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See Inside Bolden, DeLaurier test draft waters Page 11

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

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019 DUKECHRONICLE.COM

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Top-30 recruit Cassius Stanley commits

ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTEENTH YEAR, ISSUE 54

From lemurs to poisoned chocolates The tale of a Lemur Center founder

By Dilan Trivedi Associate Sports Editor

With the departure of Zion Williamson, the Cameron Crazies were facing the prospect of no gravity-defying, awe-inducing slams that ignited the arena. However, with Cassius Stanley announcing Monday afternoon at Sierra Canyon High School that he will be playing under head coach Mike Krzyzewski at Duke this fall, Cameron Indoor Stadium might be in for another season of rimshaking dunks. Stanley will bring another dose of elite athleticism to Durham. The No. 29 recruit in the Class of 2019, Stanley joins Vernon Carey Jr., Matthew Hurt, Wendell Moore and Boogie Ellis in the Blue Devils’ starstudded incoming class. The 6-foot-6 shooting guard chose the Blue Devils, who entered his recruitment very late, over the likes of Kansas, Oregon and UCLA. Stanley was overlooked for much of his high school career due to a lack of a jumper. Now, his quick release and smooth stroke is arguably one of the best facets of his game. The California native is developing into a complete player, using his energy and athletic ability to become a disciplined and competitive defender, and using his agility, quickness and bounce to create space on shots or simply elevate over defenders a la Russell Westbrook. Stanley has solid floor vision, loves to get out on in transition and penetrates the paint with ease. In the Jordan Brand Classic, the new Duke commit scored 17 points on 5-for-11 shooting from the floor, 40 percent from deep and perfect from the charity stripe in just 16 minutes off the bench. On the Nike EYBL circuit, playing for Team WhyNot, Stanley averaged 15.5 points and 1.1 steals, but struggled shooting, connecting on just 37.1 percent of field goals en route to his team’s .500 finish. This commitment comes in the wake of the Javin DeLaurier and Marques Bolden announcing that they will test the NBA Draft waters Monday morning. Neither of the junior big men signed with an agent, so both DeLaurier and Bolden will be eligible to return to Duke for their senior seasons should they so chose. With Tre Jones returning and other upperclassmen such as Jordan Goldwire and Jack White remaining in the rotation, Duke will finally boast some veteran leadership and experience. Hurt and Carey Jr. will give the Blue Devils important scoring down low and a paint presence. And, with Moore, Ellis, Stanley and Alex O’Connell all stashed on this deep squad, Duke should have the outside shooting that the 201819 squad lacked.

The Chronicle in October 1979.

By John Markis Staff Reporter

Everyone knows the Duke Lemur Center, home to the largest collection of lemurs outside of Madagascar. But not everyone knows the story of who founded it—John Buettner-Janusch. Buettner-Janusch, known as B-J, came to Duke in 1965 and founded the DLC in 1966 as a non-invasive research facility. After leaving Duke in 1973, Buettner-Janusch was found guilty in 1980 of manufacturing LSD and methaqualone in his Manhattan laboratory. Once released, he sent the federal judge who convicted him and other poisoned chocolates—for which he received a 20-year sentence—and died in prison at 67 years old.

Since Buettner-Janusch’s time at Duke, the Duke Lemur Center has transformed into a world-class research center. “The DLC wouldn’t be here today were it not for BuettnerJanusch,” said Sara Clark, director of communications for the DLC. “B-J’s contributions to the Duke Lemur Center were huge: the roughly 90 animals that founded the DLC colony were B-J’s, and they moved with him from Yale to Duke. He was one of the first Americans to study lemurs, and he’s inspired generations of lemur researchers since–including all of us here at Duke.” ‘Too arrogant to keep his foot out of his mouth’ During World War II, Buettner-Janusch was jailed as a “conscientious objector.” Soon after, he received his bachelor’s See CENTER on Page 5

RECESS

‘The religious heart of France’

Duke professors react to Notre-Dame Cathedral burning By Kerry Rork Staff Writer

Built in a French Gothic style and consecrated to the Virgin Mary, the Notre-Dame Cathedral was completed in 1345. This cathedral has survived the scenes of battles like during the French Revolution, inspired novels like Victor Hugo’s “Hunchback of Notre-Dame” and galvanized religious individuals for centuries. It houses Christian relics, ranging from Jesus Christ’s crown of thorns to the Tunic of St. Louis, making it a pilgrimage site for devout believers and history scholars. From its innovative style to its religious iconography, people around the world have celebrated this building for its religious, cultural and artistic significance. See NOTRE DAME on Page 10

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons The cathedral in Paris caught fire last week.

Firefighters injured in explosion back to work

Professor wins prestigious scholarship

Letter: The merit of merit scholarships

Nearly all of the firefighters injured by the April 10 blast that exploded in downtown Durham are back. PAGE 3

Professor Lillian Pierce has been awarded the Joan and Joseph Birman Fellowship for $50,000. PAGE 4

Two former A.B. Scholarship program directors respond to the Editorial Board’s critique of merit scholarships. PAGE 14

@dukechronicle @dukebasketball |

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The Chronicle

Latinx exhibit to Kerry Haynie to chair Academic Council open at Museum of Durham History By Maram Elnagheeb

Contributing Reporter

By Maria Morrison Staff Reporter

Durham’s Latinx community will receive special recognition just after the city’s 150th anniversary: its first exhibit at the Museum of Durham History. The museum will collect oral histories from various Latinx people in Durham throughout the next few months to prepare for a September opening. “Our goal first and foremost is to tell the stories that aren’t often the most prominent,” said Patrick Mucklow, executive director of the Museum of Durham History. “We feel like the story of the Latino community is not well represented in Durham and we want to try and tell it.” The exhibit comes after several years of planning by museum staff, who are turning to the community to gather their recollections of life in Durham. Because of the small museum’s limited size, exhibits will tend to focus more on stories than artifacts. “We can tell you what happened on this date in this place, but it will go in one ear and out the other. But if we tell you about a specific person and their experiences and their recollections, it makes the history more personal,” said Jeanette Shaffer, the museum’s director of operations. However, not all of their stories will be celebratory. In February, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested roughly 200 people in raids across the state, some of whom were arrested in Durham. According to Durham police officer Karina Ramos, the raids have caused the Latinx community to distrust Durham police. In an attempt to forge relationships and trust, officers like Ramos are frequenting the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, where hundreds of Latinx residents worship on Sundays. Other relevant changes are underway. The Durham Police Department’s graduating class of new recruits had the largest bilingual population yet this year, Ramos said. In order to properly convey the perspectives of Durham’s Latinx population, museum staff gave a presentation at a meeting of the Mayor’s Hispanic/Latino Committee, which was founded in 2015. The staff went looking for feedback from members as to which pieces of history they found valuable and important to highlight. The Latinx community has grown rapidly in Durham. Latinx people made up roughly 1% of the population in the 1990’s. By 2010, Latinx people made up nearly 14 percent of Durham’s population. Shaffer said the exhibit will focus on immigration on the See EXHIBIT on Page 5

YEAR IN REVIEW

ISSUE 2019 M O N D AY I N

With a new academic year coming up, there will be a new chair of the Academic Council—Kerry Haynie. Haynie, associate professor of political science and African and African American studies, has had a long career in academia. Haynie was chosen to succeed Don Taylor, the current chair of Academic Council and a professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy, in a closed ballot vote by the council earlier this semester. Haynie earned his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is the director of Duke’s Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Gender in the Social Sciences. Haynie has served on the Academic Council for several terms and on its executive committee. Haynie’s primary goal in the position is to be “an effective communicator of the faculty interests to the administration and trustees and vice versa.” He also noted that a “growing need for financial aid” will be a challenge going forward. The incoming chair noted the challenge of being mindful when speaking for the large group of faculty. “My goal is to be effective in speaking for the faculty at large,” he said. Haynie said that he chose to enter academia because of the flexibility and independence the field allowed him. “Being in academia allows you to be your own boss,” he said. “I get to choose my subject matter, my research, my topics, my agenda and when I teach.” Coming into the position, Haynie is committed to “making sure there is a faculty voice and presence in the decision making of the university and to make sure that faculty are informed on matters that are of faculty interest.” As a faculty governance body, there are also dynamics to balance within the group. “The relationship among faculty on the Academic Council is very collaborative, cooperative and supportive. We all recognize that we are on the same team even when we do not always agree. The administration has understood that the faculty wants the best for Duke, and the faculty understands that the administration is acting in the best interests of Duke,” Haynie said. “There is quite a bit of trust and respect in both directions, which makes the difficult conversations easier to have when that trust and respect is established.” Haynie said there is a strong relationship between faculty, administrators and the Board of Trustees that provides a solid foundation to build from. That cooperative relationship has contributed to the growth of Duke as a world-class university, he said. But he noted that it is not always smooth. “That isn’t to gloss over the the disagreements and challenges,” he said. “We’ve had to work through those. The creation of [Duke-Kunshan University] was first met with resistance and skepticism by faculty that led to years of faculty-

