather by a shoe-less fan base of adolescents who followed me everywhere I went. Insatiable child-sized paparazzi demanded, “How are you?” and “I am fine!” My hands, put out to shake, would not be shaken but rather rubbed, as if to reveal as much of me as possible. Besides making me nervously try to locate my Purell bottle, this experience detached me from Muhuru Bay. I was a “mzungu,” literally translating to “aimless wonderer” but commonly generalized to “foreigner” or, in my case, “white man.” There is a phenomenon in physics in which the act of observation incurs a change on that which is being observed. It is cleverly called the “observer effect.” Traffic cops would smile and wave us through their informal tollbooths, stopping everyone but us. Teachers accustomed to caning disobedient students would hang up their long, bun-beating tree limb when we were around. Primary school students hung on our every word and stayed during the breaks so that we would keep teaching. But as the weeks passed, the classes grew rowdier and—I’d venture—more normal. Teachers stopped showing up to class. Relations with our motorbike drivers broke apart as we negotiated down from the original “mzungu rate.” We all saw glimpses of real Kenya, like overhearing something not meant for our ears. Evidently the observer effect decreases over time, but eight weeks still isn’t enough time to see Muhuru through the lens of a Muhurian. Awareness of such limited understanding made me question the validity of our work in Kenya. If we were seeing an artificial, edited Muhuru Bay, with less caning and more smiles, how could we have worked to change it in a way we see as positive for the “real” Muhuru? Furthermore, how could we have deemed a change positive if we realistically knew nothing of the true culture? Spending a week or two at each school, the best I could do was to be a positive role model, provide a mediocre explanation of mean and median, and just simply show them that there is more to the world than Muhuru Bay. That’s not to say I didn’t become close with some students, but I’m not trying to romanticize things. To many of the students I encountered in Kenya, I am just a memory—that tall, white man who refused to give that one student an iPod. Our view is filtered through a foreign perspective, so we can’t see the big picture, the implications or pathways of change. Any published research resulting from my work will lead to review and debate by a predominantly white, Western audience, as the research is backed by American grants. Corresponding policy suggestions based on their Western views will only temporarily stick in Kenya. There, tradition supersedes “logic,” or whatever else the West wants to use to justify its policies. Like all countries, Kenya has a river of problems. By treating symptoms with BandAid type policies, the West only dams part of the river, letting the real problems find another way to surface. We see pictures of unclothed children, so we send T-shirts printed with the names of losing Super Bowl teams. Then we see pictures of clothed children and feel better. We don’t see the textile workers whose business just got torpedoed by American excesses. Only Kenya can change Kenya, and only when Kenya feels like it. On the flight home, I felt that although donating two months of my time was incredible, and that I did help on a day-to-day level, the greatest beneficiary was me. And call me crazy or selfish or just call me maybe, but on some level that’s enough. DukeEngagers who witness on-the-ground efforts to improve the developing world may more effectively piece together the right resources and strategy to ultimately succeed in their future endeavors. Maybe this was just the first step in evoking real change. Or maybe we’ll all just generally tell better stories at parties now. So though DukeEngage wasn’t quite the immersive and community-improving experience I was sold, it is improving the world, just in a much more indirect way. Every year hundreds of Duke students, some of them out of their homeland for the first time, open their worlds and learn that everything isn’t so black and white. Travis Smith is a Trinity senior. His column runs every other Thursday.
12 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2012
THE CHRONICLE
WOMEN from page 1
Stars & Stripes
CHELSEA PIERONI/THE CHRONICLE
An attendee of the Democratic National Convention displays an American flag on the convention floor Wednesday.
A 2012 Terry Sanford Distinguished Lecture
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. America 2012: Challenges and Opportunities Abroad Monday, Sept. 10 5:30 p.m. Page Auditorium Duke University Free and open to the public Tickets will be available beginning Tuesday, Aug. 28th at the Duke Box Office or at www.tickets.duke.edu.
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., former ambassador to China, will discuss America’s role in the world with Peter Feaver, professor of political science and public policy. Huntsman was a two-time governor of Utah and ran for the Republican nomination for president in 2012.
'8.( 81,9(56,7<
American Grand Strategy Parking available in the Bryan Center Deck (PG4)
E-mail: jackie.ogburn@duke.edu
(919) 613-7312
www.sanford.duke.edu
aren’t at the table, we’re on the menu,” Richards said, referencing Republican-controlled House pushes to redefine rape and cut funding to Planned Parenthood. “It’s like we woke up in a bad episode of Mad Men.” During her remarks, audience members waved hundreds of purple and pink signs reading “Our health care, our choice, our vote.” The initial “O” was replaced by the gender symbol for female. Volunteers distributed these signs to convention-goers throughout the night. In an interview with The Chronicle, Richards detailed what Obamacare guarantees for women—such as coverage for birth control and preventive care— noting the particular relevance for young women. “It is important for my daughter who is in college,” Richards said. “Birth control is a fundamental economic issue for her—that’s $50 to $60 back in her pocket a month.” Richards also encouraged young women to educate themselves on both campaigns’ stances on women’s health care. “I’ve learned that young women listen to each other,” she said in the interview. “Young women listen to young women, and they listen a lot more than they will to politics or television ads.” Convention attendees also heard from Planned Parenthood patient Elizabeth Bruce, who credits the organization’s doctors with successfully diagnosing her with endometriosis—a leading cause of infertility. “When Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan make threats about getting rid of Planned Parenthood funding, it’s clear that they haven’t given a thought to women like me,” Bruce said. “Women with limited resources who are sick and scared.” The night’s female speakers comprised the top Democratic party leadership, including Pelosi, who took the podium for the second time this convention, and Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the fourth highest ranking Democrat in the Senate. Up-and-comers U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and women’s rights activist Sandra Fluke asserted themselves as prominent voices within the party. Fluke positioned the choice between Romney and Obama as one that she believes will result in two very different Americas for women. “[Romney’s America will be] an America in which access to birth control is controlled by people who will never use it—in which politicians redefine rape so survivors are victimized all over again,” Fluke said. “In which someone decides which domestic violence victims deserve help and which don’t.” Warren roused the crowd with emotional appeals, quoting a passage from the Bible—Matthew 25:40— and by making an incensed assault on the Wall Street executives who sparked the financial crisis. Tuesday featured joint remarks from the women of the U.S. House of Representatives—a gesture repeated by the women of the U.S. Senate on the convention’s second day. There were further, perhaps more subtle, nods to the female voter base. Illegal immigrant Benita Veliz, a 27-year-old woman who emigrated from Mexico as a child, was chosen as the speaker on the DREAM Act. Veliz introduced noted Hispanic talk show host Cristina Saralegui, who spoke further on the proposed legislation. Women’s equality leader Lilly Ledbetter, who spoke at the convention Tuesday, traveled the arena floor sporting a canary yellow ensemble distinguishing her from the crowd. Ledbetter is the namesake of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, which streamlines the process for suing against discriminatory pay. The effect of these speeches was quickly apparent in the media. At press time early Thursday morning, “Sandra Fluke” and “Elizabeth Warren” were trending topics on Twitter. So was “Hillary,” even though Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was not in attendance. The pressure is on first lady Michelle Obama and Anne Romney as well. After strong speeches at their respective conventions, it remains to be seen how these women will proceed in the election season. These speeches—and the reaction from the local and worldwide audience—fuel predictions about the importance of the female vote this November. GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan has received criticism for his vote against the Fair Pay Act of 2012, and Obama is seeking to gain married woman voters—whom he lost to John McCain in 2008 by 47 to 53 percent.
