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1 he Chronicle t
FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2005
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THE INDEPENDENT DAILY AT DUKE UNIVERSITY
ONE HUNDREDTH YEAR, ISSUE 108
Econ remains top Campus Council picks execs under grad major by
Ikee Gardner
THE CHRONICLE
BY
IZA WOJCIECHOWSKA THE CHRONICLE
The economy in our country fluctuates, but what does it matter to students? During times of economic growth, more undergraduates opt for a major in economics, and the boom in the 1990s correlated with an increase in majors in the field across the nation. The enthusiasm did not pass by Duke, which in fact anticipated the growth, and for several years economics has kept its title as the University’s most popular major. Despite fluctuating numbers, Duke has worked to accommodate both large and small majors without compromising academic standards. “The [economics] trend at Duke was faster than the national trend,” economics department chair Thomas Nechyba said. “A large part of the explanation was the introduction of the [Bachelor of Science] major in the mid- to late-19905. All of the growth has been in the B.S.
major, so that seemed to accelerate the trend here.” The high numbers of students majoring in particular areas may place more pressure on the University to maintain the desired level of academic quality. When the number of economics majors began to rise, the department realized the need for a new approach and introduced the EcoTeach Center, which administers all services for undergraduates and graduates in economics, two years ago. It is now fully implemented and provides the vast number of students with smaller upper-level classes taught only by Duke faculty. The department has also made sure more classes are taught by professors. “The intro classes are big... but I have yet to take a class taught by a [teaching assistant],” senior economics major Marco Gonzalez said. Over the last couple of years SEE
MAJORS
ON PAGE 4
TOM MENDEL/THE CHRONICLE
Sophomore Jay Ganatra, newly elected Campus Council president, speaks before the Council Thursday. He plans to further develop quad programming and unity.
Sprinkler triggers flooding by
by
Sophia Peters
the chronicle
As student after student begins to select housing for next year, the Office of Residence Life and Housing Services still lacks a permanent director to coordinate the process. RLHS has reopened its search for a new director of housing assignments and communications after declaring its initial fall effort a failure in
THE CHRONICLE
SEE FLOOD ON PAGE 6
SEE CC ON PAGE 6
Housing picks start without director
Geoff Bass and Kelly Rohrs
Blackwell became a reservoir Thursday as a resident accidentally set off a sprinkler at about 10:30 p.m., flooding the dormitory. A student in room 206 hung something on the sprinkler in her room, activating it, police officers on the scene told students. Water filled the room, flowed down the hall and leaked through the floor to rooms below. Residents reported that the sprinklers stayed on for about 30 minutes and the water was several inches deep in parts of the hall. About 20 rooms sustained water damage, students said. Fire alarms went off, and officials evacuated the building. Sarah Andrews, a graduate assistant in
It was the end of an era Thursday night, two-year Campus Council President Anthony Vitarelli stepped down as the organization chose a new executive board. Campus Council members determined the winners in a closed majority election after candidates gave speeches and took questions for seven minutes each. The new executives are President Jay Ganatra, Vice President Ben Rubinfeld, Treasurer Brint Markle and Communications Coordinator Brenna Benson. “I am so proud and excited about our four new executive members,” said Vitarelli, a senior. “I’ve never worked with a more talented or exceptional group.” Ganatra, a sophomore from Duluth, Ga., plans to enhance the quad model by designing activities to bring students from various living areas together, including independents and students in selective houses. Tie also expressed interest in making improvements to the University grounds and in
early February.
The director is visible at this time of year as supervisor of the housing lottery. The position has been slightly modified from its original definition, which entailed oversight of housing assignments, management of housing contracts and coordination of communications for the housmost
iEOFF ba:
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Police officers survey the second-floor hall of Blackwell Dormitory late Thursday night. Residents estimated the deluge of water damaged about 20 rooms.
mg department. The refashioned position will include supervision of all communications for RLHS—from the website to materipublished als—in an effort to develop a unified identity and voice in all RLHS communication outlets, “This is a tough position to fill,” said Eddie Hull, executive director of housing services and dean of residence life. “We didn’t find a person with the right blend of technical expertise and background and that had the ability to communicate at a high level. It’s not the easiest blend to find.” The first search was headed by a committee that worked with Spelman and Johnson, a SEE HOUSING ON PAGE
6