Special to the Chronicle Kerry Haynie, associate professor of political science and African and African American Studies, will take over Academic Council.

administration conversations of what DKU would be and how it would operate. Over years of discussions, faculty got on board. It’s a good example of administration taking faculty into account before making a decision.” Haynie has known his predecessor, Taylor, for quite some time. “We both went to UNC [for undergraduate] and so we had that shared experience, though we didn’t meet until later. Mike Munger, who taught me at UNC, introduced us. At Duke, Kerry and I have served on several Universitywide committees together, including a year of overlap on the Executive Committee of the Academic Council back in 2013,” Taylor stated. “Kerry is one of my favorite golfing partners, so we spend a fair amount of time together away from work. He is not only a colleague of mine, but a good friend.” When speaking about Haynie’s strengths, Taylor explained that his friend is “comfortable in his own skin.” “Kerry is a truth-teller who grants others the benefit of the doubt, and who has an acute ability to focus on the problem or issue at hand and not let other issues cloud the discussion and reaching a decision,” Taylor stated. “He also has an infectious laugh, and the ability to use it at just the right time when things are getting tense in meetings.”

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019 | 3

Most injured firefighters back to work after Durham explosion By Ben Leonard Managing Editor

Nearly all of the firefighters injured in the April 10 blast in downtown Durham are back at work. All of the nine firefighters that were hurt in a gas line explosion that rattled Durham have returned except Darren Wheeler, who thinks he is ready to return, said Durham Fire Chief Robert Zoldos at a Monday press conference. Despite his wishes to come back to the team, doctors are not ready to clear Wheeler, as he was seriously injured in the blast, Zoldos said. It will likely be a “couple months” before he returns. “He looks good and is in good spirits,” Zoldos said, explaining he had visited him Saturday. The explosion near Durham’s Brightleaf Square destroyed Kaffeinate coffee shop, killed its owner—61-year-old Kong

People were injured in the explosion and one person—the 61-year-old owner of Kaffeinate— was left dead Lee—and left 25 injured. An investigation into the blast is ongoing and progressing, with Dominion Energy likely set to excavate the site in the next few days pending permit approval, Deputy City Manager Bo Ferguson said. The North Carolina Utilities Commission and the U.S. Department of Transportation are both assisting in those efforts, Zoldos said. The Durham Fire Marshal’s part of an investigation that entailed digging through rubble at the scene is complete, he added. The city is “still investigating what ignited the gas,” IndyWeek reported. “We know what a tough time this has been in Durham in

Aaron Zhao | Staff Photographer The downtown Durham scene near Brightleaf Square where the explosion occurred the day after the April 10 incident.

the past 12 days,” Mayor Steve Schewel said. “I want to again thank the first responders, who have been amazing.” Local restaurants and businesses have been hurt by the blast, including Torero’s Mexican Restaurant and Saint James Seafood restaurant. They have been closed after their buildings were condemned, WRAL reported. Schewel said it is “critically important” for local residents to support nearby businesses, which have seen less foot traffic. A nearby parking lot has been closed since the blast, which Schewel said has caused the businesses to suffer. He noted many other close options nearby to park. “These are wonderful businesses,” Schewel said. “All these

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businesses are open, and we need to make sure we are down here supporting them.” Schewel also thanked Governor Roy Cooper for visiting Durham on Friday and “for promising he could do everything he could to get all federal and state aid we can get.” Cooper has requested financial aid from the U.S. Small Business Administration. “Our thoughts are with the victims of this tragic incident, and state and local officials are continuing to investigate the cause of last week’s explosion,” Cooper said. “We must also help businesses that sustained damage get back on their feet and back to work as soon as possible.”

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Professor Lillian Pierce wins prestigious Birman Fellowship By Isabelle Doan News Editor

Lillian Pierce first recognized the beauty of mathematics in college, when professors led her into the world of abstract math. Now the Nicholas J. and Theresa M. Leonardy associate professor of mathematics at Duke, Pierce has been awarded the Joan and Joseph Birman Fellowship. The $50,000 fellowship is granted to mid-career women who excel in research in a core area of mathematics. Pierce conducts research in analytic number theory and is currently interested in Diophantine equations. Most people are already familiar with one particular Diophantine equation, though they might not know it to be one—the Pythagorean equation, x^2 + y^2 = z^2. “That equation has been well-understood for hundreds of years, in part because of its relationship to triangles,” Pierce wrote in an email. “But what about the equation x^3 + y^3 = z^3 or the equation x^4 + y^4 = z^4?” These equations look simple, she wrote, but the difficulty comes with figuring out whether there are whole-number solutions to a particular equation. “While the Pythagorean equation has many ‘interesting’ solutions like x=3, y=4, z=5, it turns out that the other equations mentioned above only have the ‘boring’ solutions, for example when x=z and y=0,” she wrote. She explained that this has taken centuries to prove— mathematician Pierre de Fermat stated this fact in the 1600s, but it was only proved by Andrew Wiles in the 1990s. Today, she is researching whether other Diophantine equations have “interesting” solutions, and if so, how many. “Often, a Diophantine equation encodes information about other important problems, so by counting these solutions, we can be learning about other objects in mathematics as well,” she wrote. After graduating as valedictorian of Princeton’s Class of 2002, Pierce studied at Oxford University for two years as a Rhodes Scholar. She then returned to Princeton for her Ph.D. Pierce’s interest in mathematics blossomed under the mentorship of Princeton University mathematicians such

Special to the Chronicle Lillian Pierce, Nicholas J. and Theresa M. Leonardy associate professor of mathematics at Duke, won the Birman Fellowship.

as Elias Stein. At Princeton, Pierce completed a pre-medical curriculum, but was also a mathematics major student fascinated by the math she learned about in her classes. “Although I really loved all the science courses I took, I came to be especially fond of wandering around exploring the mathematical landscape, which these courses opened up for me,” Pierce wrote. Pierce’s mentors encouraged her to look at problems that were “‘ripe’ and possibly ready to be solved,” she wrote. She added that working on a unsolved problem is exciting. “While it is always frustrating to get stuck on a math problem, I don’t mind it so much if I think to myself ‘well nobody has ever gotten past this point before, so it’s fine that I’m struggling with it!’” she wrote. Pierce joined Duke as a faculty member in 2014. She has won awards such as a Marie Curie Fellowship, a Sloan Research Fellowship and now a Birman Fellowship.

Pierce wrote that she will use the Birman award to alleviate academic duties and focus on other areas. “I will use the Birman Fellowship as a funding source that temporarily reduces some of my other academic duties, so that next year I can have periods of time in which I can focus exclusively on research, and in particular on writing a book,” Pierce wrote. The Birman Fellowship is an award “designed to fit the unique needs of women,” according to its website. Pierce wrote that unfortunately, society tends to have a “rigid stereotype in mind” for how a mathematician “should” look or act. However, she wrote, anybody can learn how to do mathematics and can enjoy it. “I’d like to see our society change from regarding math as a scary and mysterious subject that requires “genius,” to regarding math as a fun, approachable, and useful method for understanding the world around us,” she wrote.