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volume 14 issue 2 september 6, 2012
(RE)PLY ALL
hip
hopscotch third annual Raleigh music festival spans genres, decades
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SOPHIA DURAND/THE CHRONICLE
screen/society AMI brings diverse films to campus
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ADF in Durham
Dance Festival finally acquires permanent location
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glitter art
Duke alum uses glitter for social commentary
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September 6, 2012
editor’s NOTE Mike’s importance, even necessity, to the show lies in the words spoken by a Tarantino character that fulfills a hat do you do when you wake up and find your similar role: “I’m Winston Wolf. I solve problems.” Pulp girlfriend has asphyxiated on her own vomit from Fiction’s Mr. Wolf is essentially Mike’s cinematic predea heroin binge the morning after you two prom- cessor, the prototype of a professional problem-solver. Mr. Wolf was tasked with “The Bonnie Situation,” an ised to get clean and run away into the sunset? even gorier predicament that he managed to deal with Better call Saul. But it’s not Saul who snaps on a pair of purple gloves while wearing a suit and bow tie. And while Mr. Wolf and calmly disposes of both your drug paraphernalia and only had one dead body to contend with, Mike has been your girlfriend’s dead body with the same cool detachment following around the amateur hour meth twins like a better suited for brewing your morning coffee. No, that Tide to Go Pen for three seasons, bleaching out their would be Mike the Cleaner, the only man more deserving rookie mistakes and cursing his luck that he ever met of a bus-bench advertisement than Saul Goodman him- Walter White. Now I’m not opposed to aligning myself with fictionself. Mike’s first appearance on AMC’s Breaking Bad came in al hardened criminals who operate by their own moral Season Two’s “ABQ” when he was sent to deal with “The code (holla atchya gurl, Omar!), but I was amazed that Jane Situation.” Within minutes he outhustled Badger I found Mike, indifference to murder and all, to be the to be my favorite character on the show. His sad, tired most comforting character on the show. From that epieyes, the deep creases etched in his forehead—everything sode on, his presence delivered the only brief moments about Mike indicated that he was a consummate, endur- of respite in the series for me. Those were the moments ing professional who absorbs situations instead of flitting when, after waiting for Gale’s death or witnessing Gus’s around them in uncertainty. His self-assuredness ground- box-cutter shenanigans, I could finally unclench my ed the show at a point where both Walt and Jesse were teeth. I could remove my fingernails from my forearm at the mercy of their emotions, reminding us just how to reveal the tiny half-moon indentations I inflicted unstable our meth-making duo had become in only two upon myself during the last hour. Yes, I was nervous when Mike was shot at the end of Season Four, but seasons. not as nervous as when Skylar bought Raisin Bran instead of Raisin Bran Crunch. That’s why Mike’s artists we wouldn’t ignore at Hopscotch death last week was Michaela Dwyer.....................................................................................................Joseph Beuys particularly difficult Holly Hilliard.....................................................................................................................JBiebs for me to watch. He Dan Fishman......................................................................................................2Pac hologram was supposed to be invincible. He is the Ted Phillips..................................................................................................................Yo Ma Ma one who shoots, not Katie Zaborsky...............................................................................................................the Beets the one who gets Andrew Karim.............................................................................Dave Matthews (cover) Band shot. The worst part of it all, though, was Sophia Durand..............................................................................................KINGS OF LEON that he died at the
How Breaking Bad broke my heart
W
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Emma Loewe.................................................................................................................Bon Iver
DUKE PERFORMANCES In Durham, at Duke, a City Revealed. w tomorro
NIGHT
RADIANT PIANO TRIO
CLAREMONT TRIO FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
8 PM s NELSON MUSIC ROOM
DURHAM-BORN GOSPEL SENSATION
JOHN P. KEE & THE NEW LIFE COMMUNITY CHOIR FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14
& SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 8 PM s HAYTI HERITAGE CENTER
BLAZING JAZZ TRIO
THE BAD PLUS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
& SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 9 PM s MOTORCO MUSIC HALL
hands of Walt—Mike’s metaphorical ulcer that flared up periodically, becoming more and more frequent and until it eventually led to his death. Unfortunately, I already had a feeling that Mike wouldn’t survive the series. As soon as they humanized him with a last name and an Achilles heel (his granddaughter Kaylee), I knew he was doomed. Unlike Mr. Wolf, who never materialized beyond a plot device, Mike the Cleaner became Mike Ehrmantraut, devoted grandfather and another casualty of Walt’s season-long power trip. So if Mike is dead and Walt is still alive, what does that say about the value of knowledge, the worth of levelheadedness? One of best parts about a show like Breaking Bad is that each character can reassess their value system with almost every episode and remain believable. Many moral currencies circulate throughout the show— sets of values that characters display in attempt to find a trading partner that they