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The independent news organization at Duke University FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2025

By Lucas Lin

ONLINE DAILY AT DUKECHRONICLE.COM

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIRST YEAR, ISSUE 2

Welcome back to campus! Here's what you missed:

August 20, 2025

With the start of the fall semester just around the corner, The Chronicle has recapped the key stories you might have missed over the summer. Duke, a university that has largely avoided confrontation with the White House, now finds itself in the federal government’s crosshairs. As tensions with the Trump administration escalated in recent months, Duke’s strategy of silence has prompted calls by campus community members that the institution stay true to its mission and not yield to pressure. The University’s first standoff with the Trump administration this summer took place when the chairmen of two U.S. House of Representatives committees called on Duke to close Duke Kunshan University, a partnership with Wuhan University, over alleged “safety concerns.” The letter was met with discontent from the DKU community, who stressed the importance of the campus in building understanding between the U.S. and China. Duke also saw the loss of millions in

federal money due to funding freezes, grant terminations and reductions in research budgets. On May 30, the Trump administration terminated funding to the Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Development, which was valued at $129 million. The administration had canceled 28 grants by July with funding from the National Institutes of Health, targeting research that focused on “equity-related” areas. However, many of the grants were either incorrectly singled out for containing keywords like “expression,” “disability,” “trans” and “systemic” that were not used in the context of DEI or only had a DEIrelated training program. Two months later, Duke was reportedly subject to a freeze of $108 million in NIH funding after federal agencies launched investigations into the University and Duke Health for alleged “systemic racial discrimination” and violations of the Civil Rights Act. The financial strain has forced the University to adopt a “strategic realignment and cost-reduction process.” The University has set a target of

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reducing $350 million — roughly 10% of the University’s total expense base. The School of Medicine announced plans to slash $125 million by next year due to NIH cuts. In addition to reducing discretionary spending, the institution has downsized personnel through voluntary separation incentive programs, faculty retirement incentives and involuntary layoffs. Part of the School of Medicine’s costcutting measures also include a faculty productivity guideline that would tie tenured professors’ salaries to external research funding. The guideline, set to go in effect in 2026, has prompted concerns over a lack of faculty governance. The institution has also shifted its diversity, equity and inclusion strategy following the Trump administration’s DEI crackdown. On May 7, the University announced a new approach to “inclusive excellence,” aimed at making University programming available to all community members. A month later, the University presented a set of 10 inclusive excellence principles that include prohibitions on restricting access to groups based on See RECAP on Page 9

Ninth Street's Nearly 600 to depart under voluntary staples program, layoffs to follow in August family-owned and newcomers

By Ana Despa

July 25, 2025

Nearly 600 staff members are leaving Duke through the University’s voluntary separation incentive program, with involuntary layoffs scheduled to begin in August. The announcement came in a Friday morning email to faculty and staff from Executive Vice President Daniel Ennis, Provost Alec Gallimore and Mary Klotman, executive vice president for health affairs. The sweeping personnel cuts are expected to significantly reshape University operations, with some departments more heavily affected than others. Duke administration has not responded to The Chronicle’s requests for comment on the breakdown of departures by department. However, The Chronicle has received multiple reports of broad cuts across the libraries, student affairs, Office of Information Technology and communications. The VSIP targeted staff across a range of seniority levels and tenures, The Chronicle confirmed. Several of those departing have publicly announced departures on LinkedIn, including long-

serving and well-known members of the Duke community. “We are sad to see these valued colleagues and members of our community leave Duke, and we thank them for their many contributions and dedicated service,” the administrators wrote. The program was first announced April 30, with offers extended in early May. Staff receiving the offers had 45 days to accept or decline, during which they were largely prohibited from discussing the terms or their decisions with anyone outside their family or legal counsel. Legal support could be sought but was not provided by Duke and much of the severance package was covered by a non-disclosure agreement, multiple sources told The Chronicle. A total of 599 staff accepted a VSIP offer, and many are leaving the University this week. Under the VSIP, positions eliminated through the program cannot be reinstated by their departments or units for up to three years. This restriction is compounded by a staff hiring freeze, limiting the ability of departments to replace lost labor. The Chronicle See VSIP on Page 9

Serving the University since 1905

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By Bhavika Verma

August 20, 2025

Bordering East Campus to the west, Broad Street and Ninth Street greet tourists with small restaurants nestled among Harris Teeter and Whole Foods. To longtime Durham residents and Duke alumni, however, these streets hold enduring staples alongside a revolving door of newcomers. Monuts has been a Ninth Street staple for years, after its humble beginnings in 2011 as a donut stand operating “off a tricycle” near the Durham Farmer’s Market. The now successful counterservice restaurant and bakery was founded by chefs and owners Lindsay Moriarty and Rob Gillespie. From unique donut flavors, like Earl Grey chocolate and PB & J, to fresh breakfast sandwiches, Monuts is the place to go for weekend brunch. Along with bakery items, Monuts serves a variety of beverages and seasonal drinks that range from honey lavender lattes to coconut Vietnamese iced coffee. In the same breakfast lane, Elmo’s Diner has been serving the Durham community for more than 20 years. The See NINTH ST on Page 13

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Ryan Kilgallen To view more move-in pictures, visit our website at dukechronicle.com

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2 | FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2025

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2025 | 3

Explainer: How student loans are changing under the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ of Duke students who take out loans, in addition to future Blue Devils seeking August 6, 2025 federal aid and a host of alumni in the President Donald Trump is carrying process of paying off their own loans. Here’s how the University’s student through on his campaign promise to dismantle many student loan forgiveness borrowers could be affected. and repayment plans through the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which he signed Loan Issuing The bill imposes a lifetime cap across into law July 4. Lynn Pasquerella, president of the all federal student loans. Beginning July 1, American Association of Colleges and 2026, students will not be able to borrow Universities, told The New York Times more than $257,500 in total across all that the policy changes will ultimately federal loan programs and during all “make college less affordable.” Chris years of postsecondary study. Parent Simmons, Duke’s vice president for PLUS loans — a type of loan taken out government relations, echoed the by parents on their child’s behalf — are sentiment, writing in a July 3 email to The excluded from this total. Several federal loan programs will see Chronicle that “moving forward, students will have fewer, and less affordable new restrictions that further limit the amount of aid students receive; others will options to fund their education.” Republicans who voted in favor of be terminated altogether. These changes the bill claim it frees taxpayers from will go into effect July 1, 2026. Parent PLUS: This program will subsidizing college degrees for others. Some have also promoted the new policies become more limited. Parent PLUS loans are available to as a way to hold universities accountable for skyrocketing tuition costs and the parents of undergraduate students that meet eligibility requirements and are accompanying increases in student debt. But setting aside the debate over meant to cover their child’s educational how the higher education landscape will expenses not met by other forms of aid. They will soon be capped at $20,000 be impacted in the long term, what’s immediately clear is that students who per year, with a lifetime cap of $65,000. borrow from the federal government will Previously, these loans could cover soon see many changes to that process. a student’s total cost of attendance, The new law will impact roughly 30% excepting other forms of financial aid. By Zoe Kolenovsky

Graduate PLUS: This program is ending. Graduate PLUS loans operated similarly to Parent PLUS loans, except they were available to graduate and professional students to cover their own educational expenses. The “Big, Beautiful Bill” Act terminates this program for new borrowers. Students who have already borrowed from the Graduate PLUS program before the changes take effect in July of next year will reportedly still have access to their loans. Direct Unsubsidized Loans: This program will be limited for graduate students but expanded for professional students. Direct Unsubsidized loans are the other loan type available to graduate and professional students, and they will soon become their sole option. They are also offered to undergraduates. Eligibility is not based on financial need, and a student’s school determines the amount they can borrow from the program. The new law splits borrowing caps for graduate and professional students. Previously, all graduate and professional students were capped at $20,500 per academic year in Direct Unsubsidized loans. Now, graduate students will remain at that level, but professional students will be able to borrow $50,000 per year.

Aggregate caps on these loans are also changing. Whereas graduate and professional students were previously allowed to borrow up to $138,500 in Direct Unsubsidized Loans, the bar will be lowered to $100,000 for graduate students but raised to $200,000 for professional students. These total caps do not include funds borrowed as an undergraduate. Pell Grants: Eligibility for this program will be expanded for some and restricted for others. While not a loan program, Pell Grants are a significant source of federal aid for low-income students. They are offered to certain undergraduates with significant financial need and do not need to be repaid. The “One Big Beautiful Bill” makes students completing workforce training programs eligible for Pell Grants for the first time. It defines these short programs — between eight and 15 weeks — as ones that “provid[e] an education aligned with the requirements of high-skill, high-wage … or in-demand industry sectors or occupations.” Students whose full cost of attendance is covered by grant aid from non-federal sources — such as state-level government grants, or scholarships from their university or a private organization — will no longer be eligible for Pell Grants. See LOANS on Page 10

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4 | FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2025

Trinity revamps advising model, replacing hundreds of volunteers with 11 full-time staff By Lucas Lin August 7, 2025

In a revamp of its pre-major college advising system, the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences will replace more than 300 volunteer academic advisers with 11 fulltime staff that will be assigned to students based on QuadEx affiliation. The formal announcement was made Monday to Trinity faculty and staff, following questions from The Chronicle and confusion from Trinity first-years that they had not been assigned one-onone academic advisers prior to course registration. This had been procedural in previous years and allowed students time to seek personalized guidance on course selection, academic pathways and curricular opportunities before setting foot on campus. Now advisers will be assigned to first-years upon arriving on campus this fall. The transition takes place after nearly 600 staff members departed Duke through its voluntary separation incentive program (VSIP). Many of the 300 volunteer advisers are among the 599 staff members impacted by the VSIP. In a May 19 email to academic advisers obtained by The Chronicle, the Academic Advising Center notified the delay of academic assignment until after first-years arrive on campus, due to the ongoing