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CENTER FROM PAGE 1 and master’s degrees from the University of Chicago. In 1957, Buettner-Janusch received his doctorate from the University of Michigan. In 1959, Buettner-Janusch began teaching in Yale University’s anthropology department. There, he researched the genetic makeup of the Kenyan baboon and was a pioneer in using a method of electrophoresis. After seven years in New Haven, Conn., Buettner-Janusch’s desire to start his own program and to expand his fledgling primate collection propelled him south to Durham. During his time at Duke, Buettner-Janusch led the lemur center. Additionally, he published the first of his two textbooks, “Origins of Man,” alongside his wife Vina Mallowitz Buettner-Janusch. While at Duke, Buettner-Janusch encountered Peter Klopfer, now professor emeritus of biology. Although Buettner-Janusch took more interest in the physiological and breeding aspects of primates and Klopfer the behavioral side, the two became close associates due to their passion to improve Duke’s resources. “We decided together that we would establish a center for primate research,” Klopfer said. Klopfer remembers Buettner-Janusch as “a brilliant scientist who was also egoistic,” and colleagues described him as “brilliant” in his New York Times obituary. Indeed, Buettner-Janusch was offended when New York University pitched him a salary that Duke would not match— he left Durham soon after. Still, Klopfer believes that BuettnerJanusch ultimately regretted his prioritizing money over the staff at the DLC. “He was too arrogant to keep his foot out of his mouth, but I don’t think he really intended to leave,” Klopfer said. The Duke University Archives has retained manuscripts of his travels in Madagascar. For instance, one time, BuettnerJanusch was fortunate to run into a pack of diademed sifakas, an endangered species of lemur. “There were several adults and two juveniles, one quite young which clung to its mother’s back. I shot several rolls of film, and they were reasonably good pictures,” the manuscript stated. “One problem was that on this trip every damn animal seemed to sit in the trees with his/her back to the sun, so that I was constantly shooting against the light. The pictures are not good pictures, but they are extremely useful and were unique at the time.” However, when his wife died of cancer in 1977, Buettner-Janusch developed depression, according to the New York Times. Two years later, as the chairman of the New York University anthropology department at the time, B-J was accused of using his laboratory as a “drug factory.” Federal agents found that he and his lab assistants were manufacturing LSD and methaqualone. Buettner-Janusch was indicted in 1979 and convicted in 1980 to five years in federal prison. Although he got off on parole in 1983, he soon would find himself back in prison. In 1987, Buettner-Janusch sent poisoned chocolates to the federal judge who convicted him. The wife of the judge, Charles L. Brieant Jr., “fell seriously ill after eating four pieces of Golden Godiva candies but survived.” He also sent “adulterated candy” to a former colleague from Duke and “authorities intercepted two other boxes.” A fingerprint on the box exposed Buettner-Janusch as the culprit. He was subsequently sentenced to 20 additional years in prison and pleaded guilty. He died in prison in 1992 at the age of 67. “We were in contact until the end,” Klopfer said. How the times have changed Since Buettner-Janusch’s departure from Duke, the DLC has expanded its reach beyond being a research center to also serving as a center for visitors. Greg Dye, newly named executive director of the DLC who was also was director of operations and administration for 11 years, said that the DLC’s incorporation into the broader Durham area is vital to its contributions to the community. More than 60 volunteers come into the DLC each week to assist in some capacity, Dye said. As executive director, Dye’s typical day varies but some aspects remain constant. For example, he checks in with Cathy Williams, DLC curator of animals, to determine the progress of pregnant mothers and their babies. Dye also ensures that the DLC is receiving adequate funding from a variety of sources to provide the best possible life for its inhabitants. Dye said that the DLC has dealt with recent hurricanes and flooding by constructing more durable facilities over each of the past two summers, yet fallen trees and lack of access to food still

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019 | 5

remain potential hazards to the lemurs. With this in mind, Dye has increased the DLC’s supply of items essential to maintain a secure atmosphere, such as waterproof flashlights, headlamps and water barrels. Also, Dye has contacted food suppliers to purchase more food in cases of emergency. The DLC also encourages current Duke students to come in and discover the center for themselves. It provides work-study opportunities as well as internships in animal husbandry, environmental education, communications and field research. Students also have opportunities to join an existing research team or start their own project. For senior Anna Lee, a double major in biology and evolutionary anthropology, the DLC has served as one of the defining aspects of her undergraduate experience. Lee, who will begin research on primates next fall in Kenya, explained that the potential to work at the DLC attracted her to Duke as a high school senior. “[The DLC] reminds me that the world is way bigger than the campus bubble,” Lee said.

EXHIBIT FROM PAGE 2 national, state and local level, diversity within the Latinx population, work life and religion. However, the museum’s staff is very open to changes if something interesting comes up during conversations they plan to have with Latinx residents, Shaffer said. The next step will be to organize oral history, image and artifact collection days in the community. Staffers will bring portable scanners, oral recording devices and video recording devices to collect stories. They will do so on dates the museum will release this month. Of utmost concern to the museum during these collections is to uphold its mission to promote an understanding of diverse perspectives about the Durham community and its history, Mucklow said. “We want to responsibly go out into the community to build trust and make sure that we honor that trust in our exhibits,” he said. The exhibit will open in September to honor National Hispanic Heritage Month, which lasts from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. It will remain on display at the museum until December.

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recess dukechronicle.com

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019 | 7

VOLUME 20, ISSUE 54 | APRIL 24. 2019

full frame 2019

The Recess staff continues its reporting on the annual documentary film festival, page 9

bull city arts Recess editor reflects on her time in Durham, page 8

the bells of notre-dame Duke faculty discuss the fire at historic Paris landmark, page 10

R 8 | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019

recess editors

If you were a building?

Christy Kuesel .......................the ruby

Sarah Derris....................empire state Nina Wilder .............central apartment Will Atkinson .......................... kremlin Selena Qian .................... white house Eva Hong............................. versailles Alizeh Sheikh .................. duke chapel Lexi Bateman ................ gateway arch Sydny Long ......................tokyo tower Jessica Williams ............ hagia sophia Ashley Kwon .......................... perkins Bre Bradham................... 301 flowers

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dukechronicle.com recess

It’s the end of an era, friends. I walked into 301 Flowers my first week of college, and I’m walking out four years later, still unable to sum up my Duke experience. So I’ll talk about Durham instead. My Recess journey, if that’s what you want to call it, really started before I ever set foot in the Chronicle office. It started on a sweltering hot day in August, during the first iteration of the pre-orientation program, Project Arts. pArts led me to Recess in more than one way — I only heard about the arts and culture section through one of the leaders that year — but riding around Durham on the Bull City Connector for a few days made me see just how interesting Durham was and just how interesting the arts in Durham were. We spent the week visiting galleries, but I wanted to know more. Enter Recess. It’s easy to write about how transformative journalism can be, personally (in fact, the only reason I’m not doing that is because I did that a year ago, clearly a little bit too soon). And yes, journalism, like most other jobs, teaches you a lot about yourself and your abilities. But it also teaches you a lot about the world around you. The first few times I ventured off of Duke’s campus weren’t for restaurants or shopping — it was to visit a gallery I was writing about, or to rate foods at the N.C. State Fair. These outings got me away from a pretty rough adjustment period into college, but also helped me understand how much bigger the world is outside my friends and classes at Duke. When I visited Duke for a college tour, I didn’t think to spend time in Durham, but once I started here, Bull City quickly became one of my favorite things about my college experience. And now that I’m leaving, it might be the thing I’ll miss the most. Despite writing for Recess all four years, the first time I made it to Full Frame Documentary Film Festival was earlier this month. It’s fair to say that Full Frame is perhaps the most major arts event that draws people to Durham — a couple hundred documentary enthusiasts take over the Carolina Theatre and the Convention