can barter with for personal gain. As such, it’s the characters that are morally aligned at any given moment that form the strongest bond. At first, it was Walt and Jesse in their pursuit of money. At one point, the alliance shifted to Jesse and Mike in their shared loyalty to Gus. Now, it seems that maybe Skylar and Jesse both value physical safety over financial security. And that leaves a lone Walt, king of his one-man empire where ego reigns supreme. Pitted against Walt’s shaky pride, Mike’s professionalism and desire to stay alive didn’t stand a chance. They were dealing in different, unequal currencies. With Mike gone, Breaking Bad is sure to be an even bigger mess than before, considering there’s no one around to tidy up. Thankfully, Mike’s not gone from my thoughts just yet. The other day I Googled, “How does a universal remote work?” and was immediately overcome with shame. Mike would sigh a heavy sigh at my ineptitude. He would look at me with that same weary look he gives Walter every time Walter is acting too Walter-y. So I’m going to figure out how a universal remote works, Mike. For you. No half measures. —Katie Zaborsky
LEARNING to LISTEN:
EMPATHY in LITERATURE and MEDICINE What is empathy? A precious human quality? A necessary component of healing? A teachable skill? Can reading great stories or poems help medical and pre-med students develop it? These workshops will explore how empathy is valued, measured and employed by literature and medicine and what these two disciplines might learn from each other.
Introductory workshop September 11th, 5-7 PM, Soc Sci 107 SCORCHING GYPSY BRASS BAND
Open to all: undergraduate and medical or other grad students, and interested faculty.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 6 PM s DUKE GARDENS
Five Tuesdays, 5-7 PM, Social Sciences 107
U KE
ST
X
$10
Plus dozens more shows... EVERY SHOW. ALL SEASON. TAKE ADVANTAGE.
First Workshop: September 11, 2012 Subsequent workshops on October 9, October 23, November 13, December 4. Light Dinner, drinks and dessert will be provided.
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FANFARE CIOCARLIA
UDE NT
GET TICKETS: WWW.DUKEPERFORMANCES.ORG | 919-684-4444
For more information, see http://sites.duke.edu/learningtolisten/ or email learningtolisten@duke.edu.
Sponsored by the Duke Humanities Writ Large Initiative
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September 6, 2012
I KNOW WHAT LOVE ISN’T SECRETLY CANADIAN
A If anyone knows how to get over a breakup, it’s Jens Lekman. The Swedish singer-songwriter’s third studio album is supposedly about a breakup, but I Know What Love Isn’t sidesteps the whiney ballads you’d expect from such a tired theme. Instead, Lekman uses his tender, understated voice to reminisce—a tale for which the breakup is merely an afterthought. This record continues Lekman’s tradition of marrying his modest voice (somewhere between the deep tone of Frank Sinatra and the wispy murmur of the Magnetic Fields’ Stephin Merritt) with simple instrumentals. Lekman’s tracks integrate myriad sounds while keeping each instrument distinct, and it’s nice to separately listen to the guitar, violin, harp, recorder and xylophone each song has to offer. The album’s playful nature resonates in the cut’s lyrics: “Let’s get married,” he says, “But only for the citizenship.” Female laughter in the background confirms the lightheartedness Lekman is trying to convey. The song is a sen-
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
animal collective CENTIPEDE HZ DOMINO
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timental reflection of a finished relationship, but it’s not nostalgic—consider it storytelling, not wistful yearning. Likewise, Lekman’s title-track narrates a good-humored conversation with his presumable ex. “Every Little Hair Knows Your Name” makes two appearances on the album, once as a pluck-heavy serenade and again as a short, lyric-less piano piece. The former is Lekman’s most tender moment in a long musical career. He paints otherwise artless lyrics to emphasize his vulnerability: “I started working out when we broke up/ I can do 100 pushups… probably do two [hundred] if I was bored.” Lekman isn’t trying to garner gym bro credit here; he’s putting into words his post-breakup attempts at selfimprovement, this lingering feeling that he was not good enough. Lekman tries his hand at soul in “Erica America,” which uses Spanish guitar, piano and saxophone to emulate the sound of a jazz club. The lyrics are more spiteful here than anywhere else in the album: “I wish I’d never met you like I wish I’d never tasted wine from lips that weren’t mine/ Now every drop tastes more bitter all the time.” It’s dark for Lekman but, as far as breakup songs go, Lekman’s dark is anyone else’s murky. Closure is elusive and hard to locate in any relationIf the wave of ’60s British pop got together with an auto-electric new-age group, their grungy lovechild would be the indie band Animal Collective and their latest album Centipede Hz. Centipede Hz diverts slightly from Merriweather Post Pavilion, creating tracks more lyric-heavy and fast-paced. Whereas previous albums use sound almost randomly, this record blends techno and other more easily recognizable musical forms. As a result, there’s something vintage about Centipede Hz, something that reminds of Beatles’ trippy phase. If you can overlook the album’s monotonous tone and tempo, there are some beautifully pithy lyrics: “I eat a mango and I feel like a little honey can roll” and “One day maybe I’ll have a cool kid with a granny but I don’t pose for applesauce on clothes.” The album is filled with such gnomic lyrics. Without obvious meaning, the likes of “Applesauce” might be the product of an acid trip. If the album reveals anything about the minds of band-
Get ready to make your travel plans The Duke Global Education Fair comes to the Bryan Center on Tuesday, September 11
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Look for your guide to the Fair in The Chronicle on Friday, September 7
SIMPLY THE BEST!