“strategic realignment process.” The email described July as “a time of considerable institutional flux” and noted the uncertainty of how the process would affect the makeup of the advising community. Former Dean of Residence Life Deb LoBiondo, who had been a pre-major college adviser since 2010, was one of the staff members who left the University through the VSIP. She said the VSIP prevented the AAC from assigning firstyears to advisers. “The advising role is first and foremost about support and relationships,” LoBiondo said. “It would have not been good for the student to get first-year assignments, and then all of a sudden, have to tell that student, ‘oh, by the way, I'm not going to be your adviser anymore.’” Deb Reisinger, dean of Trinity college undergraduate education, wrote in an email to The Chronicle that while the VSIP accelerated the revamp of the advising model, “the shift to a new advising structure was already underway.” “Over the past two years, two separate working groups studied our advising structures and concluded that a professionalized model with full-time advisers would better serve students by providing more consistent, equitable support,” wrote Reisinger. “... We deeply value the contributions of our volunteer

advisers, many of whom have supported students for years.” The new model builds on the dormbased academic advising model for the 2024-25 academic year, where individuals were matched with advisers based on their residential hall. Whereas last year’s system opened to a large array of advisers, the revamped model is limited to 11. “This new model brings deep levels of expertise to academic advising, with each adviser completely focused on supporting the academic experience of their students,” Dean of Trinity College Gary Bennett and Reisinger wrote in a Monday email to Trinity faculty and staff announcing the new model. First-years in the dark The change in advising marked confusion for incoming first-year students who were not notified of the change. With less than a week to go before course registration opened, first-year Emory Shepherd felt she was “left out on [her] own” when she learned that she would not be assigned an academic adviser. She recalled receiving an email in April with a summer roadmap stating that first-years would be assigned an adviser July 7. When she checked back again in early July, the roadmap had changed. First-year Yumeng Chen said she was

initially confused that no adviser had been matched with her on DukeHub. She wished that Trinity communicated to students that no advisors would be assigned before August. To replace the one-on-one advising sessions, students were encouraged to watch the Trinity Advising Summer Transition Series webinar or sign up for online group advising sessions. Students could also seek assistance and resources by calling, emailing or scheduling a meeting with the AAC. Shepherd said she was able to “get some reassurance” after calling the academic advising center and seeking personalized help with course selection. First-year Brehnan Greben had many questions regarding the first-year academic experience. Though he joined one of the online group sessions, he noted that the content did not pertain to his interests and schedule. “I wasn't expecting anyone to hold my hand throughout the whole journey and process,” Greben said. “… I just think it wasn't the full access that we needed as incoming students.” Notably, the advising redesign coincides with the University’s rollout of Trinity’s new curriculum, requiring Trinity first-years starting this fall to join See ADVISING on Page 13

LOVE MUSIC? YOU HAVE A PLACE IN THE DUKE DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC. Whether you perform, listen, or simply want to explore its power, our community is where we share, create, and connect. Feel the rush of live concerts. Collaborate on new ideas. Discover music’s role in health, the brain, and beyond. Watch artists at work—or take the stage yourself. At Duke Music, every note connects us, and every performance sparks something new. Your seat—or your spotlight—is waiting.

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2025 | 5

Former Fulbright board member David Price talks resignation, calls Trump interference ‘distorted on political grounds’ By Aseel Ibrahim July 11, 2025

Eleven of the 12 members of the board that oversees the Fulbright Scholars Program resigned June 11 in response to what they described as unprecedented political interference by the Trump administration. Among those who stepped down was David Price, former congressman and Polis Distinguished Fellow at the Sanford School of Public Policy. He said that when the Trump administration came into office and the Department of Education fell under fire, the board became concerned that they would be prematurely removed from their positions. In the board members’ resignation statement, they claimed the administration’s actions are “antithetical to the Fulbright mission and the values, including free speech and academic freedom, that Congress specified in the statute.” They added that the program has been a “bipartisan pillar” symbolizing the “nation’s commitment to mutual understanding and diplomacy, academic excellence and international cooperation.” First created in 1946 through legislation sponsored by U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright, the Fulbright Scholarship is a grant for students, professors and other specialists to conduct research or teach in another country as part of a cultural

exchange program. Congress established the 12-person Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board in 1961 through the Fulbright-Hays Act and granted the board final approval authority of the applicants. But this year, board members say the U.S. Department of State sent rejection letters to at least 200 members of this year’s already-selected Fulbright cohort. Additionally, the board said the administration is pursuing an “unauthorized review process” of more 1,200 foreign Fulbright recipients planning to come to the U.S. According to Price, there were “strong indications” that operatives from the State Department were monitoring and eliminating a number of Fulbright applications. “The basis of eliminating them … for the most part, seemed to be the Trump administration's test of political correctness,” Price said. “The things that had to do with gender or race or environment, those tended to be eliminated, but others were eliminated seemingly at random.” According to Price, the recipients of this year's awards were finalized and ready for announcement by March but never were. When May rolled around, the Board met and sent a letter to Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Darren Beattie, acting undersecretary for public diplomacy

DEPARTMENT OF ROMANCE STUDIES Fall Courses taught in English Brazil: Race, Sex, and the Body L. Aidoo, ROMST 89S (CCI, ALP) Tu/Th 11:45am-1:00pm Afro-Latin America L. Aidoo, ROMST 412S (CCI, CZ) Tu/Th 1:25pm-2:40pm Latina/o Autobiography & Memoir C. Milian, SPANISH 490S-2 (CCI, ALP, HI) Tu/Th 1:25pm-2:40pm Perspectives on the Amazon* G. Furtado, ROMST 341S (CCI, CZ, IJ) Mo/We 3:05-4:20pm *Optional Preceptorial in Portuguese, PORT 341SP

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and public affairs and former Duke visiting professor, expressing their concern over the Department’s actions and “indicating that this was not acceptable.” But Price said they received no response, which ultimately led to the members’ final mass resignation. “We didn’t want to risk staying in office and legitimating a process that had been distorted on political grounds by the Trump appointees,” he explained. The Fulbright Scholars Program has acted as a “diplomatic tool” for the U.S. in the past, using treaties and commissions with host and exchange countries. The Fulbright program holds 49 binational, treaty-based commissions in over 150 countries, with at least 35 countries matching or exceeding the annual contribution of the U.S. governments. Price emphasized that the administration’s influence on the Fulbright program is a part of the “bigger picture” of the assault on higher education, diplomacy and soft power. “This program has been in effect for over 80 years, and there's never been anything like this threat to it before. I don't know that there's anything [that’s] been like this in American academic life,” Price said. At Duke, Fulbright recipients were directly impacted as a result. Price said Duke Sanford Fulbright students

had their stipends frozen early spring, and all communication efforts with liaison organizations like the Institute of International Education went unanswered. Stipends were eventually resumed but, according to him, the organizations were “not fully functional.” Price said that most of these students have now changed their plans to stay in the U.S. after their studies, and have returned to their home countries. “All of a sudden, the rug is pulled out from under you,” said Joe Hiller, a doctoral candidate in cultural anthropology at Duke. Hiller had previously been selected for the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad program in 2022 to do research in Colombia studying prison reform, formerly incarcerated transgender women’s rights and the “footprint” of incarceration. The DDRA was one of three FulbrightHays programs — aimed at supporting teachers and researchers studying modern foreign languages — that were canceled in early May as part of a “comprehensive review” to ensure that the awards align with the Trump administration’s priorities, as well as federal criteria to “foster consistency” across grants. Hiller had spent over a year doing fieldwork, developing long-term, community-based research with the grant See FULBRIGHT on Page 13

6 | FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2025

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Alumni urge Duke to protect its history, resist Trump administration’s ‘authoritarian intrusions’ By Ana Despa August 18, 2025

According to 115 alumni and friends of Duke, its legacy of inclusion is at stake — and its ability to stay true to its foundation comes down to whether it stands up to President Donald Trump’s efforts to scrap diversity, equity and inclusion across higher education. In a letter mailed to President Vincent Price, Board of Trustees Chair Adam Silver and Mary Klotman, dean of the School of Medicine on Aug. 6, signatories urged Duke to “reject” Trump’s “authoritarian intrusions,” including pending investigations into Duke University, Duke Law Journal and Duke Health, launched by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., secretary of health and human services, and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. The late-July wave of public pressure prompted concerns that the Trump administration might seek concessions from Duke in order to access federal funding, with a focus on eliminating efforts related to diversity, equity and inclusion. Per a July 25 Wall Street Journal exclusive, the University was reportedly “in talks” with the Trump administration alongside four other universities — one school, Brown University, has since reached a deal with the White House. “We understand the strategic approach to preserving Duke's future financially. We

feel it is better in the long term to stand up to Trump administration threats, both for our University and higher education nationally,” the letter’s signatories wrote. The signatories attributed Duke’s history of inclusion and social progress to the efforts of students organizing the 1968 Silent Vigil and the 1969 takeover of the administrative Allen Building, which pushed the University to address the injustices of segregation and “move toward a more inclusive and democratic community.” A deal with the Trump administration, the signatories wrote, could “erase” that history. Duke has largely remained silent during the White House’s attacks on higher education, and as the Trump administration’s focus shifted to Duke, University administrators did not take a public stance on the federal government’s efforts nor did they respond to any media requests for comment on the federal investigations. This strategy of silence, the signatories said, is not cutting it. Douglas Schocken, Trinity ‘70 and School of Medicine ‘74, co-drafted the letter alongside Jeffrey Gold, Trinity ‘72, after noticing Duke’s silence, believing their University could “not just stand by.” “President Price [remains] in his hunkered-down status, with not even a word from the administration responding

to any of this. I think that the silence itself is a bit of an indictment of the University and its administration and management,” Schocken said. Ted Segal, Trinity ‘77, whose book "Point of Reckoning” tracked the progress of racial reckoning at Duke, said that his views on Duke negotiating a deal with the White House hinged on honor and history. The Allen Building takeover and 1968 Vigil, Segal said, were key moments in the University’s commitment to racial equity. The takeover saw a group of students enter the administrative Allen Building and barricade the first floor urging then-President Douglas Knight to agree to a list of 11 demands to improve the academic and social experience for Black students and the working conditions of staff. The students faced off against the Durham police and National Guard, yet their actions pushed the University to commit to diversity efforts, including creating a Black cultural center and hiring more Black professors. “The question in the long view is whether Duke is going to continue to be a place that aspires to be suited to meet the needs of a diversity of students, faculty and administrators, or is it going to be a place where, sort of, white is right and all of those changes it made get rolled back,” Segal said.