Center for a weekend, and it is glorious. It’s Durham at its best, and it’s a festival that I couldn’t imagine happening anywhere else. And after I spent most of the weekend recounting the minute details of every documentary I’d seen to anyone who would listen to me, I realized that my favorite thing about the arts is that they make everyone who produces or consumes them a more interesting person. I’ve cherished every opportunity I’ve had to talk to artists over the past four years, since I left each interview with a new perspective. I learned about many of the issues facing Durham today — like gentrification and seeking sanctuary — through artists who took a stand and fought for these issues to be heard. It’s easy to view the arts

editor’s note as an afterthought or a hobby, but art connects to politics, to social equity and to issues of representation in the media. Recess has undergone many changes since I came to my first meeting my freshman year: We have a larger staff, more think pieces and reviews and we started publishing daily online this year. I’m proud of all of these changes — in part because I helped institute them — but I’m most proud of the fact that our mission hasn’t changed. We still try to highlight what makes Duke and Durham interesting, in the vain hope that more students will take interest and go and see art beyond shows that their friends are in. We explore what might not be the most immediately relevant content, but topics that make readers think in a new way. And although our local arts coverage may have slipped in the

midst of midterms and finals, pitching and reading stories about Durham are still some of my favorite articles. I will miss being Recess editor with all my heart. I’ve met so many people who inspired me, trusted me and pushed me to do better. It not only made me appreciate the pivotal role journalism plays on campus, but how the arts can transform lives. The arts scene on campus is not the arts scene here four years ago — the giant glass building makes that clear. There are still dedicated, inspiring artists fighting to make their voices heard. But it is equally important to remember the arts on campus aren’t the only arts to experience. Once you get into downtown Durham, with its theatres, venues and galleries, there’s a whole new world to explore. So for all of the not-graduating students who have plenty of time to explore, go take advantage of everything the Bull City has to offer. Christy Kuesel is a Trinity senior and the outgoing Recess editor. She would like to congratulate Nina and Will on regaining their Recess reign, and Miranda on joining the late night production gang. She’d like to thank many, many people, including: Dillon, who brought her on as managing editor and hasn’t gotten rid of her since, Bre for giving her her job and also a ride to class and the entire Recess staff, who inspired her, came to her Recess brunches and made her laugh. And lastly, she’d like to thank Sarah for being her artsier Recess counterpart, dealing with layout requests and bad jokes and being the best managing editor she could ask for. So long for now, folks.

on the cover: Mitski at Cat’s Cradle by: Sarah Derris

campus arts

Freshly Squeezed Pulp satirizes ‘Tarzan’ through old time radio plays By Christy Kuesel Recess Editor

When thinking of Tarzan, a cartoon man in a family of gorillas, a treacherous hunter or a Phil Collins soundtrack might come to mind. But as one new comedy group on campus is trying to show, there’s much more to the character than meets the eye. Instead of focusing on live material like Duke University Improv or Inside Joke, Freshly Squeezed Pulp produces a weekly podcast series, satirizing the original 24 “Tarzan” novels in the style of an old style radio series, named “Tar-zaan.” The group’s name is a play on pulp fiction, which usually refers to low-quality literature. “I would describe our ambiance as ‘George of the Jungle’ meets ‘Monty Python,’” sophomore Mac Gagné, who plays Jane Porter, said. Gagné and sophomores Brock Foreman and Daniel Eggito first conceived of their idea when discussing how much the Disney version of Tarzan differed from the original character. “So I go Google it, and the answer is Edgar Rice Burroughs, and he wrote 24 ‘Tarzan’ books, we were delighted to learn, and each of them is successively zanier than the last,” Foreman said. For one thing, the G-rated movie left out some of the more scintillating details, like the existence of a New Rome in Africa, a matriarchal society devoted to human sacrifice and Tarzan eventually traveling to the center of the earth. A modern update Perhaps the biggest challenge parodying the original “Tarzan” series posed was how to work with its blatant racism and misogyny. Burroughs wrote the novels in the early 20th

century, and like most pulp fiction of that time, conformed to many traditional views of the day. But for Freshly Squeezed Pulp, this difficulty just posed an opportunity to think about the characters creatively. “FSP has become an interesting experiment in including tradition and new social values,” Gagné said. The writers have developed many of the female characters, including Jane, to have their own interests and ambitions, and have flipped some characters’ genders or sexualities to better suit their vision. Gagné feels Freshly Squeezed Pulp differs from other comedy groups on campus in terms of the lower barrier of entry. “If anyone’s interested, we’ll find a way to work you in to voice a character,” she said. “It’s very much easy comedy, both for people to participate in as well as for people to listen to. And unlike DUI or Inside Joke, you can just go to the App Store and listen to our skits.” Anyone interested — with no experience necessary — can stop by to voice a few lines or even help write. “We’ve had people come on board and voice three lines, and we’ve had people come on board and their character turns into a part of our main plotline,” Foreman said. Pulp fiction at Duke The group has attracted a wide range of participants, including both students and faculty. “It’s been a really unbelievable experience, with everyone getting on board,” Eggito said. The group records Saturdays in the Multimedia Project Studio sound booth. They received approval to upload the podcast to iTunes and funding from Duke Student Government. The project also functions as an independent study for Gagné and senior Daniel Zhu, who plays Tar-zaan, and is

taught by academic dean Jenny Wood Crowley. In class, they modernize different works of pulp fiction and learn more about the genre in general. “You hear people say that the main thing that defines good fiction is relatability, and nowhere is that more true than with pulp fiction,” Zhu said. In addition to the independent study, other Duke faculty and clubs have supported the project. “We’ve had teachers and deans voice characters, we’ve had professors at the law office advise us on how to properly parody to avoid any kind of trademark or copyright infringement and we’ve been supported by the Duke Marketing Club and Hear at Duke all the way,” Gagné wrote in an email.

The group hosted one live performance February 28 and plans to host two live shows per year. But “Tarzan” won’t be the only series Freshly Squeezed Pulp satirizes. In addition to a number of original one-offs — keep an eye out for “The Chilling and Peculiar Happenings of Indrid Cold the Mothman” — they’ll be picking another pulp fiction to parody once “Tarzan” wraps up. Freshly Squeezed Pulp also tries to cut through Duke’s culture of effortless perfection. “The wackiness, the absurdity, the lack of even basic logic, it’s a really great way to break through the perfectionistic culture we have both on campus, as well as around the world,” Gagné said. “You can escape into a world where you don’t need to be absolutely perfect at everything. Nothing needs to make constant sense.”

Special to the Chronicle The new comedy group Freshly Squeezed Pulp serializes its parody of “Tarzan,” named “Tar-zaan.”

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‘Where We Belong’ director discusses impact of divorce on children By Miranda Gershoni Staff Writer

For its North American premiere, “Where We Belong” screened at Full Frame Documentary Film Festival earlier this month. The film gave viewers a raw look into the lived experiences of young children affected by their parents’ marital troubles. It features interviews with five children on their experiences, paired with ethereal close-ups of their faces, engulfed by intense lighting and music that evokes their specific, complicated and often hard-to-express internal struggles. The documentary gives voice to those who are usually voiceless, largely through their wonderfully genuine and surprisingly mature insights. The Chronicle spoke with Swiss director Jacqueline Zünd via email about her intentions behind the film and what she learned from the children she interviewed. The Chronicle: What motivated you to make this film? Jacqueline Zünd: My son has two homes. In his class, my son was the only kid with separated parents — at least, that’s what it seemed like. The divorce rate in Switzerland is 50 percent. Apparently, the image of the happy family is still afflicted with shame, even though we have long known that the classic nuclear family is the main refuge of our neuroses. I was interested in this paradox. TC: Why did you decide to interview children? JZ: The conversations about separations and their consequences are usually conducted by adults — they make the decisions, they discuss and they analyze. I was interested in the children’s perspective. It was important to me not to portray them as passive victims, but to understand them in their own perception: What is important to them? What hurts them? What can they manage effortlessly? And what

Special to the Chronicle Jacqueline Zünd’s documentary “Where We Belong” had its North American premiere at the 2019 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival this April.

seems insurmountable? I wanted to ask them the questions which parents avoid, due to fear of the answers, or because they want to protect them from their own reality. TC: Why do you think these kids were so perceptive to their situation? JZ: Children see things very clearly. They observe acutely and are poetic when they describe their situation. TC: How long did it take to make the film? JZ: Three years. TC: Why did you decide to include footage of the children’s faces in changing lights between shots of their interviews?