jens lekman
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SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
ship, but we’re told it’s the trick to getting over a breakup. Lekman knows this. He understands that moving on isn’t about hate or dwelling on the negative but rather taking the end of a relationship with a grain of salt. With this record, Lekman pretends he’s cool with it, tells us his story and, finally, finds closure. —Andrew Karim mates Avey Tare, Geologist, Deakin and Panda Bear, it’s a pinhole view. Throughout, there are glimmers of a tree-hugger’s political statement—“When I want fruit I can find it wherever I please/ What if I should wake up and find dudes on the street waiting in lines or scrounging for berries?”—faintly reminiscent of their 2003 album Campfire Songs. And when it comes to socially aware hippie indie albums, I’m happy to take two. The last song on the album, “Amanita,” feels like an invitation to join in Animal Collective’s madness. And the album’s final words don’t feel like they’re finishing anything. Instead, the story lingers unfinished, as they sing “I’m gonna come back and things will be different/ I’m gonna bring back some stories and games.” Surprisingly chilling and yet nostalgic, Animal Collective’s Centipede Hz is a confounding experience. It’s an album that touches the innermost parts of my subconscious and left me with thoughts I didn’t know existed. That’s the magic of Animal Collective. Just let it happen. —Maurice Dowell
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September 6, 2012
HOPSCOTCH
music festival
Recess Editors weigh in on their most anticipated acts of the weekend
Julia Holter Listening to Holter is sort of like walking into a dark living room while covered with thick pudding made out of the pages of the Oxford English Dictionary. Which is to say, there’s something a bit off about it—its the kind of music I can imagine Salvador Dali dancing to—but Holter’s tracks are unexpectedly soothing. Her most recent album, Ekstasis, captures both usages of the word ecstasy: the sense of purified, almost deranged, joy and the sense of being outside oneself looking back. Her songs are hyper-literate—she references French new wave cinema and spouts off Greek—yet her albums never feel like art history lessons. Rather, there is the persistent sense one is strolling leisurely through a museum with wide halls. It’s night and the museum is empty. And at the end of the hall, there Holter stands, crowned with some spectral lampshade, singing her tunes of mystery and love. —Dan Fishman
The Roots Even if you’re not a hip-hop head, Hopscotch headliners The Roots promise to deliver one of the most entertaining and polished live sets of the festival, if only for the fact that they’ve had a lot of practice performing. Currently the house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Roots have featured live instrumentals across their 10 studio albums while incorporating soul, jazz and alt-rock sounds into their hip-hop blueprint. The band’s backbone is composed of two monumental talents: Black Thought, an MC who spits dense, winding lyrics with unrelenting energy, and ?uestlove, professional drummer and Twitter extraordinaire (you’ll thank me later). The two co-founders are the only consistent members of the band’s 20-year career, but their penchant for exploring new musical styles has led to longtime collaborations with artists like Malik B. and Dice Raw. Their most recent release, Undun, was a concept album narrating the life and death of fictional character Redford Stevens, a street-level drug dealer inspired by The Wire’s Avon Barksdale. While concept albums are not unheard of in the realm of hip-hop, they’re few and far between, but so are bands that have the same level of cross-genre appeal and musicianship as The Roots. —Katie Zaborsky
Dan Deacon SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
You are probably familiar with Dan Deacon’s work whether you know it or not. If you have ever seen a lizard wearing a sombrero talking about “drinking out of cups” and “captain tying knots,” you have heard a Dan Deacon song. But his body of work is far more expansive than his most heard song. Over the course of eight albums, he manipulated sine waves using physics equipment and his current styles range from freak folk to minimalism. Some of his songs (e.g. “Pink Batman”) could, if recast as an orchestral piece, be mistaken for Steve Reich or Philip Glass. His newest album America features strings and winds on several tracks. In addition to Deacon’s fanciful music production, he is known for involving the crowd at shows. If you’re lucky enough to be close to the stage, you might see his homespun electronics--tangles of hand-soldered wires and knobs that I doubt anyone but Deacon understands. This Friday, I hope to dance myself into a similar tangle. —Ted Phillips
September 6, 2012
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Recess Interviews: Matthew E. White Tonight at 10:30 p.m. Matthew E. White will present what Hopscotch Music Festival co-director Grayson Currin calls “the biggest production that Hopscotch has ever done.” White and his 30+-person orchestra have arranged an all-acoustic rendition of his debut album Big Inner that, after tonight, will never be performed again. The final show of the night at Fletcher Opera House, White’s concert is billed under the moniker “One Incantation Under God,” which is an appropriately grandiose name for his unique blend of American spirituals, gospel music and dramatic arrangements of horns and strings. Recess Music Editor Dan Fishman talked on the phone with White about his new record, how he made his bones in the music industry and, of all things, White’s childhood obsession with Duke Basketball player Bobby Hurley. Recess: So tell me a bit about how this concert came about. I hear it was a commission of sorts. Matthew White: Yeah. When Grayson heard the record, he loved it and asked me to perform it. The record is almost completely acoustic—there’s electric bass and electric guitar but those aren’t overwhelmingly amped. So though it’s been complicated from an administrative perspective, musically it was quite straightforward to put together. R: How did you find all of these musicians to work with you? MW: Part of what’s so special for me about this night is that most of the people I’m playing with I’ve played with before at some point in my life. Lots of them played with me at music school at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. It’s basically a group of all of my friends. We’ve been getting really close. R: That sounds amazing. MW: It’s rich, man. Not having to hire people that I don’t know…. It’s so special that I can bring down 31 people who I know and who are good enough to do it. R: You mentioned music school at VCU. How did that happen? MW: In high school my mindset about college was to do the coolest thing I could imagine, and I couldn’t think of anything better than music. Looking back, that sounds ignorant and naïve. And I knew nothing about the kind of music I make now. I was rock ‘n’ roll. I was the hipster guitar guy. When I got to VCU I had to choose either jazz or classical. I chose jazz because I thought jazz was more open-ended. And so I learned a lot about jazz. Eventually I started this avant-garde jazz group to use the things I was learning in school. There were nine of us at the time, and they’re all involved in the Hopscotch concert. That group really helped me get into the music world. The university music scene can be very constricting. It’s its own world. R: How’d you get from jazz to what you’re making today? MW: Through working with the jazz group, I met a lot of people. I met the guys from Megafaun—who are out of Durham—and we got very close. I began to get some gigs as a music director. I had developed the skill set to communicate with musicians. I did this record with David Carson Da-