Gold added that while the success of the Allen Building takeover may now seem commonplace, back then, it was revolutionary. In 2019, for the 50th anniversary of the takeover, Price memorialized the effort, calling it an action that “forever shifted our sails towards the prevailing winds of justice and equality.” Some alums, however, worry that Price may now be walking back those praises, including his rhetoric in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, to better align with the current political climate. “Now, I think it’s going to look like Price, whenever he comes out … it’s going to sound like he’s flipped just to accommodate the change of circumstances in the country today,” Mark Pinsky, Trinity ‘70, said. Through the letter, the signatories hope to pressure Duke to commit to “progress,” although some alums recognized that the University “holds all the cards.” “We only can make moral statements. The importance of consistent morality on our part can't be overestimated,” Margaret Small, Woman’s College ‘68 and one of the leaders of the 1968 Vigil, said. “Our mission is to point out the truth and the light and how Duke has a responsibility as an honored educational institution and a social institution to respect that and follow that, not to sort of create its own compromise.” See ALUMNI on Page 13

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2025 | 7

Duke Graduate Students Union scores historic tentative contract By Claire Cranford July 24, 2025

After nearly two years of negotiating with administration, Duke Graduate Students Union has a tentative collective bargaining agreement. If DGSU members vote to ratify the contract, it would be the first agreement for unionized graduate students in the South. The agreement was announced on the group’s social media Wednesday, following its 32nd bargaining session the previous day. DGSU was recognized by the National Labor Relations Board in August 2023, which mandated the University to recognize DGSU as the exclusive bargaining body of its graduate students. Its vote to unionize made it the first officially recognized graduate student union at a private university in the South, the largest union on Duke's campus and one of the largest unions in North Carolina. "This agreement is the result of almost two years of productive negotiations, undertaken in good faith by everyone involved, during a time of great financial stress and uncertainty in higher education," Gregory Phillips, executive director of editorial content and media relations, wrote in a Thursday email to The Chronicle. "Duke has always supported our Ph.D. students and this agreement, once ratified, can ensure that support continues in a way that works for everyone."

The union’s top demand has been a cost-of-living-adjusted stipend, with the group pushing for a base stipend upward of $50,000. The contract entails a base stipend of $42,500, a 6.25% increase from Duke’s proposed 2025-26 base stipend of $40,000. For the duration of the contract, stipend raises will be the same rate as faculty raises. The contract also includes a 12week parental leave period, protection of undocumented and DACA students, up to $10,000 in childcare subsidies per academic year, increased parking availability for graduate student workers and continued health care coverage during additional years of study. It ensures union membership at all times while enrolled as a student, even

during fellowship semesters or after guaranteed funding has expired. This, however, does not apply to joint DukeUNC programs like the Carolina-Duke Graduate Program in German Studies. The contract, if agreed upon, will be in effect until March 2028. DGSU and the University may then decide to either renegotiate the terms or extend the contract for one more year. DGSU leadership said they aim to maintain the option of extending the contract by a year, citing concerns with the current administration’s changes to NLRB membership. The NLRB can overrule the 2016 decision that classified graduate students as employees. DGSU called the yearlong extension “extra insurance” should the 2016 decision be overruled, which

would allow time for a new presidential administration and with it, new NLRB members to take office. It would also give the union time to decide next steps. The tentative contract also includes a clause that allows the University to deviate from the agreed-upon terms in the contract during a “Force Majeure Event.” Such an event takes place during financial exigency that prohibits the University from continuing normal operations, presents significant challenges or "makes it economically impractical" to perform the obligations in the contract. During a “Force Majeure Event,” DGSU members would be barred from striking. DGSU did not immediately respond to The Chronicle’s Wednesday afternoon request for comment.

ON DUKECHRONICLE.COM Duke reopens waitlist, enrolls roughly 50 more students to Class of 2029 BY RYAN KILGALLEN | 08/06/2025 The reversal came nearly two months after the admissions office announced it was no longer accepting students from its waitlist.

Durham County sees first case of West Nile virus in 3 years

Jiahan Lyu

BY ANANYA PINNAMANENI | 08/11/2025 West Nile virus is primarily transmitted through mosquito bites and, while the majority of individuals stay asymptomatic or have very mild symptoms, some can face serious, lifealtering effects or even death.

Register for Duke Dance Program Classes www.danceprogram.duke.edu

Meet the Dance Program faculty & students

Undergraduate Open House & Info Session

August 25, 5:00PM in Rubenstein Arts Center 224 Following the open house, all are welcome to join

African Dance Technique Class August 25, 6:15PM in Rubenstein Arts Center 224

November Dances Concert Auditions November 21&22 Performances in Reynolds Theater Performance: African Dance /Dance 432 Ava Vinesett – Wednesday, August 27, 7:30 PM-8:45 PM, Rubenstein Arts Center 224 Performance: Ballet /Dance 422 Iyun Harrison - Tuesday, August 26, 3:05 PM - 4:20 PM, Rubenstein Arts Center 224 Performance: Modern /Dance 412 Kristin Taylor Duncan – Tuesday, August 26, 7:30 PM-8:45 PM, Rubenstein Arts Center 201 Performance: Multimedia Dance Theater/Dance 472 Jingqiu Guan – Monday, August 25, 3:05-4:30, Rubenstein Arts Center 201 Student Choreography Tuesday or Wednesday, September 2 or 3, 6:00 – 7:30 pm, Rubenstein Arts Center 202 Reserve an audition time to show your choreography or send a 2-6 minute video link of works-in-progress or completed dances to purnima.shah@duke.edu by September 2

Photo: Alec Himwich

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8 | FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2025

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MINI CROSSWORD by Jeffrey Broms

August 20, 2025

Across 1. Aug. 25, 2025, to students at 2D 5. Vibes, slangly 6. Kardashian-owned clothing line 8. Principle 9. Soccer match exclamation

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“protected characteristics” like race, gender and religion. Some Duke schools, including the School of Medicine and Nicholas School of the Environment, have since adopted the new language on their websites. Some Duke community members have signed a “Duke Don’t DOGE!” letter and a petition urging President Price and top administrators to take salary cuts. Recently, 115 alumni signed a letter urging Duke to resist Trump’s “authoritarian intrusions” and stand up to the White House in order to preserve the University’s mission.

Answers — 1 across: fdoc, 5 across: aura, 6 across: skims, 8 across: tenet, 9 across: gol, 1 down: fast, 2 down: duke, 3 down: o ring, 4 down: cameo, 7 down: stl

A WIDE ACADEMIC SELECTION

7 2 0 N I N T H S T.

WA L K F R O M C A M P U S

Following the July 4 passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act," universities are worried about the impact of the legislation on the higher education landscape. In particular, Duke may see a hike in its endowment tax from 1.4% to 7% and see cuts to Medicaid that would make it difficult for the University’s Health System to support millions of patients every year. Though many staff have left the University, the summer saw new faces on campus. Notably, the University appointed General Charles Brown Jr., previously the principal military adviser to the U.S. president, as executive-in-residence on a two-year term. Deborah Rutter, former president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, was named vice provost for the arts. In the meantime, Duke has made plans to bring artificial intelligence closer to everyday student life. On June 23, Provost Alec Gallimore announced a new Provost’s Initiative focused on developing student and faculty engagement with the new technology. The initiative came after the University rolled out a pilot with OpenAI that provides free unlimited access to ChatGPT-4o for all undergraduates and launches DukeGPT — a Universitymanaged interface that offers an array of language models.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2025 | 9

and responsibilities to compensate for departing colleagues. In addition to the staff departures, about 250 eligible faculty members have been offered retirement incentives under a separate program. According to the email, all schools and units are now reassessing their budgets. Employees impacted by the upcoming reduction-in-force will be contacted by their managers between Aug. 5 and 19. “We recognize and are sorry for the impact these changes will have on our colleagues,” the email said. It added that because of the “high number” of VSIP participants, fewer employees will be affected by the RIF, although the email did not specify a target number, and administrators did not respond to The Chronicle’s request for that information. The email attributed the need for cuts across both VSIP and layoffs to “dramatically lower research support and increased tax rates on [the] endowment.” The Chronicle previously reported significant research funding losses across the School of Medicine since the Trump administration took office in January. However, according to Chris Simmons, vice president for government relations, Duke is expected to remain in the 1.4% endowment tax bracket under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act," which is the rate it currently pays. The email further noted that for staff who are funded by research grants, FROM PAGE 1 “reductions in force occur regularly confirmed reports of remaining staff through the year based on availability of being asked to assume multiple roles research funding.”

VSIP

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10 | FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2025

LOANS

NINTH ST FROM PAGE 1 diner coins itself a “community restaurant,” serving in-house classics to its customers and giving back to the community through fundraisers. Elmo’s serves breakfast all day, but also has a lunch menu and various “specials” customers can pick from. For lunch, Ninth Street delivers Alpaca Chicken, a veteran, minority and familyowned restaurant that cut the ribbon to its Ninth Street location in 2017. The restaurant first began as a small family venture in 2007 and has since grown into a North Carolina chain, with 18 locations across the state. The chain specializes in Peruvian “Pollo al a Brasa” and side dishes like tostones and maduros. What’s special about Ninth Street, though, is the global cuisine. Beyond Alpaca’s Peruvian dining experience, Durhamites can head to Lime & Lemon for delicious Indian food. This eatery has an extensive vegetarian menu offering dishes and desserts from all over India — dosa and idli sambar from South India or saag paneer from North India — making Lime & Lemon the place for a comforting, hearty meal. For high-end dinner options, customers can check out the Asian fusion tapas restaurant Juju Durham. The spot offers shareable dishes like tea-cured king salmon and bao doughnuts with chai cream. However, Ninth Street often sees restaurants closing their doors and new ones taking their spot.

