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The Chronicle

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The independent news organization at Duke University ONLINE DAILY AT DUKECHRONICLE.COM

FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2022

ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTEENTH YEAR, ISSUE 2

Grad students demand earlier grant release Duke promises $500 in October to offset Durham’s rising living costs. The Graduate Student Union says that’s too late. By Audrey Wang University News Editor

From right: Andrew Spong and Daniel Rodriguez-Florido, first-years in Project Arts, work on an arrangement of Elvis Presley’s “Hound Dog” on the keyboard, alongisde first-year Justin Garcia on the bass guitar. KATHRYN THOMAS

irst-year Sammy Marks stood at the foot of the Chapel Monday morning alongside his new friends, waiting to climb up the 239 winding steps to the top. It was Marks’ third day on campus. As part of an orientation program called Project Discover, he prepared himself for his first chapel climb, the time-honored Duke tradition. But with each step up the tower, Marks would also be blazing a new trail. The Class of 2026 is the first to experience an orientation re-design, an initiative administrators have hailed as the most significant change in Duke’s new student programming since 1995. Part of Duke’s new QuadEx living/ learning initiative, Experiential Orientation splits 1,740 first-years into 18 weeklong thematically-based programs, ranging from exploring the city of Durham to conducting independent research. In line with QuadEx’s goal of building a more inclusive

FOR THE FIRST TIME

The Class of 2026 is the inaugural group to partake in Experiential Orientation, the biggest change to the first-year experience in decades. By Ishani Raha, Milla Surjadi, Katie Tan and Kathryn Thomas

Duke community, administrators say that orientation programs will strengthen firstyears’ sense of belonging. The change, unexpectedly announced by New Student Programs last fall, was not without its critics. For decades, Duke hosted six pre-orientation programs that occurred before orientation and lasted more than a week. Students could apply to these option-

al programs, and there was a fee to attend. After the announcement, orientation leaders feared the loss of traditions, grew concerned that they would be understaffed with all first-years in attendance and questioned why they weren’t consulted earlier. Administrators say the new model is See ORIENTATION on Page 6

Duke’s new ‘Gold’en mascot arrives on campus Nugget, campus’ beloved golden retriever, died in May. But Keith Upchurch will still make his daily visits—this time, with a new furry friend.

rest of West Campus. “This is part of the tour,” Upchurch chuckles. He tightOn a pleasant morning ens his grip on Gold’s leash to in late August, 15 first-years stop her from following the crowd around a stone bench students as they trickle away. outside the Brodhead Center, cooing and “ahh”ing. The path to Gold The cause of all the comUpchurch, Trinity ‘72, motion? A little ball of snow- has been a fixture on Duke’s white fur, darting between campus ever since he started students, her tongue lolling bringing his golden retriever and tail wagging with de- Nugget to University grounds light. This is Gold, Keith Up- in 2012. In the past decade church’s 11-week-old golden and especially during the Students pet Gold, the 11-week-old golden retriever, as she sits in Keith Upchurch’s lap outside of the retriever puppy. REBECCA SCHNEID pandemic, Nugget provided Brodhead Center on Aug. 23. Entranced, the students much-needed relief for stuyears old and had interacted pet Gold’s downy fur until dents, their stress melting owner duo. When Nugget died May 12 with over 10,000 students. their orientation leader tells into joy upon seeing the dogfrom lymphoma, she was 11 See KEITH AND GOLD on Page 7 them it’s time to explore the By Katie Tan Managing Editor

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Members of Duke’s Graduate Students Union have petitioned administrators to release a promised $500 payment by the first day of classes and provide paid parking passes, citing Durham’s soaring cost of living. Following demands, students will receive that money in late October and won’t have to pay a $20/night weekends and nights parking pass fee. They will still have to pay the $501 annual campus parking pass, though they can spread out payment monthly. “October is not what we were demanding, but at least now our colleagues and us can plan, knowing that we’re going to get this money on a certain timeline,” said Anita Simha, DGSU co-chair and a fourth year Ph.D. candidate in the biology department. As the median rent for housing in Durham increases, graduate students are becoming rent-burdened, according to the union’s research committee, which compiles open source data about student issues. “Graduate students are moving to Durham for their first year and taking on huge relocation costs, moving from other cities, and they have to pay their first month’s rent, and they get that first paycheck in August, but that may not be enough to cover everything,” said Matthew Thomas, DGSU co-chair and a third-year Ph.D. candidate in the English department. Dean of the Graduate School Paula McClain acknowledged these concerns in a June 27 email and laid out plans for a “one-time $500 payment to all active Ph.D. students in fall 2022” by using resources from the Provost’s Office. DGSU members were concerned, however, that details on when and how the payment would be distributed would be communicated “as soon as the plan is ready.” See GRAD STUDENTS on Page 7

INSIDE Duke’s fall housing shortage Duke might not have enough beds for students this fall, offering students the option to be PAGE 3 released from housing assignments.

Peaches fatally struck by car “There might not be another cat in the world that has loved so deeply and been loved by PAGE 3 so many people,” a caretaker said.