vis—we basically backed him up—and I directed this thing with Megafaun and Justin Vernon at Duke Performances not too long ago [an evening based on songs from Alan Lomax’s Sounds of the South collection]. I was interested in the idea that you can make music quickly and efficiently and do it well if you had the right people. I began to create this umbrella, Spacebomb [Records], so that I could have everything together. Spacebomb allows me a lot of flexibility. Even the most productive musicians can make only one, maybe two, records a year. With Spacebomb I can work on all sorts of projects at the same time. R: Who’s on the label right now? MW: We’re working with Joe Westerlund from Megafaun. There’s singer/songwriter Natalie Crass, indie folk musician Karl Blau and Ivan Howard from the Rosebuds and Gayngs. R: Grayson told me that Big Inner is the best thing he’s heard this year. Others have been similarly hyperbolic. Were you expecting that kind of response? MW: My idea was to release the record with little fanfare. I wasn’t making a record for an event. It was just supposed to be this thing that Spacebomb could produce. But people kept telling me how good it was and to put energy into it. R: What else might a Duke student want to know? MW: I grew up a huge Duke basketball fan. There’s this whole hilarious story about it actually. I told it to the last guy who talked to me from Duke. Did you want to hear it? R: Yeah. I’m a huge Duke basketball fan, too. I’ve watched nearly every game since I was nine. MW: Awesome. Well. 1991 was first grade for me, Laettner’s freshman year. I saw one of his buzzer beaters that beat UNC in a hotel room in Korea. At the time my older brother was applying to Duke and when it came on TV I was like, “I know that school.” And then I was hooked. The next year UNLV kicked them pretty badly, but I became the biggest Bobby Hurley fan ever. I had a wall in my room that was only Bobby Hurley. A few years later, he got into that crazy car accident and I was so upset. I tore out a picture of him from the newspaper that next day and I set it up on my wall. Then I prayed for Bobby Hurley every day so he wouldn’t die. There was a while there when everyone thought he might. Much later, when I was 25 and he must’ve been 40, I actually saw Hurley at a basketball tournament. He was scouting for the Kings. I don’t usually do this sort of thing, but I went up to him and told him about how I’d prayed for him every day and how he was my hero. He was really weirded out. But I had to. He was my hero. I just had to tell him how much he’d meant to me.
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September 6, 2012
Screen/Society diversifies with upcoming film series by Abhi Shah THE CHRONICLE
This past Monday night, you might have thought about attending one of those club meetings scattered around campus, going to a club sports practice or maybe even tackling that growing pile of homework. But how about a free, public, on campus screening of an award-winning, critically acclaimed French film in Griffith? That crossed your mind too, right? Monday nights—correction—most weeknights at Duke just became more intriguing. Screen/Society is a comprehensive film exhibition open to the general public, screening nine different thematic film series at various locations on campus almost every weeknight. Each film series is sponsored by an academic department or institution at Duke; Le Havre was screened this past Monday as part of Screen/Society’s Tourneés French Film Series, a collaboration with the Center for French and Francophone Studies. The nine-film series running this semester cover a diverse set of topics, including a Feminism & Freedom film series featuring Italian and South Korean films, an East Asian film series of documentaries about a Chinese famine and a Middle Eastern film series showcasing Iranian and Israeli films. Guo-Juin Hong, director of the Arts of the Moving Image (AMI) program, sees the various series as a way to increase interest in the AMI department, noting a new feature of the semester’s programming, AMI Showcase. “We hope to increase the Certificate Program’s visibility on campus and promote AMI as the center of moving image studies and practices at Duke,” he said. Recent screenings in the AMI Showcase have featured cinematography by Duke alum Robert Yeoman. He is most famous for his work with some of Wes Anderson’s critically acclaimed films, such as The Royal Tenenbaums, which is also the most recent installment of AMI Showcase. Films in AMI Showcase screen every Tuesday night. In addition to the breadth of topics in the film series this semester, Hank Okazaki, coordinator of Screen/Society and AMI exhibition programmer, believes there is a critical reason why Screen/Society should be in your schedule. Most of the series include special events that bring filmmakers to campus to introduce the film and hold a Q&A afterwards. “Cultural education is at the core of Screen/Society’s mission,” Okazaki said. “The program is not about showing the most recent blockbusters.” The diversity of the film series aims to make it an accessible academic opportunity for anyone in the Triangle. For example, students and residents can gain exposure to U.S. immigration policy after watching Two Americans on October
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5th, a film in the Latin American series, when the filmmaker, Dan De Vivo, will hold a discussion after the screening. In the Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel film series running this October, visiting documentarian Laura Poitras will be screening her films in their original 35 mm format and will have an interview with Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel at the Nasher Museum of Art on October 24. This is a unique opportunity for students to gain perspective on documentary film production and about Laura Poitras’ exposés on the War on Terror and gentrification in the U.S. Another event in Screen/Society’s schedule is a documentary about world-renowned South Indian classical dancer Alarmel Valli, who will appear in person for a Q&A after the film on October 31. “We hope that more students will get interested and take advantage of the opportunity to see thought-provoking works from all over the world for free—things they would not get to see otherwise,” said Okazaki. Visit the Screen/Society section of the AMI webpage (ami.duke. edu) for a complete listing. Screenings are held at various locations on campus and are free to everyone.