Just recently, in December 2024, Blue Corn Cafe, a family-owned restaurant which had been on Ninth Street for 27 FROM PAGE 3 years, closed its doors. In its place now lies a new family-owned restaurant called Loan repayment Duke students and alumni who have "Nepalese Fusion.” Blue Corn’s owners, Danielle and Antonio Rios, announced already taken out federal loans should on social media that the closure was not "a also expect big changes coming to their repayment plans. farewell" but a "transformation.” The Education Department is “While it is bittersweet to say goodbye to this chapter, we are excited to explore consolidating the seven repayment new culinary adventures and share food plans it currently offers, switching to a in fresh and inspiring ways,” they wrote binary system that the White House said “condenses a maze of loan options into on Facebook. Other new restaurants include Szechuan two.” Starting July 1, 2026, new borrowers Mansion Hotpot which opened June 2023 will choose between a Standard Plan and a and instantly became a hit among Duke Repayment Assistance Plan. A student’s Standard Plan will have students. Kiichi Ramen also opened on a fixed repayment schedule based on Ninth Street around the start of 2024. Outside of eateries, Ninth Street also the total amount of debt they accrue. For example, borrowers with less than hosts local businesses with tons to offer. Along with books from every genre, $25,000 in total debt will be enrolled in a The Regulator Bookshop has postcards, 10-year repayment plan. On the other end, composition books and magazines. This those with over $100,000 in debt will have charming bookstore is a one-stop shop for a 25-year plan. The Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) literary and school supplies. Hunky Dory is a record store with both functions similarly to an income-driven new and used vinyls. Their main floor repayment (IDR) plan, where monthly hosts an extensive collection of records payments are calculated based on the but their basement is the true gem, borrower’s income and family size. Existing IDR plans are being phased providing a lounge for customers to give out under the new law, including the the records a listen. The list wouldn’t be complete without now-discontinued Saving on a Valuable the tiny, aptly-named Vaguely Reminiscent, Education (SAVE) plan, Pay as You Earn which sells everything — eccentric trinkets, (PAYE) plan, Income-Based Repayment clothing, jewelry and even birthday cards. (IBR) plan and Income-Contingent The spot speaks to the eccentric nature Repayment (ICR) plan. Borrowers with IDR plans will have of Ninth Street, and those looking for a never-before-seen item or a niche birthday until July 1, 2028, to switch to one of the new options. present often wind up here.

Experts are somewhat divided on the change. Sarah Reber, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan think tank the Brookings Institution, told CBS that the more streamlined system represents a “huge improvement” from the assortment of federal loan programs available now, which she said can be confusing for prospective borrowers to sort through. But other experts believe the new RAP will be more expensive for some borrowers in the long run. The New York Times pointed out that the maximum repayment schedule is 30 years — five to 10 years longer than current income-driven plans. It also requires borrowers with no income to make minimum monthly payments of $10, and the income index is not adjusted for inflation. “The message RAP sends is this: Congress wants borrowers to pay their loans back in full, and they want the federal loan system dramatically scaled back,” financial planner Travis Hornsby told The Times. An important note for those currently enrolled in SAVE: Before the program is fully phased out, borrowers should resume paying interest on their loans Aug. 1, per a July 9 Education Department announcement. Payments had been paused while the program was under legal review. And for those enrolled in IBR: Loan forgiveness for certain borrowers who have completed 20 or 25 years of payments is now suspended, following an Education Department directive issued earlier July. IBR was the only of the four federal IDR plans to still offer loan forgiveness after the other programs were halted by a court injunction.

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ADVISING FROM PAGE 4

Current sophomores will not be affected by changes to the advising model and will continue working with volunteer advisers through spring course registration and major declaration.

an interdisciplinary academic community, either through the FOCUS program or Constellations. This likely compounded confusion to incoming first-years as FROM PAGE 6 upperclassmen mentors were unable to funding and said that this program was one share thorough advice. of the few grants available that would’ve been able to provide him with the longNot the first shake-up This is not the first time Trinity’s pre- term abroad study he did that allowed him major advising system has made significant to understand things “that fall through the changes. The system has long been cracks of official reports.” His time in Colombia allowed him to challenged by high turnover rates. The volunteer model, introduced in build relationships to “a degree of trust the 1980s, experienced fluctuations in and mutual respect,” which aided him in staff availability over the years. Around properly understanding what the women 30 to 40 volunteer advisers leave the role and their families go through in the prison every year due to changes in their full- systems he was evaluating. “It seems to me that imposing some sort time occupation. Last year, nearly 50 left of a politicized set of criteria is opposed to the program. The volunteer model was also met with the idea of freedom of inquiry and letting student dissatisfaction. Students had voiced scholars evaluate what kinds of scholarship concerns that advisers provided inadequate merits funding and merits support,” Hiller advice when asked department-specific said. “Putting it in some sort of a space questions. Others resorted to seeking of electoral politics is a disservice to the pursuit of research and scholarship.” guidance from upperclassmen. “While the volunteer model has served us well, it has grown increasingly difficult to sustain, and we are excited to announce changes that will enhance the student FROM PAGE 7 experience,” Bennett and Reisinger wrote. Those moral statements, though, In the new model, academic deans will also see their roles change. In particular, have become increasingly difficult for they will now focus on ensuring students faculty members across the University to meet graduation requirements. They will make, out of fears of retaliation, Pinsky continue to manage dean’s excuses, medical said. Duke wants to present a united withdrawals and other academic decisions. front when it approaches the Trump

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2025 | 13

administration, and differing viewpoints may disturb those plans. Pinsky described reaching out to a longtime faculty member while conducting reporting for a column published in The Hill; the faculty member chose to remain silent about Duke’s actions, according to Pinsky, because of a “power asymmetry” between the University and faculty. “I thought, well, if he's scared into silence, who knows what the rest of the faculty [are feeling]. I reached out even to, you know, emeritus and emerita people, and they're still concerned,” Pinsky said. The University has also engaged in a cost-cutting campaign which has resulted in the departure of more than 599 staff thus far. Faculty members have been offered retirement incentives, and many staff members now face layoffs. The threat of cuts to personnel has potentially compounded fears of activism and speaking out across campus, particularly as those receiving severance packages need to remain on good terms with the University or risk losing their payments, multiple sources told The Chronicle. Ultimately, though, several alums understood that Duke may have to negotiate with the federal government,

and they acknowledged that Duke’s administration is in a tough spot because of its heavy reliance on federal funding. “While I'm not an absolutist, and I know that there will be compromise. I would like to see Duke arrive at a place that has some kind of integrity attached to it that is not solely based on how much money [it can] save,” Gold said. Pinsky added that even Harvard University, who had leadership that “spoke their conscience,” wound up at the negotiating table. Signatories of the letter urging action from Duke include prominent organizers of the Allen Building takeover and Silent Vigil, such as Charles Becton, Catherine and Michael LeBlanc, Janice Williams and Michael McBride, former chairman of AfroAmerican society. The letter was also signed by Mark Gitenstein, former U.S. ambassador to the European Union, and John Charles Boger, former dean of University of North Carolina School of Law. University administrators did not respond to The Chronicle’s requests for comment on the letter or the way their response to the Trump administration is portrayed in this story.

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Navigating the Duke journey as a 22-year-old freshman When I look in the mirror, I sometimes see a glimpse of a girl with a white duty coat and a stethoscope around her neck, ready to go to the hospital for her shift. Her life is stable, easy and comfortable, surrounded by family and friends. I was a second-year medical university student when the 2021 military coup happened in Burma. Then, I withdrew myself from my militarycontrolled university for the Civil Disobedience Student Movement. Afterwards, I devoted myself full time to pro-democracy activism, refugee advocacy and education for almost three years after the coup. The idea of resuming my education never really crossed my mind during those years because I was deeply engaged in meaningful work on the ground and genuinely enjoying it. However, I eventually realized that without a proper education — a college degree — there was a clear limit to how much impact and credibility my activism could have in the future and what people would perceive of it. This is especially true if I want to expand it to the global stage.

So, after four years away from an academic setting, I finally decided to start college again — this time studying my true passion: politics and human rights. And, luckily, someone from the Duke Undergraduate Admission Office chose to believe in a 22-year-old student from a messedup country with messed-up life experiences and educational background. I struggled academically because, after several years away from the traditional academic setting, my brain was no longer used to studying. So, I had to force myself to rewire my brain to adapt to this “going to classes, doing homework and taking exams” reality. I had to invest more effort into my studies just to be on the same par with my young, energetic, freshly out-of-school American peers. I spent most of my first semester overwhelmingly studying in my room while my peers were having a seemingly balanced academic and social life. At least, the grades paid off, but they severely came at the expense of my college social life and fun activities Worse, the social struggle hit me harder. I have

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struggled to make reliable friends because of my “old” age. Things are all fine until the topic of age comes into the conversation. There is always some level of awkwardness and distance between my peers and me after they learn how old I am. Seeing a freshman even older than a senior is clearly not the norm here. And of course, they mostly want sameage peers. It is all natural, easy and comfortable. I never fully understood that an age gap automatically creates a disconnect in relationships. I am still Gen Z. I listen to the same music, keep up with the same trends, and know pretty much everything my 18-year-old peers do. People even say I could easily pass as 18 — probably thanks to my Asian genes and, of course, my trusty hair bangs. So, on the surface, nothing is setting me apart. I thought blending in would be effortless. I was too naïve to think things would be that simple. A deep emotional intelligence and maturity level often comes with age and lived experience. People who have faced real difficulties usually develop resilience and perspective, which shows in how they handle challenges and navigate life with a sense of quiet wisdom that feels different from those who have not been tested in the same way. I have realized this concept firsthand through several human connections with my younger friends at Duke. Since many of my peers usually come from privileged family backgrounds and are from prosperous and peaceful countries, many have not faced struggles like mine (yet). On top of that, they are still teenagers — an age known for being impulsive and unpredictable. So, I have felt firsthand how they often act purely on emotion, usually without considering the damaging impact of their volatile words and actions on meaningful relationships — and it always breaks my heart. Additionally, as we grow older, our priorities shift, sometimes drastically, from what we once wanted. So, for many of my peers, college is about exploring, pushing boundaries, and embracing that “young, wild and free” lifestyle. For me, it is about making the most of every opportunity, never