What is the significance? JZ: I searched for scenes and environments that represent the inner worlds of the kids. The light here stands in a way for the outer world who affects on them. Sometimes smooth, sometimes hard and disturbing. TC: What did you learn from the individuals you interviewed? JZ: It impressed me how well they read their parents and feel whether they are okay or not. It is incredible how much they care and what they are willing to do for the relationships. It touched me how much responsibility they bear. They are

always looking for a way to deal with the situation, often with humor — whether intentional or not. TC: What would you like the audience to take away from the film? JZ: As separated parents, I would like them to think: We should manage to push our injuries aside when it comes to our children. Because there is a great destructive potential in this. It can be very stressful for them. Like for Carleton and Sherazade in the film, they chose to live in a children’s home, so as to escape the line of fire. And for everybody: We should never underestimate children and their view of the world.

‘Mossville: When Great Trees Fall’ tackles environmental racism By Eva Hong Features Editor

“Welcome to beautiful downtown Mossville. Population: one.” As I sat in the U.S. premiere of the documentary “Mossville: When Great Trees Fall” at the 2019 Full Frame Film Festival, I thought I heard wrong. But as the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that Mossville, Louisiana is a town swallowed by the marriage of industrial greed and environmental racism. Stacey Ryan is its only remaining resident, struggling to fight for the right to the land his family has lived on for generations, as well as the toxic fumes emitted by the surrounding 14 petrochemical plants that threaten to take down every living cell in his body every night. Mossville was once a self-sufficient haven for freed slaves amid the horrors of Jim Crow. It was an everyone-knows-everyone kind of town, where gardens bring back the flowers of May every year, where kids laugh their childhood away and experience their first heartbreak, where the elderly know they can rest soundly in all that they are familiar with. But then the South African apartheid-born chemical giant Sasol came to the U.S. and circled Mossville as the future site of its $21.2 billion industrial project, the largest yet in the Western hemisphere. The residents of the community were unwilling to leave their homes where their roots were buried and their identities defined. But between ancestral history and the health and future of their children, all chose the latter in the end, except Ryan, who promised his parents to fight this injustice. He watched them develop health complications as Sasol invaded the neighborhood with its power plants and eventually lost them to cancer. As his water, power, and sewage are all cut off, he uses his mechanical knowledge to build electrical engines

and endures occasional harassment from Sasol. In a way, Ryan is a superhero, taking on the villain of corporate selfishness. But the camera humbles him and paints him as your nice neighbor who always mows your lawn too. Yes, Ryan is modest, personable, quiet but extremely resilient. Just like any loving father who wants his children grow up in “the best place to raise kids,” just like any sweet son who wants to fulfill his parents’ dying wishes — a paradox that makes his story so viscerally moving and powerful. He builds fences around his parents’ old

house. He plays with his son in the neighborhood playground that has no other kids. He walks around the power plants and wonders if the laughter of his childhood had all been a dream. He watches his parents’ testimonial videotape and cries. And I cry too. But the noises of the chemical plants are louder and louder, while Stacy’s voice gets weaker and weaker. Eventually, his body gives out before his mind. He reluctantly signs Sasol’s buyout deal but is relieved to be able to move away with his family, who stayed in a nearby town while

Stacy was in Mossville from all the toxins. Except, he had to spend most of his buyout money on medical bills. Mossville is not an exception, just an example. From Secunda, South Africa to Mossville, USA, minority communities are treated as secondclass citizens whose rights are not so right and freedoms not so free. Corporate greed does not end at the erasure of history, the desecration of ancestry. It also does not end at the death toll of local residents or one man’s lifetime fight. But it might end at everyone taking an action.

Photo Courtesy of IMDB “Mossville: When Great Trees Fall” follows one man as he fights back against the environmental racism that resulted in the destruction of his hometown.

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playground NOTRE DAME FROM PAGE 1 The Chronicle asked art history professors who had studied the building about its significance, as well as the meaning of its burning: David Morgan, Professor of Religious Studies and Art, Art History, and Visual Studies: “If the Eiffel Tower is the great symbol of industrial modernity and if the Louvre is the shrine of great art and royal history, the cathedral of Notre-Dame completes the group as the religious heart of France. To see it in flames was shocking because it suggests that the nation itself was in peril. We don’t like to think that our totems can die. They are the enduring center to which people anchor themselves. Notre-Dame is special because it has spanned such a long period of French history and in the process acquired layer upon layer of meaning. From the medieval shrine devoted to the Virgin Mary, a patron saint of the French nation, to the setting of Victor Hugo’s “Hunchback of NotreDame,” this building has become an icon of French culture and history. If the icon is destroyed, access to the sacred things it envisions is compromised. That is something everyone around the world suddenly experienced on April 15.” Kristin Huffman, Lecturing Fellow of Art, Art History, and Visual Studies: “Notre-Dame is an iconic monument in architectural history. I was in Paris just this January, and the flying buttresses supporting the apse, graceful architectural features, never ceased to amaze me and inspire awe in approaching the Cathedral from the East. Fortunately, there have been laser scans taken of its spaces, new approaches to studying art and architectural history, such as those done in the Wired! lab. These will prove fundamental in Notre-Dame’s restoration.” Caroline Bruzelius, Professor of Art, Art History, and Visual Studies:

Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons The famous Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris burned April 15, resulting in its roof collapsing, though the cause of the fire is still unknown.

“The fire at Notre-Dame is the type of horrific event we never hope to see: one of those moments that sears into the soul and that will always be remembered. In the Middle Ages and Early Modern period this kind of catastrophe was not uncommon: Whole cities sometimes burned (London in 1666), and we have vivid descriptions of the fire (and miraculous salvation of the relics, too) at Chartres and at Canterbury cathedrals. A great monument like Notre-Dame can and will be rebuilt, though assessment of the damage will take time. I’d like to use this opportunity to remind readers of the Chronicle that historic monuments need constant attention and care, and that great buildings have many “lives.” Our Duke research team of four freshmen and a senior who working on the Medieval Kingdom of Sicily Image Database, knows this all too well,

because they are gathering images of the many “lives,” of buildings in South Italy damaged by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, quixotic restorations and above all, by devastating Allied aerial bombardment in World War II.” Edward Triplett, Instructor of Art, Art History, and Visual Studies: “I simply can’t think of a medieval building that dominates the skyline and the historical identity of a country the way Notre-Dame does in Paris. It has always been a pivot-point in that city. It is the seat of the Archbishop, it was built taller than any Gothic cathedral that preceded it and nearly every aspect of its interior elevation, sculpture, stained glass and proportions were innovative. My biggest worry when I heard the news about the fire was that the 13th century rose windows, (whose remarkable survival is owed to their temporary removal during WWII) would

be destroyed. There are very few stained glass windows from this time period that survive, and these were especially beautiful. As I watched the nighttime footage of the fire cast through Gothic tracery on the news, I thought sure the round rose windows were gone, but I was happy to hear the next day that they had all survived. I am partially comforted that four years ago, a fellow art historian and digital humanist named Andrew Tallon went to such painstaking effort to create a holistic 3D scan of Notre-Dame. Sadly, Dr. Tallon has since passed away, but as several articles have noted recently, his work will be invaluable to the restorers. We know that the act of scanning is not an act of ‘preservation,’ but the billions of data points inside the scan are a huge advantage for restorers over plan drawings and photographs, especially for a building with so many sculptural details.”

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MEN’S BASKETBALL

SINK OR SWIM?

