DUSDAC approves tipping resolution
The student advisory board for campus dining overwhelmingly approved a resolution Monday night requesting that the Washington Duke Inn stop automatically charging students for gratuities.
Barry Locker, a senior and co-chair of the Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee, said the committee approved the measure 10-1 with one abstention. DUSDAC's recommendations are almost always accepted by dining administrators, and Director of Dining Services Jim Wulforst has already said he agrees with the resolution - meaning that, unless the inn's restaurant chooses to defy dining management, it will likely end its practice of charging students a 19 percent automatic tip.
Locker said a system of tipping on points has worked well this semester at The Blue Bistro in The Oak Room, where students have actually tipped an average of 19 percent.
"It's on points - people are not cheaping out the wait staff," Locker said. "We believe students should be able to do the same thing at the Washington Duke."
Washington Duke Inn managers have said several students have complained about its policy, which is not posted in its restaurant. They could not be reached for comment Monday night, but Locker said he expects a response within days.
Duke experts to discuss shuttle program
A three-person panel at the Pratt School of Engineering will discuss the space shuttle program Feb. 20, from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. in Room 203 of the Teer Engineering Library. The event is free, and the public is invited to attend.
Participants include Earl Dowell, J.A. Jones professor of mechanical engineering and materials sciences; Alex Roland, professor of history; and Al Rossiter, director of communications for the Pratt School of Engineering.
The panelists will pose questions such as whether the nation's space shuttle program should be scrapped in the wake of the shuttle Columbia tragedy or should the remaining three winged spaceships continue to fly well into the next decade. The International Space Station and various proposals for future travel to Mars will also be discussed.
Dowell was on the original panel that reviewed the technology of the shuttle's thermal protection system and later was a member of a national panel that recommended Congress fund the International Space Station. Roland, who studies military history and the history of technology, is a critic of the shuttle program and an expert on NASA history. Rossiter was manager of United Press International's Cape Canaveral Bureau from 1963 to 1973 and covered the space program for United Press International for 25 years.
Hip-Hop/Global Flows festival continues
This week, the University is sponsoring the Hip-Hop/Global Flows festival, a combination of performances with scholarly exploration of hip-hop. Presentations will include discussion of Asian-American music, racial and gender stereotypes, and the politics of Japanese hip-hop.
The first lecture of the festival, scheduled for Monday night, was canceled, but event organizers may try to reschedule David Lamb, an adjunct professor at John Jay College, who planned to discuss the image of women of color in American entertainment.
Other events - which include lectures, films, spoken word performances, music and breakdancing, as well as a house party and deejay battle - for the conference are still scheduled to take place. They will highlight hip-hop culture's cross-racial, intergenerational, multi-ethnic and international character, organizers said.
GPSC to discuss student village
The Graduate and Professional Student Council will meet Tuesday night to hear a presentation on the proposed "student village" for West Campus. Graduate and professional students will be able to contribute to the planning stages of the project and make sure their concerns and ideas are heard, organizers said. The meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the Sanford Institute of Public Policy, room 04, will also include an update on next year's parking situation.
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