September 12, 2018 by Duke Chronicle

The Chronicle

See Inside Can Duke stop Baylor’s explosive offense? Page 8

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, SEPTEMBER 12, 2018 DUKECHRONICLE.COM

Duke ties Penn in U.S. News rankings

ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTEENTH YEAR, ISSUE 9

FLORENCE THE MACHINE Classes canceled as campus readies for hurricane Staff Reports

Staff Reports The Chronicle

The Chronicle

Duke regained its eighth position in the U.S. News and World Report rankings this year. The University, which fell behind the University of Pennsylvania to ninth place last year, is tied with Penn for the 2019 rankings. The three years previously, Duke was in eighth. Princeton maintained its position at the top of the rankings for the eighth year in a row, beating out Harvard, which again came in second. This year, there was a four-way tie for third place between Columbia, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Chicago and Yale. The four-way horse race was followed by Stanford, then Duke. Johns Hopkins moved back into the top-10 in a tie with Northwestern University, bumping out the California Institute of Technology. As Duke gained one spot in the national university rankings, Williams College maintained its hold on the top of the list for best liberal arts colleges. Aside from the best national university and liberal arts colleges rankings, U.S. News and World Report also publishes more specific rankings for a wide swath of college features. In the “Best Values School” category, Duke dropped from its 10th position last year to 13th this year. The Pratt School of Engineering moved up from 20th place to a tie for 18th place this year, compared to 18th in 2017 in the ranking for engineering programs. Duke dropped from 10th last year to a tie for 16th this year in the “Most Innovative Schools” category. For “Undergraduate Teaching,” Duke maintained its hold on 10th place, compared to ranking 14th in 2017. The Blue Devils, however, remain firmly ahead of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, which moved into a tie for 30th from its ranking of 30th last year. UNC ranked tied for fifth this year among the best public schools. The U.S. News and World Report rankings are based on statistical and qualitative measures to parse out the rankings, and the rankings take into account a wide variety of factors. In order of their weight, the factors they consider are graduation and retention rates, undergraduate academic reputation, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, graduation rate performance and alumni giving rate.

Duke announced that classes would be cancelled from 5:00 p.m. Wednesday until Saturday, following similar announcements from other colleges in the Triangle area. In addition, all athletic events on campus from Thursday to Sunday will be cancelled or postponed, the University stated Tuesday morning. Duke will activate the severe weather and emergency condition policy beginning Thursday at noon. Students were notified about the change in a DukeAlert that was sent out around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. Workers have begun taking precautionary safety measures as the area braces for the storm, securing outdoor equipment and storm drains. Medical personnel and police will still be on-call throughout the storm, the alert said, as will facilities crews. Courtesy of NASA Hurricane Florence is expected to make landfall in North Carolina later this week.

See CLASSES on Page 12

Keep up with all of The Chronicle’s hurricane coverage on our live blog at dukechronicle.com

Getting around Duke in the storm By Nathan Luzum Senior Editor

Likhitha Butchireddygari Investigations Editor

When Hurricane Florence hits land, high winds and rainfall flooding will likely consume Bull City, Wes Hohenstein, chief meteorologist at CBS 17, told The Chronicle Sunday. On the ground in Durham, winds are likely to reach a speed of more than 70 miles per hour, which may create unsafe conditions for drivers. Most days, trees that enclose and fill Duke’s campus complete the school’s scenic aesthetic. But, combined with high winds, those same trees may cause damage to your car. For example, a fallen branch or other debris could break your windshield or dent the top. Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, wrote in an email Tuesday that he recommends students to “avoid driving as much as possible during the storm” and said he will “avoid parking under tree limbs as best I can.” Regarding driving, National Weather Service aptly warned: “Turn Around, Don’t Drown.” “If you see a road covered in water or blocked off due

See RANKINGS on Page 12

See STORM on Page 12

Duke alum runs for N.Y. attorney general

Tales of New York

Zephyr Teachout, Duke Law ‘99, is running for the New York office to “lead the legal resistance” against Trump. PAGE 3

Public policy graduate student on navigating New York City.

Sujal Manohar | Photography Editor Duke students crowded the Lobby Shop Tuesday afternoon.

Sujal Manohar | Photography Editor Students stocked up on frozen foods and chips.

Dueling columnists: Is Duke football toast? releases

memoir PAGE 7

After losing two starters last week, our Derek Saul and Winston Lindqwister take sides on Duke’s fate. PAGE 8

@dukechronicle @dukebasketball |