Rising seniors Bolden and DeLaurier to test the NBA Draft waters By Derek Saul

COLUMN

Take the confetti when you can

Blue Zone Editor

Throughout the 2018-19 season, the NBA future of certain Blue Devils lurked in nearly every conversation about the Duke squad. Although this discussion focused almost entirely on the freshmen trio of Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish, two unexpected Blue Devils threw their hats into the NBA ring: Marques Bolden and Javin DeLaurier. A release from the team on Monday morning announced that Bolden and DeLaurier would test the NBA Draft waters, and that each filed the proper paperwork before the April 21 deadline Sunday night. Neither Blue Devil will sign with an agent, and thus will have the opportunity to return to Duke in the fall if they decide in the coming weeks that their respective draft stock is too low. Bolden came to campus with high expectations—the junior center was ranked No. 16 overall and the second-ranked center in the Class of 2016. In his freshman campaign, Bolden struggled with injuries and failed to carve out a consistent role, averaging only 6.5 minutes in his 24 appearances. Bolden’s sophomore campaign began on a more promising note, with an eight-point, 10-rebound effort against Portland State and and a 17-point, 10-rebound performance against St. Francis (Pa.). But a knee injury sidelined the DeSoto, Texas, native for most of January, putting his breakout on hold. The 2017-18 season ended on a positive note for Bolden, who finally showed flashes of what the former highly-touted recruit could

Michael Model

Charles York | Special Projects Photography Editor

Javin DeLaurier and Marques Bolden each had their opportunities in the starting lineup during the 2018-19 season. do. Bolden proved to be an efficient finisher inside and a trusted rim protecter, and led Duke in offensive rating during ACC play. This year, Bolden stepped into the largest role of his career, earning the starting center spot to open the season. While health issues again plagued him in the middle of the season, Bolden was a consistent contributor to the ACC tournament champion Blue Devils. The 6-foot-11, 250-pound big man posted career highs in nearly every category, including an 8.4 block percentage, good for No. 49 in the country.

DeLaurier, a fellow junior big, was a defensive stalwart throughout his time at Duke. The Shipman, Va., native ended this season, and perhaps his college career, with a 10-point, 11-rebound, three-block performance against Michigan State in the Elite Eight. Unlike Williamson, Barrett, and Reddish, who are all but locked in as top-10 draft picks, Bolden and DeLaurier’s NBA value is not immediately clear. Both Bolden and DeLaurier currently are not ranked in ESPN’s list of the top 100 NBA prospects, though that may be due to the surprise nature of their declaration.

MEN’S GOLF

Duke places 4th at ACC championship By Dilan Trivedi Associate Sports Editor

Having to play 36 holes in a single day can either be a boon or a bane for a team. On one hand, it offers the opportunity to continue positive momentum after a strong opening 18 without worrying about cooling off overnight. On the other hand, physical and mental fatigue can settle in and the last 18 holes of the day can become a grueling drag. Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, the latter happened at the ACC Championship Thursday, leading to a fourth-place finish for the team on Saturday. After opening action at the Old North State Club in New London, N.C with a scintillating 17-under-271, which left No. 9 Duke leading by four strokes over No. 19

I could not name three rules of lacrosse and my lone photography experience was from a service-learning Spanish class I took my sophomore fall. Yet, there I was at Gillette Stadium spending the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend sitting on the New England Patriots’ home turf shooting the men’s lacrosse Final Four. Monday, I was perched up in the press box covering my first and only lacrosse game— the 2018 national championship. I kind of just went for it. Covering that lacrosse game— like being sports editor of The Chronicle— was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Who would pass that up? I almost did. V. 113 sports editor Hank Tucker and sports managing editor Mitchell Gladstone had a tough task in convincing me to run the department. Like many rising juniors, I was planning on going abroad and had already anticipated my fall semester in Copenhagen, traipsing through Europe. Their sales pitch essentially consisted of, ‘If you stay, you can cover men’s basketball, and if you leave, you’ll miss your chance.’ While that alone was not initially successful, the combination of newfound desperation—following the departure of another prominent sophomore to news— and the fact that Duke was playing in the Maui Invitational the upcoming November helped swing me over the edge. It was the best decision I’ve made in my life. When I stepped into my first Chronicle meeting freshman year—or even during regular meetings my sophomore year—I never would have thought that I’d eventually be the one running the department. At the time, my lone writing experience came from a small baseball blog I managed my junior year of high school and I had very little confidence in my writing. While my confidence grew during my first years on the staff, the idea of being the last line of defense was something I had to grapple with. However, the coverage experiences The Chronicle offers make it worth it. I learned very early on that I enjoy writing instant gamers. My first instant gamer was during Duke football’s thrilling win in Chapel Hill my sophomore fall. Nothing tops the relief felt after submitting an article in the closing minutes of a tight game. The adrenaline rush became addicting, and my ability to thrive in

Clemson, a 4-over-292 later in the day left the Blue Devils out of the lead. Four of the five Blue Devils regressed on their second-18. “Gosh, I bet there isn’t a single team in the ACC field that doesn’t play at least one or more 36-18 tournaments throughout the regular season. Ironically, there are some years where we do it more often than others,” head coach Jamie Green said. “In actuality, I think we didn’t do it this year any later than our own Rod Myers Invitational back in early September. From that aspect, it absolutely is not an excuse, but the reality of it is, I do not think you can replicate it in any other way. It is mentally fatiguing, physically fatiguing.” See M. GOLF on Page 13

Jim Liu | Opinion Photography Editor

Chandler Eaton shined this past weekend.

See FAREWELL on Page 12

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FAREWELL FROM PAGE 11 those high-leverage situations became critical down the stretch. Two and a half months later I found myself at Boston College trying to escape an avalanche of students flooding onto the court celebrating a win against our team. I’d experience similar fates at Madison Square Garden and in Blacksburg, Va., in February of that season as St. John’s and Virginia Tech managed to pull off major upsets. Those three games were pivotal in my development as a writer. I learned to scramble together 450 words in an undecided contest down the stretch as my inner Cameron Crazie panicked. After the games, I was challenged to evoke two stories worth of sound out of a silent locker room of maybe five media people—the fact that we’re able to send at least two people to every single game is a testament to how amazing The Chronicle is. After taking the helm last April, the experience felt all the more rewarding. I was fortunate enough to sit in on Grayson Allen’s press conference at the NBA Draft and, after walking past Donovan Mitchell earlier in the night, write about the two of them coming full circle. And then there was the Zion Williamson show. I somehow successfully convinced my parents to take our summer vacation to Canada. As the crowd of Canadian media swarmed their hometown hero R.J. Barrett, I grew my photography profile and snatched the rare opportunity to talk to Zion without having to fight through a mass of 50 reporters. The next week I turned my focus to football season, wrapping up my first centerfold feature

after talking to former athletic director Joe Alleva and Duke football alumni Thad Lewis, Thomas Sirk and Dave Harding about David Cutcliffe’s first 10 years in Durham. As much as I knew the position of sports editor would be a full-time job, that job did not fully begin until basketball season. I do not know how I would have survived without sports managing editor Winston Lindqwister, who had to learn photoshop on the fly at 3 a.m. to make a cutout of Virginia Tech’s Justin Robinson for our men’s basketball season preview, or Hank and Mitchell, who helped complete that preview around 5 a.m. That would not be our only 5 a.m. night that week, as Winston and I found ourselves pulling an all-nighter following the most impressive offensive performance in the history of Duke basketball on opening night in Indianapolis, opting to take a 6 a.m. flight back to Durham rather than shell out for a hotel. Five a.m. wake-up calls feel less jarring when you’re waiting for sunrise at the top of Mount Haleakala in Maui prior to the start of three incredible days of basketball during the Maui Invitational. Looking back on it, I’ll never fully understand what I did to earn the privilege of flying to Hawaii, watching a pair of contests against top-10 teams and getting the opportunity to interview Jay Bilas as part of the Cameron Chronicles—all while wearing the cheesy Hawaiian shirts we invested in. The new year also did not fail to disappoint. I’ll forever be indebted to my successor Derek Saul, who safely drove us from Notre Dame to Chicago past midnight through a blizzard. I was fortunate enough to attend NBA All-Star Weekend in Charlotte, stand five feet away from President Obama in Cameron, and watch Duke

Jim Liu | Opinion Photography Editor

Duke clinched its 21st ACC title after knocking off Florida State in Charlotte. capture its 21st ACC tournament title. My final game this season almost ended in utter disappointment. I’ll never forget watching Aubrey Dawkins rise for the dagger alley-oop slam for Central Florida in Columbia, S.C. I’ll never understand how the ball sailed out of bounds, allowing Duke to survive. Was I a last-second roll from Grayson Allen or a missed three from Kenny Goins away from going to cover the Final Four? Yes. But, I can safely say there is not a single regret from my 365 days as sports editor. I took that alley-oop pass from Hank and Mitchell and slammed it home. When you’re

offered a once in a lifetime opportunity, make sure to make the most of it. I did, and that’s why I have a bag of confetti from the ACC championship pinned to my credential in my room. That’s why my credentials and features hang up on my walls, each representing a moment in Duke Athletics I was able to partake in, each reminding me of the small army of people who helped me get there. This whole experience was something I’ll never forget, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Michael Model is a Trinity junior. He served as sports editor of The Chronicle’s 114th volume.