cat power MATADOR SUN
B+To say that Chan Marshall has been through some rough stuff would be an understatement. She’s struggled with drugs, alcohol and depression. She’s spent time hospitalized and in rehab. She’s faced bankruptcy, and, this March, the end of a four-year relationship with actor Giovanni Ribisi, who married model Agyness Deyn a mere three months later. It’s been almost five years since she released her last studio album, long years when she was invariably dealing with all of the above—and somehow, in that time, she managed to record an album’s worth of novel material. But this isn’t the angsty, introspective Cat Power the indie crowd have come to know. Instead, Sun represents Marshall’s new, dynamic, cathartic approach to music—and is her most lively, uplifting album to date. Guitars have been replaced by layer upon layer of vigorous synth, pounding bass, drum loops and atmospheric tricks. Her vocals are thickly-packed, ensconced by beats that seem suspiciously danceable. It’s a work that is entirely self-produced; every line and layer is played by Miss Marshall herself, despite never having received any professional training. And yet, coupled with her raw, ethereal voice, the production never veers to excess, and the album remains surprisingly minimalist. Despite the many layers of sound, it never feels overproduced. Rather than reaching overt optimism or joy, Sun remains at a state of reflective empowerment. In “Ruin,” a bright, funky track propelled by the rhythmic momentum of piano and drums, Marshall sings of the numerous places in the world she’s traveled and concludes that the best ruin is the one she’s always been sitting on. In the rousing, life-affirming 11-minute epic “Nothin’ But Time,” Marshall chants an inspirational hymn, spouting off streams of encouragement, to both the audience and, one imagines, herself. “Never give in,” she sings. “You want to live and be somebody.” She emboldens each of us “to be a superhero,” yet reassures us we “ain’t got nothin’ but time.” On the sidelines, Iggy Pop barks supportive cheers. It’s a far cry from the woman who once sang, 6 years ago on her album The Greatest, “I hate myself and I want to die.” At age 40, Marshall now lives in Miami with French Bulldogs Mona and Abuelo. She has, by the way, been sober for quite a time now. As Sun closes with the hippie garage-rock anthem “Peace and Love,” it seems as if Marshall, too, has finally accepted change and found her peace—and she’s never sounded better. —Indu Ramesh
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WE WANT
YOU
for the Libraries' Undergraduate Advisory Board YOU can improve the learning and research environment for Duke undergraduates and gain experience on a selective board for a nationally recognized non-profit organization. HOW? By serving on the new Duke University Libraries Undergraduate Advisory Board. For more info and to apply, go to http://library.duke.edu/undergrad-board
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UNC publishes new online literary magazine by Danielle Muoio THE CHRONICLE
An intimate staff of young, creative minds set their sights on a lofty goal—and succeeded. Down in Chapel Hill, a twenty-five person staff of UNC students took a concept started by a blog site called The Salad Days and developed it into Should Does, an online literary magazine. Updated five times a week, Should Does showcases student works of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and art, but hopes to eventually exhibit the work of students from other universities as well. “We see ourselves really as a community,” said Alex Karsten, editor-in-chief of Should Does. “We are putting a lot of artists and writers in touch with each other that would have just been sitting at their desks with their work.” Five of the current contributors to Should Does originally wrote and edited for The Salad Days, which posted creative content every couple of days. The Salad Days differed from most blogs in that all pieces went through several rounds of editing before being put on the site, Karsten noted. Should Does holds the same purpose of The Salad Days but executes it on a larger scale. Not only does Should Does publish content more often, it has a staff five times the size, which is responsible for both writing and workshopping, a process taught in UNC creative writing classes where people give feedback rather than edit a piece. “I spent a long time in high school just writing in my own little notebook, but it’s important to get writers in front of each other to discuss new ideas,” Karsten said. “We’ve had projects that couldn’t have been realized with
just one person.” One such case was a comic book that required writers to collaborate with artists, he said. Karsten noted that the Victor Hudson, president of Carolina Creates Writers, a subset of student organization Carolina Creates, pushed to take the concept of The Salad Days and develop it into a staff-driven, online literary magazine. “[Karsten] made a compelling case for what [his] group would need to have a big impact on the literary scene at UNC,” Hudson said. “We’ve been lucky to have him.” Carolina Creates Writers receives $1,000 annually to fund its initiatives, but as of now, Should Does is currently their only initiative. Should Does used the funding to launch their website and pay for their design, Hudson said. Meredith Jones, the fiction editor of Should Does, said they looked to recruit people who were already writing on their own. “If they weren’t putting stuff up on Should Does they would be doing this alone in their room anyway just for fun,” she said. “Usually they have a backlog of ideas and need someone to push them to get it done by a certain time.” Staff members are required to both contribute and workshop two pieces per month, she added. Kate Jones, a writer for Should Does, wrote in an email Monday that although she has more work to do than ever before, the community aspect of Should Does has helped her as a writer. “I’m part of a community of artists—I have people who inspire me, that I can count on for good, honest advice and ruthlessly careful editing,” she said. “Working with Should
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Does forces me to get off my ass and write more.” There are other outlets for creative writing on campus, such as UNC’s literary magazine Cellar Door. Should Does has an advantage, however, because it is on the Internet, Jones said. “The awesome thing about the Internet is there’s no space constraints, so we can publish a great volume of work, including more experimental stuff,” she said. Karsten also commended on the online aspect of the site as a strong suit, noting that it is one of the best times to be a writer because the Internet makes it so easy to get your work exposed. The online aspect of Should Does also allows the magazine to accept submissions from students from other universities, he said. If Should Does were to have a print component, it would be difficult to have a presence at other universities due to overhead costs. “With the Internet, it’s just sending a link,” he said. “We look forward to working with young people from around the nation, but for right now we will stay realistic and say we’d like to hear from Blue Devils.” Regardless of who writes for the online magazine, its identity as a group of collaborative writers and artists has already positively influenced UNC’s artistic community. “It’s made me more aware of writing as a conversation between many people rather than talking into the void,” Meredith Jones said. “It’s just such a creative outlet for so many people.”