Myat Theingi | March 5

taking anything for granted and staying focused and serious on my personal and bigger mission for my people. Also at the same time, my peers chase fun, adventure and new experiences — constantly trying out new things or new relationships — I long for stability, peace of mind and deeper, more committed connections. It is not that either of us is wrong; we are just on completely different wavelengths, according to our significantly different lived experiences. Of course, there are always exceptions, and I would love to meet a few people who do not fit this general pattern. However, it could also be unfair or too much to expect mature attitudes and behaviors from teenagers. So, I have come to accept that I cannot blame anyone for this; it is what it is. Whenever I complain about social problems, my parents and friends from Burma offer me some advice: don’t reveal my actual age to anyone. But one thing I hate the most in the world is hiding my true self and living in lies. Not disclosing my age would also mean hiding my resilient past — a core part of my identity. So, it is better to face the truth and live freely, although it might also mean isolation, than to surround myself with people I cannot even share my age with because that might upset them. The right people will still choose me regardless of our so-called age gaps. I just need to be lucky enough to find them. Of course, despite the struggles, I am still grateful for everything I have right now. When life challenges us, we only have two options: let it crush us or rise above it and fight back — and I always try to fight back. I always remind myself that these challenges make me more resilient and grounded in my life missions. The girl from the mirror and I have led different paths. I still think about her sometimes, but I also know that despite everything, I would choose this path again. After all, even when the road is uncertain and the weight of my choices feels heavy, I know I am exactly where I am meant to be right now.

Myat Theingi is a Trinity sophomore from Burma.

My friend needs science. Science needs help. When I met “Sean” my freshman year at Duke, we didn’t like each other much. He found me prickly, and I found him unfunny. Despite this, a shared need for help on statistics homework forced us into a grudging peace. Eight years later, I’m a graduate student studying genetics, and Sean is getting his own graduate degree. I find time to call him every few weeks, just to see if he’s dating anyone yet. When I met Sean, he was already dying. At twelve years old, Sean was diagnosed with idiopathic chronic recurrent pancreatitis. Two to three times a year, his pancreas starts digesting itself, sending him to the emergency room for weeks. Each attack progresses the disease, making the next attack more violent and more likely to kill. Idiopathic means there is no known cause, and therefore no cure.

Albert Xue | July 5 In 2020, an attack hospitalized Sean for a month. The pain was so bad that Sean broke his façade and begged a nurse to kill him. He told me a few months ago, as part of an elaborate joke. I still don’t think he’s funny. Recently, a doctor asked Sean to undergo genetic testing. He thought nothing of it. But about a month ago, the results showed two mutations in Sean’s DNA that decrease levels of the vitally important protein SPINK1. It turns out that SPINK1 is a preventative protein. It blocks another enzyme named trypsin, since too much trypsin can cause autodigestion of the pancreas. Suddenly, we had a cause. Idiopathic chronic recurrent pancreatitis became chronic recurrent pancreatitis. Given the cause, we found that researchers

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at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering — a research institute at Harvard University working on diagnostics and therapeutics — developed a preliminary drug just this February that provides artificial SPINK1 to the body. It prevents pancreatitis in experiments in mouse models, and is progressing towards human clinical trials. For the first time in fifteen years, Sean had a way forward. As a geneticist, I work on improving disease treatment by tailoring medicine to our genetics. Specifically, I study how genes regulate each other to cause disease. My roommate actually studies rare diseases like Sean’s. To then see genetics directly change Sean’s life felt almost … sacred. After all, scientists are motivated by real-world impact. We put up with low pay and years of extra schooling, all hoping our research will one day change lives. For it to happen for Sean … I think I’ve never felt quite that happy, in quite that way, before. For the record, I told Sean to get tested for years. He never listens to me. But now to my point. The Wyss Institute is backed by Harvard — which recently lost $3.2 billion dollars in federal research grants. These funding freezes could delay or cancel clinical trials that could save Sean’s life. And this situation isn’t unique — basic science is under threat across America. Congress is debating a budget that would cut $18 billion from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which would shrink the country’s primary funding source for drug research by about 40%.

We don’t know what we’ll lose with these cuts. A month ago, I had no idea Sean’s disease was genetic. Today, it’s a certainty. Science moves just as dramatically. Thirty-five years ago, we didn’t even know the sequenceof the human genome. But just this past May, scientists successfully treated a baby with a life-threatening genetic disorder, one similar to Sean’s, by changing a specific mutation in his genome. In another thirty-five years, it’s impossible to know what treatments will be available to us — or what might be lost without proper funding. Sean’s favorite joke is that if I don’t hurry up and get married, he’ll die before my wedding. He’s not wrong, even if he’s still not funny. People like Sean can’t wait for the next election cycle. Durham and Wake County alone have already lost a combined $754 million and around 3200 jobs. At Duke alone, projected future losses range between 500 and 750 million dollars — money which pays student salaries, keeps the lights on and maintains necessary lab equipment. Science is already suffering. Some costs can’t be measured in dollars. In response to the cuts, many graduate programs are cutting or stopping admissions. The Duke University School of Medicine, for example, will reduce its class size from 130 PhD students to a target size of 100. At the same time, alternate paths for funding like scientific fellowships have dried up. The next cycle of applicants faces steeper competition, with less money, for fewer positions and a less certain future. Meanwhile, the potential cuts have also limited our country’s ability to recruit talent from abroad. If we’re not careful, we stand to

push away an entire generation of scientific talent. How can we help Sean, and everyone else who relies on science? We can remind ourselves, and those around us, that scientific research finds cures that transform lives. We can remind ourselves that science is fragile, and often, the first thing to go is research for rare diseases like idiopathic chronic recurrent pancreatitis. More importantly, we can remind our representatives. Call them today! Ask them if they’ve heard of idiopathic chronic recurrent pancreatitis, or other disorders that impact your loved ones. Tell them that science matters, that your loved ones matter, and that you support funding scientific research. I’ll end by saying that Duke is where I was trained. Professors like Owen Astrachan, Leslie Saper and Jayce Getz instilled (sometimes painfully) a foundation in math and computer science that I have relied on ever since. I am a more capable scientist today because my professors — and a small army of graduate teaching assistants — cared about my education. And while this piece is about science funding, I could not have written it without humanities professors and graduate students like Cathy Schuman and Claire Ravenscroft, who shaped me as a writer, thinker and person. Duke is also where I decided to study biology. I study genetics now in large part because Alexander Hartemink’s lectures made biology feel exciting and knowable, and inspired me to work with him. I can explain Sean’s genetics to you today because six years ago, a kind man thought it was important to

FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2025 | 15

keep teaching an undergrad even though he kept falling asleep in lab meetings. To these people and others, I am grateful. I am so lucky to be part of Duke’s rich history of math, science and the humanities. But these same professors face the most uncertain future for education and research in recent memory. Please help them keep that history alive for generations to come. Finally, Duke is where I met Sean. We fought over FIFA, ate McDonald’s at 3 a.m. and were happy. He was dying then, and luckily still is. He does not share easily, but I asked him to anyway, because it was important. Thanks, Sean. Get some new jokes, please.

“

Albert Xue, Trinity ’20, is a graduate student at UCLA Bioinformatics.

We can remind ourselves, and those around us, that scientific research finds cures that transform lives.

”

We can remind ourselves that science is fragile, and often, the first thing to go is research for rare diseases...

—Albert Xue

What Duke (and universities like it) can get wrong about civil dialogue

The past election has only further invigorated a national discussion on the ways in which higher education shapes civil and political discourse writ large. At a superficial level, reporters and writers have noted a supposed “college-degree divide” or “diploma divide.” The predominance of liberal thinking on campuses — one that is also documented at Duke — has also been criticized. Given increasing conversations surrounding the disconnect between liberal elites and ordinary Americans, certain commentators — like David Brooks and David Blight — have interpreted this election result as an indication that something needs to change within so-called “elite” institutions of higher education. In some ways, Duke was ahead of the curve in addressing these issues. In light of a supposed decline in civil discourse and worsening political polarization, Duke made several pointed, marked efforts to promote civil dialogue last year. The Office of the Provost has spearheaded severalinitiatives, and other on-campus projects are occurring both within and outside the classroom. These efforts, along with other similar programs at differentuniversities across the country, are valuable investments in academic curricula and campus life. However, I would like to illustrate one crucial pitfall that Duke — and potentially other universities like it — can easily fall into when approaching the issue of civil dialogue. Namely, facilitating effective civil discourse is ultimately very different from facilitating knowledge production — a distinction that universities like Duke may overlook. Before delving into this issue, I’d like to point out a few points of context. Firstly, Duke (as well as other universities) are first and foremost institutions of knowledge production — which is performed in a “scholarly, critical and impartial way.” As a field, academia is deeplyhierarchical — to produce knowledge, some people must be the experts of the experts who serve as arbiters for the discipline. Secondly, Duke (and other universities like it) are not governed as democratic institutions. Sure, some bodies, like the Academic Council, are