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M. GOLF FROM PAGE 11 A 1-over-289 in the final round left Duke tied with No. 29 Florida State at 12-under for the tournament, 25 strokes behind the Yellow Jackets. “Everyone goes into the championship amped up and excited. I think that showed in our first-round scoring. Our guys were ready to go and out of the gates. On the very first hole we were making eagles and birdies and getting under par early,” Green said. “I do think that throughout the day, the mental fatigue set in and it is a golf course where you have to keep it on play off the tee and it is tough to scramble. Our second round was unfortunately a combination of some mental and physical lapses. Guys scratched and clawed but the field was just a little too deep and a little too strong.” Chandler Eaton opened bogey-free with six birdies and an eagle, setting the Duke ACC Championship record, previously held by Adam Long, with a tap-in birdie on 18. However, Eaton could not hold the momentum through the second round. After starting the first eight holes at 1-under, a 5-over-41 on the back nine left the Alpharetta, Ga., native with a 6-over78. A cleaner final round with four birdies and one bogey left the junior at 5-under for the weekend and in a tie for ninth. Eaton finished 8-strokes behind Seminoles’ John Pak, who won the individual title by one stroke over Georgia Tech’s Andy Ogletree. “With Chandler, his state of mind is so important for him. He really plays his best when he’s in a place of freedom or comfort. In our sport, players are going through mental gymnastics between shots,” Green said. “When he slips a little bit, he maybe gets a little too focused on the future and a little more tension than necessary. He probably benefitted from having that day of rest [Friday] in between in bouncing back. It gave him an opportunity to take a step back and reestablish his frame of mind with stronger wind conditions.” Alex Smalley, a semifinalist for the Ben Hogan award, suffered a similar fate as his teammate. Two consecutive birdies to open his tournament and an eagle to end his opening 18 left the senior at 5-under after one round. However, two double

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Evan Katz started off the tournament strong with a 2-under 70 after birdies on three of the final four holes. bogeys in the second round pushed the North Carolina native’s Show. Although they are not guaranteed a spot, Duke held score to 1-over-73 and an up-and-down final round 74 left the a top-five ranking for much of the season and boast three senior tied for 18th. victories and a match play win over No. 1 Oklahoma State. Sophomore Adrien Pendaries was the most consistent With an at-large bid, the Blue Devils can be slotted to play of the bunch, securing a top-16 finish with rounds of 70- at any of the following locations: Myrtle Beach, S.C., Athens, 73-70. The Frenchman only had one double-bogey over Ga., Simpsonville, Ky., Stanford, Calif., Austin, Texas, or the three rounds and never had more than two bogeys Pullman, Wash. in a round. Classmate Evan Katz also opened up with a “Wherever we get placed for regionals, it could be a very 2-under 70 after birdieing three of the last four holes, but different golf course, a very different part of the country,” rounds of 74 and 76 left him at 4-over for the tournament Green said. “You need to be ready for anything. Having players and in a tie for 38th. who have played in different places and been successful in Steven DiLisio was the lone Duke player to improve different parts of the country is going to be valuable.” between the first and second rounds. After a late double bogey Duke, which is returning four of its five players from last left the junior at a 1-over-73 through 18, DiLisio overcame year’s postseason squad, will be looking to advance from four straight bogeys from holes 2-6 to shoot an even-par-72 in regionals to the NCAA championships, where it made the his second round. The Massachusetts native struggled mightily Final Four last year. in his final round, however, shooting 6-over on the back nine “Anytime you have success, as a player, you have to take en route to carding a 79 and 8-over for the tournament, just the experience and know that’s the valuable part and not put outside the top-50 in a tie for 52nd. pressure and expectations out there,” Green said. “While it’s TheNCAA New York Times great Syndication Sales Corporation The Blue Devils will now wait for their regional to expect success, our guys know they can do it and need 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 placement, set to come May 1 on the Men’s GolfForSelection place1-800-972-3550 that to the side and take care of business.” InformationtoCall: For ForRelease ReleaseWednesday, Tuesday, April April23, 24,2019 2019

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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

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14 | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019

More money, more collective action

tarting in 2022, Duke will guarantee every Ph.D. student in their five-year guaranteed funding period an annual stipend of $31,160 spread out over 12 months. Depending on each department, Duke’s current policy until 2022 is to award Ph.D. stipends on either a nine or 12-month schedule, with the nine-month stipend amounting to $23,370. This means that starting from 2022, a sizeable number of Ph.D. students will have their yearly income increased by $10,000. In an age of increasing precarity within the world of academia, Duke’s decision to institute a university-wide policy guaranteeing yearly $31,000 stipends to Ph.D. students should be applauded. Moreover, the stipend increase signifies an important victory for activism at the University, as graduate students continue to press the administration for better working and living conditions. Perhaps most significantly, an increase to $31,000 a year in stipend funds will have a considerable effect in easing the cost of living for many Ph.D. students with otherwise limited sources of income. As Hannah Rogers, current English Ph.D. student and member of the Duke Graduate Students Union (DGSU) pointed out in an guest column last year, Duke’s previous policy of awarding stipends left a considerable gap between the

onlinecomment “Why don’t they use central campus for all undergraduate parking since it’s going to be vacant?” —Mary Milani Pearce, responding to “Where will hundreds of students park after Central Campus closure?” via Facebook on Apr. 19, 2019

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“official” cost of living in Durham verses the University’s guaranteed stipend amount. As the region’s economy and population continues to grow, rent prices and the cost of living the Triangle have been on the rise over the past decade, with average rent increases surpassing the national average. For many Ph.D. students, struggling to make ends meet on a sum of money deemed “low income” by the Department of Housing and Urban Development,

its petition in 2017 after an inconclusive vote on unionization. Over the last few years, the union has represented divisive issue on campus, with graduate students and administrators voicing divergent opinions on the appropriateness of a union within a university setting. In the past, both President Brodhead and Duke’s current President Price have publicly stated their disapproval for a graduate student union, criticizing it as an ineffective vehicle for advocacy. Even among graduate students, the issue has remained controversial, with some individuals arguing that unionization could potentially jeopardize academic freedom and relationships with professors as entire this increase will undoubtedly be greeted with relief and academic departments come under bureaucratic, consolation. Especially at a time when universities all across third-party regulations. the country are moving toward increasing the number Regardless of the controversy behind of adjunct faculty at the expense of tenured academic graduate student unionization and the positions, providing our graduate students with stable antagonistic relationship between DGSU and the finances as they finish their studies and enter an unstable administration, the stipend increase represents workforce should be important to administrators. a victory for collective activism at Duke. Since More fundamentally, the stipend increase represents its foundation, the Graduate Student Union has an acknowledgement by the University of the significant advocated for raising the guaranteed Ph.D. stipend labor graduate students to $30,000: holding rallies contribute to research and near the Allen Building, teaching. Often having to Graduate students are not writing op-eds in The juggle a strenuous schedule Chronicle and circulating of dissertation research, lab, treated as employees, but mass petitions. Although teaching, assisting professors rather scholars receiving numerous factors went with teaching and research, into the administration’s classwork, and exams, specific scholarships in decision to raise the stipend, many graduate students feel including the work of GPSC, overwhelmed by their many the name of research in which Dean Paula McClain conflicting responsibilities. cited in the news release academic setting, hence So much so that a study by announcing the decision, Harvard found that graduate the term “stipend” to define the voices of the union and students at elite universities many graduate students like Duke—although the compensation. certainly played a factor. University was not included Even for those who in the study—are more likely disagree on whether labor to experience depression and anxiety than the national unions are the right approach for a scholarly setting, average. Under the official definition by the University, the stipend increase signifies the importance of however, graduate students are not treated as employees, raising specific concerns, such as financial precarity, but rather scholars receiving specific scholarships in the facing various sectors of the campus community name of research in an academic setting, hence the term to the ear of stubborn administrators. Like with so “stipend” to define compensation to Ph.D. candidates. many other facets of Duke—the University’s African Notwithstanding Duke’s official treatment of Ph.D. and African American Studies Department and students as non-salaried employees, it is gratifying to see Asian American Studies, for instance—change often the University recognize the financial predicament of arrives only through collective organizing, even if many of its “scholars” and to rectify it through increasing such organizing proves to be initially antagonistic the amount of guaranteed stipend funding. and controversial. Of course, the University’s decision would not have been possible had it not been for Duke Graduate This was written by The Chronicle’s Editorial Board, Students Union. The group formed a few years ago which is made up of student members from across the and pushed for official unionization, but withdrew University and is independent of the editorial staff.