ADF finds permanent home in Durham
in June and July, bringing various dance troupes from around the world and arranging performances at venues such as DPAC, Reynolds Theater and other Duke spaces. Last year ADF hosted 18 companies, with dancers form Israel, New York, Japan, France and Taiwan, among others. In addition, ADF offers a 6-week program for dancers age 16 and up. With about 50-60 faculty and live musicians, the 300 students reside on East Campus or in surrounding apartments and practice various dance forms/pieces for six hours a day. The 2013 festival will be their first opportunity to have their own dance venue; in the past, students have practiced and performed in Brodie Gym, the Ark, West Campus and even Smith Warehouse. The majority of chosen students are experienced dancers, but ADF has leveled classes and gives out scholarships for certain students that go through an audition process. ADF Director Jodee Nimerichter, echoes the importance of having a brick-and-mortar location attached to such an established organization. “For the first time in history, we are owners of property,” Nimerichter said. “People will be able to come to us on a year-round basis.” With Durham’s increasing prominence as an artistic hub, the new dance facility is, as Scibetta said, “a whole other limb” for Durham’s vibrant performing arts scene.
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pus, at 721 Broad Street. The space is sleek and modern; the studios are naturally lit, and the building is equipped with locker rooms and a yoga deck, as well as a shoe boutique, bakery and art gallery on the main floor. Myra Scibetta, ADF’s Marketing and Audience Services Associate said that the program has never been able to have any classes or performances outside of their summer season, but the new venue will allow them to teach all ages and perform year-round. “These classes are a great way for Duke students to stay connected to the art form and what’s happening,” Scibetta said. The weekly classes (which vary from African dance to Contact Improvisation) will begin on Monday, September 10 and are open to everyone. ADF also welcomes drop-ins, offering rates of $15 per session or five- and ten-class passes. In terms of catering to busy students, Scibetta said that the administration is looking into ways to engage Duke students year-round, a new challenge considering that ADF used to be a summer-only event. Scibetta also mentioned that ADF is looking into discounts or special classes to involve the student community, saying that “we’re just getting our feet wet, there’s a lot to come.” Moreover, ADF has offered students and faculty discounts for performances in the past and has hosted events for Duke alumni to get involved with festival. The American Dance Festival normally solely operates
Director John Hillcoat’s newest effort after 2009’s The Road was initially titled The Wettest County in the World, but was later changed to Lawless, ostensibly because shorter titles make catchier headlines. “Lawless??? More Like, FLAWLESS!!” was probably the review Hillcoat was trying for; and God knows he tried. Whether you love or hate Lawless, you can’t deny that everyone involved certainly wanted to create something memorable. Unfortunately, while Lawless is undoubtedly a decent movie, it falls short of becoming the masterpiece it was clearly shooting for. In some aspects, however, its efforts pay off; Tom Hardy, Guy Pearce, and Jessica Chastain make for a fantastic cast, and Shia LeBouf is more or less able to break free of the twin shackles of “forgettable” and “douche” that have thus far obstructed his career. LeBouf plays the youngest and runtiest of the three Bondurant brothers, who run a successful liquor bootlegging business in Prohibition-era Virginia. LeBouf’s character, Jack Bondurant, has big dreams of turning their humble local business into a full-fledged franchise, but is too much of a pansy to do anything about
it. The real leader of the Bondurant pack is the brooding and (seemingly) larger-than-life Forrest Bondurant (Hardy). With middle-child Howard Bondurant (Jason Clarke) acting as Forrest’s right-hand man, the lives of the three Bondurant brothers remain fairly stable until a corrupt Special Deputy from Chicago named Charlie Rakes (Pearce) arrives to crack down on their bootlegging operations. It’s a compelling story that weaves in themes of coming-of-age, family and mythology with top-notch acting, outstanding visual appeal and a machine gun-toting Gary Oldman for whenever the pace turns sluggish. So, why isn’t Lawless the instant classic it ought to be? The biggest problem with Lawless is the script. While Hardy’s performance as the quietly threatening Forrest is believable and fun to watch, it ultimately falls short due to the lack of depth provided for his character. Lawless seems intended to be a deconstruction of the mythology surrounding American gangsters, but without providing Forrest with development or even characterization beyond “tough-guy-who-is-intermittently-not-tough,” the dissection of his legend feels unfinished. The film also misses crucial opportunities to add emotional resonance to the relationships between its characters. So, while I enjoyed watching each of the characters individually, I was unable to appreciate their interactions with each other in terms
of the story’s larger universe. On the whole, the movie felt more occupied with defying conventions and being “gritty” than with producing believable characterization. Lawless, much like the youngest Bondurant brother, seemed like nothing more than a little kid with some big ideas who was too caught up in bad-boy posturing to properly execute. But that doesn’t mean the movie wasn’t worth watching. By all means, if you enjoy gut-wrenching suspense, brilliant acting, and unromanticized depictions of violence, see Lawless. But don’t go in expecting to see a masterpiece or, for that matter, a memorable contribution to cinema. —Shangnon Fei
by Madeleine Roberts THE CHRONICLE
For eighty years, the American Dance Festival (ADF) has been hosting dozens of premier international dance troupes and trained hundreds of the nation’s rising dancers. For the past 36 years, ADF has been hosting its classes and events in Durham, becoming a cultural and artistic asset in the surrounding community. And yet, ADF has never had its own space to use for classes, showcases or training—that is, until now. Completed this August, ADF’s new 10,000 square foot facility is situated across the street from Duke’s East Cam-
lawless
DIR. JOHN HILLCOAT PIE FILMS INC.