Alice Qin | January 14

composed of faculty members who vote on policy proposals in meetings. But 24 of the 36 seats on the Board of Trustees are elected by the existing Board of Trustees themselves, with only the remaining 12 elected by the graduates of the University. The bureaucratic juggernaut that is the “college administration” is largely a highly hierarchical institution with a top-down chain of command. Therefore, Duke (as an institution of higher education) and civil dialogue (as a democratic enterprise) are arguably placed in contradictory, not complementary, positions. Sure, universities can certainly serve as a platform for ideas to be openly exchanged, and studies have also demonstrated the democratizing effect of education. Yet, when institutions of higher education themselves are largely composed of non-democratic structures, a lot could potentially go sideways. To reconcile that tension, I’ve observed that Duke has developed a tendency to approach civil dialogue the same way it approaches knowledge production. The Provost’s Initiative on the Middle East, for instance, “strive[s] to model thoughtful and civil engagement, [to] provide a forum for different perspectives on the conflict, [to] enhance understanding based on expertise and evidencebased scholarship, and [to support] others at Duke who are striving to do the same through their own activities.” There’s nothing inherently wrong with this type of engagement — scholarly, critical and impartial examination of these issues is arguably necessary. But there’s a deeper emotional component to civil dialogue that this intellectualized form of engagement lacks and sometimes even overshadows. Intentionally or not, many of Duke’s events promoting civil dialogue often present it in what I think of as a form of “armchair” discourse. By “armchair,” I’m not suggesting that the scholars participating don’t know what they’re talking about. Rather, under this image, civil dialogue is often conceived to be a mostly (if not purely) intellectual enterprise. Quite literally, what we see in many university-sponsored events —

convened in the name of civil dialogue — involve an invited expert and a facilitator speaking to one another while sitting in armchairs. Sometimes this conversation comes in the form of a keynote lecture. In those events, students commonly sit as passive participants, listening quietly to experts talking — and, if they’re lucky, their only chance to speak is to ask a question during the Q&A section. This is not to say that more direct engagement from students doesn’t exist on campus. Even so, thinking of civil dialogue primarily under the terms of knowledge production predisposes us to focus on purging “bad” or “messy” elements from what is perceived to be “good” discourse. Just like isolating an independent variable from confounding factors, this approach tries to keep discourse clean, poised and streamlined. Extra attention begins to fall onto what is an appropriate mode of communication, and how to control the environment of which speech is expressed — a surface-level conception of “civility” that centers behavioral components of speech just as much as its contents. One type of “bad” element, for example, can be disruption. As the University Faculty Handbook states, “A determination to discourage conduct that is disruptive and disorderly does not threaten academic freedom; it is, rather, a necessary condition of its very existence.” One can make a reasonable argument that disruptive and disorderly conduct can certainly constrain academic freedom. However, though I’m not a historian, it only takes a couple of Google searches to find numerous examples of how disruptive forms of protest have driven numeroussocialmovements. And, many of those forms of disruption were practiced on college campuses. Yes, disruptive forms of protest are not inherently justified — but it’s hard to make the case that they should not, under any circumstances, be understood as valid forms of expression. “Constructive conversation” should not be simply conceived as two people sitting in armchairs talking to one another. When it comes to the most divisive issues of our lifetimes, we need to confront deeply emotional, and sometimes

traumatic, things. The way those experiences are unpacked and expressed as free speech, especially in the public sphere, is not always going to be polite or calm, nor similar to how we would conduct a typical classroom. Believe it or not, it is not easy to simply “respect differing viewpoints” if you feel that the different “viewpoint” in question has real implications for your life (or others). Ultimately, civil discourse and dialogue is not, in its essence, about knowledge production. Knowledge production is about being right, which usually involves putting personal biases aside to pursue objectivity. Civil dialogue is about being understood, which requires putting our personal experiences at the forefront of the conversation. No matter how “right” experts end up being, it’s an entirely different project to make people feel that they are understood. As David Brooks cited in his essay, “69 percent [of Americans] believe that the ‘political and economic elite don’t care about hardworking people,’ [and] 63 percent think experts don’t understand their lives.” It is important to emphasize a set of additive, rather than subtractive, questions. Instead of asking how we can get rid of “nasty” elements of civil discourse today, we should ask, how can we facilitate sustainable, campus-wide forms of relationship- and community-building among individuals from divergent backgrounds? How do we do so in an increasingly unequal, socially siloed and structurally segregated American society — issues that persist across and within higher education institutions? Crucially, can Duke come to accept that this will forever remain a messy, complicated process that they can never fully tame? Rather than focusing on how to restrict, arbitrate and constrain spaces of discourse in the name of civility, we need to put more of our effort into bridging, building and creating them — while centering students. This should be the Duke way.

Alice Qin, Trinity ’25, was opinion editor of The Chronicle’s 120th volume.

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SPORTS By Ranjan Jindal and Caleb Dudley July 24, 2025

'Championship standard': Duke football sets season expectations at ACC Kickoff

The dog days are almost over. Football season is upon us. Near the end of July, the ACC held its annual Football Kickoff event in Charlotte, gathering all 17 teams in the conference and their selected representatives to recap the offseason and preview the upcoming campaign. Duke head coach Manny Diaz, new quarterback Darian Mensah, senior cornerback Chandler Rivers, redshirt junior offensive tackle Brian Parker II and redshirt junior defensive end Wesley Williams spoke in the Queen City for the Blue Devils. Diaz’s bunch is coming off a 9-4 record in his inaugural season with the Blue Devils, marking the team’s third consecutive winning season and bowl appearance. With an experienced line on both sides and a new quarterback, expectations are once again high for Duke. Portal splash For the third straight year, Duke will have a new signal caller leading the charge. Mensah, the 112th-ranked quarterback in the class of 2023 according to 247Sports, was one of the top quarterbacks in this year’s transfer class. He will now lead the Blue Devil offense in the second year under offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer. On why he chose Durham, Mensah mentioned “the opportunity to compete at an elite conference like the ACC, an elite head coach with Manny, and an offense where you spread people out and throw the ball vertically.” Mensah’s dual-threat ability will be a welcome sign to a Duke unit that struggled at times to run the ball. He threw for 2,723 yards last season, frequently moving around the pocket to extend off-schedule plays. Mensah’s ability to layer the ball to all levels of the field demonstrates his potential as an elite quarterback, but he will need to take care of the ball and produce consistently against higher levels of competition. “I feel like one of my superpowers playing the quarterback position was just being accurate, and I don't miss [short] throws very often.” While wideouts Jordan Moore and Eli Pancol departed after historic careers, Diaz also dipped into the portal to surround Mensah with weapons. Wide receivers Andrel

Anthony Jr. and Cooper Barkate and tight end Landen King bolster the receiving core. “The first question we ask any time you're going to take a transfer is, when that guy walks into the building, do the players say, ‘Thank God that guy's here?’ We want guys to stay at Duke for four years to meet their goals, but it is nice to have the portal to make more surgical types of cuts to your roster,” Diaz said. Mensah mentioned he took the receivers on a bonding trip to Tampa, Fla., to be “around the guys as much as possible.” By his side will be returning senior running back Jaquez Moore, who missed the majority of last season with a foot injury. With the added motivation of proving himself on a Power 4 stage, Mensah remembers his days without much attention as a high schooler from San Luis Obispo, Calif. “No one wanted me when I was in high school. I had three offers coming out,” Mensah said. “That will be something that I'll hold close to my heart and keep remembering, so that's something that drives me every day, for sure.” Development never sleeps The 2025 Blue Devil squad is chock full of continuity and veteran experience, especially in the trenches. Four offensive line starters return as redshirt juniors or older, and the fifth projected starter in Jordan Larsen has played over 1000 career snaps. On the other side of the ball, Williams, Vincent Anthony Jr. and Aaron Hall have all logged impressive stats during their time at Duke, and graduate transfer Josiah Green only figures to boost that veteran presence. “This is two years of cohesion, and really, for me, [Justin] Pickett, and [Matt] Craycraft, it's three, four years of cohesion,” Parker said. “We’ve been here our whole time together … We're proud of our room, and we were ready to get out there and be nasty.” One major benefit of this familiarity is an easy transition into offseason training, which started for the Blue Devils as soon as the final horn sounded on their loss to Ole Miss in the Gator Bowl. Since that point, the group has worked relentlessly to prepare for the upcoming campaign. “The one thing I will say about what our guys have done since we returned to school in January is they have worked with an intentionality, a business-like demeanor, where they feel like they can do more,” Diaz said.

Luckily for Duke, it has one of the best The season’s schedule contains several coaches in the strength department in Da- high-profile contests, the first of which vid Feeley, who is notorious for his grueling comes in Week 2 against Illinois. The workouts that only seem to ramp up when Fighting Illini will likely start the season there is no football being played. With most ranked in the top 25, and hosting them in of the roster now havWallace Wade Stadium ing multiple years under will be the first big test "This is the strongest team Feeley’s tutelage, the Blue for Diaz in his second we've had at Duke in the last year at the helm. Devils seem to be in better shape than ever. Then, Mensah will four years." “This is the strongest have a chance to prove team we've had at Duke in he has found greener MANNY DIAZ the last four years. This is pastures when he takes HEAD COACH the fastest team we’ve had at on his former school in Duke in the last four years since our strength New Orleans the following week. Tulane coach David Feeley has been around,” Diaz figures to be one of the top Group of 5 teams said. “Really with those two things being in the nation this season with the addition of together, if we get challenged into an arm former BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff, prowrestling competition, we should expect to viding the Blue Devils an excellent road test come out on top, and if anyone wants to run ahead of conference play. relay races against us, we feel confident we League play will begin Sept. 20 with a can win relay races.” home matchup against N.C. State, where Of course, getting more physically fit Duke will try to start off on the right path does not directly translate to greater suc- before embarking on a unique midseason cess on the field. But with impressive roster journey. Over a five-week stretch spanning retention and another season of schematic September and October, the Blue Devils will continuity under returning coordinators travel to Syracuse and Cal in consecutive Jonathan Brewer and Jonathan Patke, Duke weeks before sandwiching Georgia Tech beis confident the Saturday product will reflect tween two bye weeks. The merciful end of the offseason successes. that interval is a trip to Death Valley to take on proverbial ACC favorite Clemson, kickSchedule spotlight ing off the homestretch of the slate that inThe future seems bright, but the path cludes a road tilt with North Carolina. ahead won’t necessarily be smooth sailing. The groundwork has been set for Duke Duke still has questions it needs to answer, to succeed consistently at football. The rising most notably a receiver rotation and the senior class has played in a bowl every camcontinued fit between Mensah and the rest paign that they have been on a campus, and of the offense. a fourth this season would match a programLast season, the Blue Devils excelled in best stretch from 2012-15. Bowl games are tight contests due to their locker room cul- no longer the goal; the Blue Devils have their ture and connectivity, going 6-1 in contests eyes set on marquee wins and ultimate condecided by one score — the lone less com- tention for the ACC crown. Duke will begin ing in overtime to College Football Playoff to find out what it is made of when the first participant SMU. Duke will likely need to whistle sounds Aug. 28 against Elon in Walreplicate some semblance of that success if lace Wade Stadium. it wants to navigate its tricky schedule and “Our standard is the [ACC] Championtravel across every corner of the nation. ship, absolutely, and we work every day toHowever, Diaz and company seem primed wards that standard,” Williams said. “With to be relevant once again as they go to battle everything we do, every rep is championship in a talented ACC. standard. So with that in mind, we don’t have “I think that’s why we prevailed in so to worry too much about the result. Right many close games a year ago, because we now we’re just focused on our standard and were a team that didn't flinch, that was men- the process day to day.” tally tough, and believed in one another, seeing that whether it came down to the last Left: Karen Xu | Staff Photographer play of the game, that we had each other’s Center: Anabel Howery | Photo Editor back to do it,” Diaz said. Below: Morgan Chu | Staff Photographer