Editorial Board

Letter: The reality of merit scholarship programs

o the Editor: Your editorial regarding merit-based scholarships at Duke lacks much contact with the reality of these programs. Directors of these programs over the last 18 years (of which we were two) can confirm that that “the parameters for merit” are far from “subjective, contextless and uncritical” and that “discussions of racial inequity” are ever present in the selection process. A glance at the demography of successful candidates for the merit scholarship programs at Duke makes it manifest that these programs do not “perpetuate academia’s chronic underrepresentation of students of color, particularly black students.” The real facts about the selection and recruitment process are quite to contrary of that suggested by your convoluted prose: “The absence of Black students in the [A.B. Duke program] potentially upholds a narrative in which black students could not be among the best nationally and internationally and can only exist as exceptional and meritable through the channel of racially specific programs like the Reginaldo Howard Scholars Program.” You may wish to speak to members of the student recruitment committees and 25 years of faculty directors of the

merit scholarship programs to confirm these matters. Despite your claim, “the screening process for merit scholarships” has always been aimed “to target the root causes of socioeconomic inequality.” Weighting for inequality of opportunity has long been the most critical variable in assessing degrees of achievement. The real problem facing Duke and the merit scholarships is that the universities with which these programs compete for students—Harvard, Princeton, Stanford—all offer every high achieving student with need the same financial package the Duke merit scholarships provide. Money alone no longer brings any of the academically most meritorious students to Duke. The greater cachet of these other institutions matters, especially to first generation university students. It is only the programmatic enrichment of the merit scholarship—delivered by Duke faculty who have directed these programs—that successfully recruits students, whether minority or not. Alex Rosenberg is a professor of philosophy and the director of the A.B. Duke Scholarship Program, 20062012. Michael Gillespie is a professor of political science and the director of the A.B. Duke Scholarship Program, 2012-2018.

The Chronicle

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019 | 15

What I learned from the Wilson climbing wall and other first-year reflections

rying out the Wilson rock climbing wall was on my “first-year at Duke!” bucket list, so when a friend asked me to climb last weekend, I thought I would give it a try. I strapped on the harness and awkwardly-shaped climbingshoes with a feeling of readiness, excitement and confidence as

Duke Honor Council COLUMN I measured up the plastic ascending above me. I mastered the knot in my rope, firmly declared ‘on belay!’ and grasped the first green hold that would take me to the top. The first few minutes, I felt I was flying. I was ascending steadily, painless. Wow, you are a natural, I told myself: first time and you’re already halfway there! As I started passing the halfway point, little sharp pains began to burn in my forearms. Shake it off, I told myself, you got this. I kept climbing, but soon after my stint of self-motivation, I was forced to face some soul-shattering dilemmas. The one green hold in sight seemed miles above me, my foot was slipping from a finger-sized ‘hold’, and my forearms felt like they would fall off any minute. Why had my sky-high state of confidence turned into a rocky mess of stagnation? I glanced around the wall. Why are all the other students at Duke apparently literal tree frogs, gripping corners of the wall I could not even see, scaling at rates I thought impossible? Then I thought about what the climbing wall employee mentioned at the desk, that the numbers on the walls represent the difficulty of the climb, starting with 5.5. I saw walls labeled 5.8, 5.10, 5.11 and Dukies ascending them with ease. I looked for the label on mine: 5.6. “Just bring your left leg up to that green one!” I heard my friend yell from below. “HOW?” I wanted to yell. I am suspended in the air holding on for my life on one of the easiest climbs there is and people are passing me like I have become part of this piece of plastic. “YOU CAN DO IT!” my friend shouted. Fine. I pushed through the pain. Eventually, a while later, I made it to the rather disappointingly ugly reward of the metal ring holding the ropes at the top of the wall. I find this rock climbing experience has some parallels to my first year. As I reflect on this year at Duke, I remember sometimes having similar feelings of being stuck and unable to see a green hold on the wall, or feelings of not measuring up against the wall-scaling extraordinaires around me. This ‘measure-up’ mindset was stressful, and it was one I too frequently fell into adapting this year. I entered this first year eager and open to the incredible grandeur of the world of Duke. I felt confident and ready—I had performed to the standard to get to the place, I told myself, so I must be able to belong based on my ability. My first year has taught me that there is a much more fulfilling philosophy. Instead of seeing people and myself as climbers scaling the ladder of success, I want to appreciate people for their incredible individuality, their backgrounds and beliefs. I learned from and connected to people so much better with this mindset. As a friend once told me, we are called human beings and not human doings for a reason. A Duke narrative based on how I perform tells me my failures are unacceptable because they prevent me from climbing a rung higher on the ladder of capitalistic success.

My personal creeds based on the value of who am I tell me my failures are embraced because they teach me how to become more adaptable, stronger, and more assured. I am choosing a reflection of my first year that is not rooted in how far I have climbed up the rock wall toward my career goals or success based on society’s values of prestige and monetary power. I am choosing a reflection of my first year that is rooted in gratitude. I am grateful for our beautiful campus—it seems the flowers and trees are expressing their own gratitude this time of year (although the pollen may be saying thanks a bit too loudly). I am grateful for the piano in the Pegram common room and Tre Jones’ return. I am grateful for the diversity of the worldviews of people here and for professors who invest in me. In this grateful reflection on my first-year, I find that clearly we are privileged. I believe this point underscores ever more an ethical obligation for gratitude. I think that when we use gratitude, we are also intrinsically breaking down levels of hierarchy or social levels because gratitude itself levels playing fields and elicits humility in relationships. Gratitude also requires our complete attention to our surroundings, meaning that we lose our self-absorption. A professor told me a story that I think illustrates this point well. Once, there was a pre-med student at Duke who was also a talented violinist. She fell into a frenzy—focusing on, correcting, mulling over her mistakes. One day during a lesson, her teacher stopped her playing and asked her to leave the room. Her teacher told her to knock and re-enter, and to act like a doctor coming into a clinic to treat a patient. When the girl reentered, the teacher acted sick and hurting, eager for trust and guidance from the student, reaching out and

pleading her. The girl had to care for nothing but her teacher at that moment. She had to choose attention and empathy over her perfectionism and self-editing. And the teacher said that that is how you should play the violin, with complete absorption, curiosity, care and attention for the music—overcoming self-absorption. As a pre-medical student, I also find myself often tight and stressed because I focus on grasping that next hold as I climb closer to my goal of medical school. Yet, this first year has led me to ask: what if I free myself to be absorbed in learning for the sake of learning and free myself from the stress of pre-professional perfectionism? My first year has emphasized my love of liberal arts—where we are learning about why humans are as well as how humans are. I have found the value in Duke’s speaker events, including Honor Council’s events, to learn about the ethics behind the STEM material I learn in my classes. After my first year, I believe that the importance of learning about who we are in this world points to our need for a more well-rounded, liberal arts education—where each student graduates having read more of the great works of literature, philosophy and ethics. Curiosity and care overcome self-absorption when we study and learn to grow as humans, not to grab another rung in the ladder toward our career goals. My last reflection of my first-year is a challenge to myself and others--write an actual, physical handwritten thank you note. To a professor. To the person who cleans your beautiful dorm. To a coworker. To someone who has cared for and valued you for who you are, not how far or how fast you can ascend the climbing wall of cultural success. This week’s column was written by Margaret Gaw, a Trinity first-year.

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