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Easley's proposed budget will raise the cigarette tax 35 cents
Doctors, students practice
treatments on high-tech robot
Freshman sensation Zach Greer nets 7 in Duke win
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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2005
Perkins loans in Laura Newman THE CHRONICLE
Education
officials
THE INDEPENDENT DAILY AT DUKE UNIVERSITY
ONE HUNDREDTH YEAR, ISSUE 106
DSG reacts to criticism of Central reps
jeopardy by
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speaking out against President George W. Bush’s new budget this time because of proposed funding cuts that would eliminate the Perkins Loan program. The Perkins Loan, established in 1965, provides low-interest loans to lower- and middle-class families and gives students 10years to repay them. As a revolving fund, the Perkins Loan uses money students pay back to continue to fund new loans. But Bush’s plan to cut domestic spending, beginning next fall, would recall the federal money invested in this program, effectively ending it. In addition to providing lowinterest funds, the Perkins Loan is also one of the few programs with a loan forgiveness provision, cancelling loans for students who plan to work in underserved areas, such as teaching and nursing. “We are very concerned that the elimination of the Perkins Loan fund would make it even more difficult for students to determine how to afford to go to college,” said Hope Williams, president of North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, a statewide organization of 36 non-profit, private colleges. For the 2002-2003 school year, 14,500 students in the state benefited from Perkins Loans with an average loan of —
After provost questions diversity on committees, DSG scrambles
by
Sarah Ball
THE CHRONICLE
Facing concerns that student representation on the Central Campus Planning Committee may be inadequate, some Duke Student Government leaders are
devising supplementary avenues for undergraduate input. Fourteen students currently hold positions on Central planning committees, which are responsible for developing the Uni-
versity’s vision for the impending overhaul of Central Campus. DSC President Pasha Majdi, a senior, personally appointed all the students to the committee. Half of the students have served on DSC; the remaining seven have all held prominent campus leadership positions. Of the 14 representatives, six are current members of the DSG-run Inter-Community Council. Provost Peter Lange, co-chair
of the steering committee, said he gave Majdi complete freedom to choose the student representatives, but he expressed some concern about the homogeneity of the selected group, which only includes one black student. “I think there could have been greater diversity—I have suggested to Pasha that he look into it,” Lange told The Chronicle when SEE CENTRAL ON PAGE 7
Tapping into the classics Internationally acclaimed tap dancer Savion Glover performs his latest show, Classical Savion, in Page Auditorium Tuesday night. The onenight stand was sponsored by the Duke University Union through Broadway at Duke. Accompanied by a full orchestra, Glover danced to classical music by composers such as Stravinsky and Bach. In 1996, Glover won a Tony Award for his dancing and choreography in his Broadway hit, Bring in ’da Noise, Bring in ’da Funk. Since then, he has toured the country performing.
SEE PERKINS ON PAGE 9
Alumni giving rates rise across schools
ANNUALFUND SCHOOL
GRADUATE SCHOOL
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by Tracy Ke THE CHRONICLE
As a young institution with a relatively modest endowment, Duke is always hoping its alumni stay happy—especially the folks in the Development Office. The amount alumni give to the Duke Annual Fund and other restricted funds has grown steadily over the past six or seven years, but the percentage of alumni who participate has been inconsistent. About 33 percent of Trinity College and Pratt School of Engineering graduates made monetary contributions to the annual funds of their respective schools during
the last fiscal year. With gifts to restricted funds, athletics and other programs factored in, the overall alumni participation rate moves closer to 42 percent. In Fiscal Year 2004, which began July 1, 2003 and ended June 30, 2004, alumni donated $lO.B million to the annual funds of Trinity and Pratt—a slight increase from the year before. The Duke Annual Fund tally reached $21.5 million overall last year, and the University is still pushing ahead, with $l4 million of its projected $23 million already in the bank for FY 2005. Annual Fund money is unrestricted,
which means those funds are primarily used to further Duke’s academic mission and are directed to areas of greatest need—from faculty to financial aid to dayby-day operations. Restricted funds, however, are confined to specific endowments, scholarship programs or disciplines. “Alumni choose to give or not give for a variety of reasons,” said Hank Woods, director of development for the Annual Fund. “Those who give have related that they feel a deep-seated obligation to support Duke because Duke provided them SEE ALUMNI GIVING ON PAGE
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