2 | FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2025

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2025 | 3

WOMEN'S SOCCER

Duke women's soccer defeats Penn State 3-2 in season opener

By Kate Reiniche Aug. 15, 2025 Associate Editor

The last time Duke women’s soccer met Penn State, the two teams battled to become the 2015 NCAA Champions. The Blue Devils walked away that night with a devastating 1-0 loss, but 10 years later, the rematch told a different story. Head coach Kieran Hall went through trial by fire in his first official appearance leading Duke, and the fourth-ranked Blue Devils earned a 3-2 victory over the 11th-ranked Nittany Lions in their season opener at Koskinen Stadium. “It was a real game. It was competitive, it was imperfect, it was raw. And I’m really proud of the team for rallying,” said Hall. The starting 11 were as green as the field they played on, featuring four of the team’s seven freshmen, in addition to redshirt freshman Lauren Martinho, who missed her first year after tearing her ACL. However, all concerns of inexperience were squashed when freshman phenom Avery Oder scored her first career goal just over three minutes into the game to put the Blue Devils on the scoreboard 1-0. The rookie forward showcased her soccer IQ as she moved in close range of teammate Mia Minestrella, whose path to the goal was blocked by two Penn State defenders. With a few steps into the penalty box, Oder had received the ball from Minestrella and promptly sent it flying past Nittany Lion keeper Mackenize Gress. The Calabasas, Calif., native’s confidence can be attributed to her early arrival to Durham.

Lucas Sasaya | Staff photographer

Junior Mia Minestrella scored two goals in Duke's 2025 season opener. Alongside freshman keeper Molly Vapensky, Oder enrolled at Duke this past spring to begin training with the Blue Devils. Also making an early impact on the pitch was redshirt junior Kat Rader. After a seasonending injury struck four games into her junior year, the Blue Devil standout was more than ready to get back on the field.The Stuart, Fla., native notched two assists, a product of her remarkable speed and agility by the goal. Rader intercepted a long pass before the ball sped out of bounds, putting the junior in prime position for a variety of plays. At times, however, the rest of the squad struggled to match Rader’s speed, leaving the forward cornered by Penn State.

“Kat was just putting them in all the right spots,” said Minestrella. “Her and I are connecting really well now. And we're hitting a different level.” Minestrella was the highlight of the box. The forward made two consecutive goals, the latter of which made the difference to break the Blue Devils’ 2-2 tie with the Nittany Lions. In perfect sync with Rader, Minestrella bounded her teammate’s corner kick off the top of her head for a clean shot amidst a sea of Penn State jerseys, bringing the score to 3-2. The junior excelled at finding space on the field, matching Rader’s speed to score her initial goal. The Redondo Beach, Calif., native demonstrated her versatility as she sent an unobstructed ball clean into the net to earn Duke its second goal of the season.

“We wanted to be relentless in every action,” Minestrella said. On the backside of the field, freshman Daya King held off a relentless Penn State offense. “They [Penn State] were so dangerous in transition that the forward line is going to cause a lot of problems for a lot of teams,” Hall said. King thrived in tough situations, blocking Penn State’s path to the goal to display her defensive prowess. The defender demonstrated clean footwork in tight pockets to take pressure off the keeper. With the departure of Leah Freeman, the 2024 ACC Goalkeeper of the Year, the Blue Devils found difficulty on defense. While the Duke roster features three skilled goalkeepers, the trio has recorded only a combined 210 minutes on the field, compared to Freeman’s 3,209 over two years. In Thursday’s match, sophomore Caroline Dysart and redshirt junior Bianca Dominguez split the minutes evenly, while rookie Vapensky remained on the bench. While both the Nittany Lions’ goals were scored on Dominguez, each keeper at times faced challenges keeping up with faster play. However, the sheer speed of Penn State’s offense made it near impossible to keep up with opposing movements. “So many people are finding their stride and learning their way, and we're happy about that stage of the development,” Hall said. “I want to keep encouraging them to really refine some of the things after tonight, and I’m excited about the group.” Duke will take on Northwestern at home in Koskinen Stadium Aug. 21, in its second game of the 2025 season.

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CLUB/IM SPORTS

FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2025 | 5

A quick guide to Duke's intramural fall sports

By Ava Guglielmo and Abby DiSalvo Aug. 20, 2025 As fall approaches and students return to campus, the first intramural sports are already open for registration: flag football, soccer, cornhole and fantasy football. Duke Rec & P.E. provides different opportunities for participants to get involved, including competitive (A-League) divisions, recreational (B-League) divisions and single-gender teams. Like most colleges, Duke follows the National Intramural-Recreation Sports Association guidelines. Here’s a quick breakdown of the rules and season timeline for each early fall offering:

Ryan Kilgallen | Senior Editor

Duke's IM soccer league competes at Cohan Field.

Flag football (7v7) Any student looking to form an intramural flag football group must have seven players on the field to represent their team. The game consists of two 20-minute halves, and will be played at either Pascal Field House or Williams Field. Unlike regular football regulations, the game is played continuously with a running clock until the last two minutes of the second half. At the final two minutes, the referee will stop the clock for any scoring, penalties, and incomplete or out-of-bounds passes. Each player must wear flag belts clipped onto their outerwear. The regulated snap that starts each play must be a quick toss backwards to the quarterback. Following the snap, a quarterback that has an intent to pass the ball must release the ball within five seconds of the snap in order for the play to remain viable. Screen blocking is allowed on the offensive side, so a player may position their body to block a defender's pathway as long as they do not initiate contact. If contact occurs during the game, the offensive player will receive a penalty. In addition, only one forward pass is allowed per down. A play can be considered dead on four conditions. The first two conditions are if the player’s flag is pulled by an opposing team or the player's body touches the ground. Additionally, a play is considered dead if a player steps out of bounds, or if a ball fumbles to the ground during a pass. In flag football, players may score points after a touchdown, which is worth six points. The scoring team has an option for a 1-point conversion from three yards, 2-point conversion from 10 yards, or a 3-point conversion from 20 yards. Games may end in a tie.

Co-ed teams must have at least one male and one female player on the field at all times. Each time can take up to three one-minute timeouts throughout the game. The 2025 season will run from Sept. 15 to Oct. 6, with registration open until Sept. 9 at 2 p.m. Soccer (9v9) Duke runs its intramural soccer league with teams of nine players at Cohan Field. Athletes participate in a game consisting of two 40-minute halves and a 10-minute half time, but no overtime. Co-ed teams must have at least two male and two female players on the field at all times, excluding the goalkeeper position. At the beginning of the game and restarts, the ball may be kicked in any direction. A player can only inbound the ball if both of their feet are on the ground and the ball is thrown from behind their head. A player can score when the ball completely passes the line inside the goal. Goalkeepers are prohibited from punts or drop kicks. They are only able to pass the ball through a throw or roll. There are no offsides in an intramural game, and NIRSA rules do not allow slide tackling amongst the players. For fouls, a player can receive a yellow or red card based on their actions and aggression in a game. If a player receives a yellow card, they must be subbed out of the game and replaced by another player on the field. If a player receives a red card, they must be ejected from the game and the team will continue to play with one fewer player. The 2025 season will run from Sept. 14 to Oct. 1, with registration open until Sept. 9 at 2 p.m.

Cornhole Duke’s intramural cornhole tournament involves teams of two players, but three students may be registered on any given roster. Games are played to a traditional 21 points using cancellation scoring, where bags-in-the-hole (worth three points) and bags-on-the-board (worth one point) lose their value if matched by opponents. Any points not cancelled out in a given round are added to the running score. Teams do not need to win by two or more points, and there is no bust rule. If a team exceeds 21 points, they are declared the winner rather than returning to 15 points. Any bag that touches the ground before hitting the board is declared a dead bag and must be cleared before the next toss. The front edges of the boards are separated by a distance of 24 feet. The 2025 tournament, which will be held on Sept. 13, may be played indoors or outdoors. Fantasy football Students have the ability to compete in fantasy football — either individually or with a team — through a private ESPN group hosted by Duke Intramurals League. Competition follows the same format as traditional fantasy football, with individuals pitting their teams against one another each week for the duration of the NFL season. This year’s IM draft will occur on Sept. 2 at 7 p.m., in randomized order. Participants will have 60 seconds to select their team or defer to the autopick, after which point teams may be updated weekly. Registration for Duke’s intramural fantasy football closes Sept. 2, and competition commences with the start of the NFL season on Sept. 4.