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Duke alum showcases glitter art
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chick corea and gary burton HOT HOUSE CONCORD JAZZ
C+
by Lauren Feilich THE CHRONICLE
In the words of Smash Mouth, all that glitters is gold. If such is true, this weekend at the Carrack will be especially gilded. Beginning Friday, Chelsea Masters, a Duke alum, will present her art in a solo exhibition titled “The Cliché of Banality” at the Carrack Modern Art in downtown Durham. As the title suggests, the works on display feature mass-produced objects so commonplace that they would barely register as art if not for Masters’s deluge of glitter that blankets every piece. “I don’t necessarily aim for anyone to come away with any kind of understanding,” said Masters, who graduated in 2011. “Why I like glitter and this art is because it’s visually interesting. Whether you like conceptual art or whether you really give a damn about art, you can look at these pieces and be entertained. That’s one of the purposes of the art, a commentary on entertainment.” From the tone of the collection, Masters seems to critique not only the instant gratification of mass media but also the way consumer culture manages to latently influence our way of thinking. Masters does this slyly with one piece consisting of carefully glittered toothbrushes attached to a mirrored surface. “When you go to the grocery store, there are 5,000 toothbrushes, I swear to God,” Masters said. “There’s an entire wall of different brands, different colors, different textures, different bristle strength and none of this matters. There should probably be three toothbrushes in the world. There’s probably three degrees of toothbrushes that really make a difference, and yet we have all of this energy and thought and production going into pretty much useless shit.” Despite her recent foray into the Durham art world, Masters did not participate in any art classes or organizations during her time at Duke. “I’ve always made art since I was little, drawing, painting. But I didn’t do it in a very serious way,” Masters said. “I think being an artist is more of a philosophy than a constant behavior.” At a student art exhibit held at the Bryan Center last year, Masters contributed a glittered McDonald’s quarter pounder. “I’m developing the same sort of idea, but for this exhibition, I put a lot more thought into it to create more pieces.” One in particular will inevitably be the talk of the
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show— Masters intends to display an entire rotisserie chicken covered in lifelike colors of glitter. “Hopefully it’ll smell like chicken. I’m going to cut it up and hand it out to people, and they can eat it if they choose,” Masters said. While some art is created with an intention of timelessness, Masters realizes that her glittered chicken will have a somewhat shorter lifespan. “That’s an art piece that I’m going to put a ton of time into and it’ll be destroyed the same day. It’s not going to last, it’s going to be thrown away. All of the art that I’m making is kind of rendered useless.” That emphasis on the viewer’s personal involvement is one of the fundamental objectives of the Carrack Modern Art, a gallery which maintains a focus on community-driven upkeep and freedom from commercial pressure. “We do have artists who have work that is commercially appealing, but about half of our artists produce work that cannot really be sold or possessed in tangible form by the visitors who experience it,” said Laura Ritchie, gallery director at the Carrack. Ritchie described Masters’s exhibition as “innovative and interesting.” “Her title sums it up perfectly. Commenting on the way our culture consumes is brilliant,” Ritchie said. “This line she’s walking between the sexy allure of glitter and the repulsion of covering food in a non-edible item, it’s just very funny, and it’s also very smart.” As a new space in Durham, the Carrack Modern Art is relatively detached from Duke University. Nevertheless, Ritchie earnestly appeals for student involvement: “Duke is a huge part of this community that we haven’t tapped into yet, but we want to. Duke students are just as important voices in the Durham community as anyone else’s.” Masters’s voice, reflected in this thoughtful critique on material excess, provides a rare opportunity to reexamine the commercial undertone of all objects, no matter how lavish or commonplace. “The Cliché of Banality” will be on display at Carrack Modern Art from September 7-9.
World-renowned keyboardist Chick Corea and vibraphonist Gary Burton have collaborated once again with the release of their new album Hot House. When I heard that they were working together, I got very excited. When I opened the sleeve and found a cover of “Eleanor Rigby,” my expectations went through the roof. But except for two tracks on the album, it never lives up to those expectations. “Eleanor Rigby” sounds like an elevator music cover with unexpectedly good musicianship. Even jazz greats like Corea or Burton should have at least attempted to do something innovative with the Beatles’ classic. Instead, I felt a certain unrest while listening to “Eleanor Rigby.” That earth-shattering interpretation just never came close to happening. It’s all the more disappointing given that the best of Chick Corea’s music are the songs you can’t sing along to. At times it feels as if Burton and Corea are simply going through the motions of churning out another “great” jazz album. But there’s no new approach. “Can’t We Be Friends,” an Art Tatum standard, is technically spot-on, but it’s at best imitative. In fact it’s so precise that it edges on sounding square, though it captures Tatum’s characteristic catchiness. Thankfully, the album isn’t all simple regurgitations. What really redeems Hot House and keeps me interested are the original compositions, particularly “Mozart Goes Dancing,” which is lyrical jazz waltz featuring a melody of discordant violins. The track takes 1940s jazz and brings in, as most modern jazz does, influences from many different genres. The song is upbeat, melodic and genuinely engaging, the kind of track that only Corea and Burton could compose. Despite being somewhat predictable, I can’t stop myself from listening to the album. Generally, Hot House has left me feeling nothing but content. That would be okay if it was made by anybody else, but, with a Chick Corea album, content is the last thing I want to feel. I want to feel inspired, excited and even shocked by his creativity. Overall the musicianship of Corea and Burton is absolutely superb. It is a perfect combination of complex left hand, contrapuntal lines with spot-on lyrical interpretation—which is a difficult balancing act in an album so technically complex. Maybe it’s that incredible dexterity in the compositions that keeps me listening even when the interpretations of classics fall short. —Adrienne Harreveld
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