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2025 | 7

MEN'S SOCCER

Duke men's soccer shows off attacking depth in preseason slate By Garrett Spooner Aug. 19, 2025 Associate Editor

Following a disappointing exit in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, Duke took the pitch for three preseason matches to kick off its 2025 season. In the span of eight days, the Blue Devils visited Conway, S.C., to take on Coastal Carolina and Asheville, N.C., to play UNC Asheville, while rounding out their exhibitions by hosting James Madison at Koskinen Stadium. The Blue Devils ended the sprint with a 2-0-1 record, drawing Coastal Carolina 1-1 while defeating UNC Asheville 5-1 and James Madison 3-0. The Chanticleers scored first in Duke’s opening match, capitalizing on a penalty kick at the start of the second half, though sophomore forward Sol Arbib leveled the match for Duke in the final moments of the half. The London native played in 13 matches in his freshman season, finishing with two goals. Arbib’s sophomore classmate, Adrian Byasiima, registered the assist in the exhibition game. In Duke’s second match of the preseason campaign, it decisively defeated UNC Asheville with three Blue Devils registering five total goals. Graduate transfer Alessandro Arlotti and senior transfer Leonardo D’Ambrosio both scored a brace, and freshman Preston Zabinko scored the team’s fifth goal. D’Ambrosio is a player to watch for the Blue Devils in their 2025 season. As a redshirt

junior at College of Charleston, the Turin, Italy, native was named to the CAA First Team, starting 17 matches and scoring nine goals. Of those goals, four of which were match-winners. Arlotti, transferring from Harvard, is another intriguing name on the Blue Devils’ team sheet. In Harvard’s 2023 campaign, Arlotti earned the Ivy League’s Offensive Player of the Year title, scoring six goals and registering six assists. Additionally, the forward was a member of Italy’s youth team, appearing in the U17 World Cup, where Italy went to the quarterfinals. In Duke’s final match of the preseason, three Blue Devils scored in the first half. D’Ambrosio found the net in the fifth minute, and junior Ulfur Bjornsson and senior Kenan Hot both added goals in the tail moments of the half. Bjornsson and Hot, each returners to the Duke program, are set to be key contributors for the Blue Devils this fall. Bjornsson and Hot earned First Team and Third Team AllACC awards, respectively, in their prior campaigns. Bjornsson was also named to the ACC Preseason Watch List. Head coach John Kerr will likely be pleased with his program’s preseason results that displayed the team’s attacking depth and goal scoring potential. For the Blue Devils, the regular season begins Thursday, Aug. 21, at Koskinen Stadium, with a rematch against the San Diego program that eliminated them from the NCAA Tournament in 2024.

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FEATURES

FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2025 | 9

From Devine to Devine's: Building a Durham establishment

By Abby DiSalvo May 2, 2025 Sports Editor

The mismatched frames on the restaurant walls span decades of sports history. One tiny rectangle traps the 1989 Duke football team as it celebrates victory over North Carolina. Another offers a rare glimpse of Jay Bilas with hair. Nearby posters celebrate the 1991 and 1992 NCAA men’s basketball championships, twin signatures from Mike Krzyzewski gleaming in the light of neon bar signs. It’s easy to miss the small black-and-white candid in the far corner. An anonymous Duke football player leaps backwards over an opposing defensive back, suspended in a mid-air catch. Both his name and number remain invisible to the camera. “That’s a picture of me, at Duke, catching the ball at Carolina,” explains owner Gene Devine. He points out the image with a reluctant smile, preferring to remain nameless on the walls of his namesake restaurant. ‘A legend in the community’ Devine’s outdoor patio fills with chatter and cigarette smoke even at 4:45 on a Wednesday afternoon. Almost a dozen men have dragged chairs around a mesh-wire table meant for four, their gruff laughter echoing off the sun-soaked concrete. Other clusters of regulars sip beers at the shaded high tops nearby. Gene Devine catches up with them all, just as he has for the past five decades.

Anabel Howery | Photography Editor

Devine's has been a staple of both Duke and Durham since 1978. Football first drew him to Durham in 1971, when he began playing tight end for Duke under head coach Mike McGee. The Blue Devils had a mediocre four years, peaking twice with 6-5 records to bookend Devine’s college career. He mostly remembers the losses, including a heartbreak 14-13 defeat by North Carolina to end his senior year. Devine filled his time off the field with classic college antics. He took business classes and threw parties in Craven quad with his Phi Delta Theta fraternity brothers. They parked

on the bus circle, cashed their $20 laundry checks from the football team and watched four years fly by. After graduating in 1975 with an economics degree and an eight-reception, 121-yard senior season, Devine decided to give the NFL a shot. Nothing came of tryouts for the New York Jets, so he returned to Durham and found a job as a bartender. Dreams of making it big took on a different tint. “Maybe I could get lucky and open up my own place,” Devine remembers thinking. “Let me see, what the hell.”

He took over an old beer barn at 904 West Main Street, changing the name from Yomama’s to Uptown Main Street before settling on Chevy 47. He did everything he could to get customers in the door as the city developed around him. “I was just trying to change, get more people out from Durham,” Devine said. “Whatever I could do to get people here. It was slim pickings.” North Carolina’s fluctuating liquorby-the-drink laws soon allowed mixed drinks to be served in private clubs. Devine jumped on the opportunity, switching the restaurant’s name to Maxwell’s on Main in 1978. A functioning kitchen came together as he scoured auctions for cheap equipment and furniture. With food service and a bar, customers began trickling in. Devine also spread the word around nearby East Campus, hopeful that new classes of Duke students wouldn’t have to traipse all the way to Franklin Street for entertainment. He hired offseason college football players as bartenders and Duke bands for live music on Thursday nights. “They always said the wall around East Campus was intimidating for the kids to come down to downtown Durham, so there was a misperception there,” Devine said. “I wanted Duke kids to feel welcome in Durham and not go to Chapel Hill.” Eventually, he changed the name on the sign out front for a final time: Devine’s Restaurant and Sports Bar. By then, regular customers had begun claiming patio spots and high-top tables. They came for the restaurant’s food, but they fell in love with the man behind it.

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DEVINE'S

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Padres’ chicken mascot let that secret slip at the bar, then surprised Devine with a signed photo. Duke’s 2019 class gifted a collage of polaroids “I think he's just been a legend in the from their many visits on Thursday nights. community,” said Robbie Church, who The restaurant’s collection of images coached Duke women’s soccer from 2001-25. cataloged change as well. When Wallace “One of the things that would draw you back Wade Stadium underwent renovations, to Devine’s was that Gene was there. And not Devine stretched a new panoramic across only can you get a good burger or good meal, the side wall. When the Duke men’s lacrosse whatever you choose to have, you're going to team found itself embroiled in the Crystal have good conversations." Mangum scandal, he put up photos of the players to show support. ‘Durham’s living room’ Devine filled any leftover space with It didn’t take long for word to spread of the personalized notes from sports legends new establishment on Main Street. As Durham — including Panthers head coach Dan developed, its residents needed a go-to spot Capers, Giants third baseman Al Gallager for good conversation and and 49ers running back college sports. Roger Craig — but the "I wanted Duke kids to feel “Downtown at that bar retained its Duke point wasn't the greatest welcome in Durham and not go character. Former area,” Church said. “And customers returned to to Chapel Hill." Devine’s was one of the first find new items on the restaurants that everybody wall, but they could GENE DEVINE went to. There weren't all always count on the same DEVINE'S OWNER these great eating places like nostalgic atmosphere. there are now, especially downtown.” “It's definitely Durham's living room,” Church and his wife often stopped for said Dawn Bland, a regular of almost 25 burgers. Coaches from the baseball, lacrosse years. “It’s a place that you can go in and and football teams frequented lunch. Even you know you’re going to see your friends. Mike Krzyzewski made a habit of dining And if you don’t and you’re the only one, there early in his career. Devine got to know you know you’re going to find really lovely the star coach over the years, even subbing in people behind the bars, because they have as his racquetball buddy when Krzyzewski’s some of the best bartenders in town.” usual partner, Joe Falcone, stepped away “These are people that are staples of from the court for an operation. Durham and the city, and have been there As Devine’s entrenched itself into the over the years,” Church said. “And even Durham community, memorabilia began to though [the city] has progressed, and clutter the walls. Krzyzewski autographed there's so many new food places, and places a portrait of his Olympic medals and left around it have come and gone, Devine’s is notes on championship posters. The former still there.”

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‘What I’m building’ A similar appreciation ripples out to Through the years, the 71-year-old every customer that steps through the business owner made a habit of giving back restaurant’s double doors. Over the years, to the city around him. His presence in the he has collected even more friendships than community now extends beyond the four walls picture frames. Chatty regulars stopping to of his restaurant. say hello or goodbye are bound to interrupt Devine was quick to support fellow local any of his conversations. businesses when a gas explosion rocked “That's the big point to add about Gene Durham in 2019, and he held social-distanced Devine, is that he makes friends wherever,” events on the patio when COVID-19 swept Church said. “He's open to people that come through the city. to his restaurant. He's going Recently, he joined "You're going to walk out of that to get a conversation. You're other local restaurants restaurant and you're going to going to walk out of that in collecting hurricane feel like [you] just made a new restaurant and you're going relief supplies for those in to feel like [you] just made a friend." western North Carolina. new friend.” “One of the things ROBBIE CHURCH that people don't quite ‘A place that actually FORMER WOMEN'S SOCCER COACH know is how Geno's cares about you’ quietly shown up for, like, literally everybody, Forty-eight years after opening, Devine for years and years,” Bland said. “He's always still likes to peruse the walls of his restaurant. looking for ways to help people … and he He explains pictures to curious bar patrons, does it quietly.” reminiscing on the meaning behind each Devine has also watched his 28-year-old slip of paper. He chuckles as he admits that daughter Danya grow up to take on the his favorite is a snapshot of Larry Bird, just reins of the restaurant. She began working because he grew up near Boston. as general manager after graduating The cluttered images tell a story of the from Appalachian State University, her restaurant’s history, but the lone photo of reserved precision balancing Devine’s Devine on the college field fills any blanks. outgoing charm. Inside the wooden frame, viewers catch an The father and daughter share a phone early glimpse of an ambitious young athlete number just one digit apart, which Devine and his selfless dedication. says he chose on purpose. They will always “Everybody knows you want to go to a be close, and he’s proud that the restaurant place that actually cares about you coming has become a true family establishment. in,” Devine said. “And I do, my daughter does, “I’m thankful she cares about what I’m everyone who works here does. So hopefully building,” Devine said, eyes shining. “How that is exemplified.” many times can I get up every morning and The restaurant he has built is more say to myself, ‘It's gonna be a great day, man, than Duke’s, and more than Durham’s. I get to work with my daughter?’” It’s Devine’s.

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