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(02/27/12 5:00am)
The international presence in American universities is booming. Much of it has been due to an infusion of Chinese students—the number of Chinese undergraduates in the United States has tripled to 40,000 in just three years, according to a report by The New York Times. Duke has been a benefactor of this trend: More international undergraduates, who make up 8 percent of Duke’s undergraduate body, come from China than any other country. That’s a big deal. Since Duke does not have need-blind admissions for international applicants, most of these students pay full tuition and provide important funds for the University.
(01/31/12 6:38am)
I often wonder how Coach Cutcliffe—the football coach, for all you ignoramuses—sees the debate over Duke basketball attendance. I then remember Cutcliffe’s starting salary was $1.5 million in 2007, and it most likely hasn’t decreased. That’s $500,000 for each win this year, for those of you less-hirable arts and humanities majors.
(12/07/11 11:00am)
Teach for America does numerous positive things, but its structure is flawed. It’s that simple, really.
(11/30/11 11:00am)
Governments tend to foster inefficiencies. It’s simple logic: Politicians and laws help mitigate certain issues that the free market does not address and help those that capitalism misses. Economics says that, if solutions to certain problems were efficient or profitable, capitalism would step in and some corporation would do it.
(11/16/11 11:00am)
There is no point in arguing about sunk costs. Simply put, there is nothing we can do about it now, and bickering about money already spent—I mean, the $42.5 million Duke Kunshan University is expected to cost the University is probably less than Kim Kardashian’s next marriage—is irrelevant. Yeah, yeah, spending money on professors and getting rid of asbestos in Central Campus apartments over winter break would be nice, but what’s done is done.
(11/09/11 11:00am)
My political science teaching assistant once tried to tell his discussion section how to get to his office. It was somewhere in the depths of Perkins Library, and I believe the only notable landmark he cited was a vending machine.
(11/02/11 9:00am)
As the November withdrawal date approaches, students face the decision of whether or not to end their participation in a particular class. The option of withdrawal adds considerable flexibility for students, as it is the final way for a student to avoid a bad class affecting their GPA (with the downside of adding a “W” to your transcript). The process is an acknowledgment that the drop/add period does not always provide sufficient time for some students who may realize they are outmatched by a course. It also adds enough drawbacks to prevent students from taking advantage of it.
(10/19/11 9:00am)
You’re in your newly pressed suit, donning your fresh shape-up and making sure your cologne is coming off with the perfect pungency (for the ladies). You’ve managed to skip the last two or even three episodes of “Parenthood” (NBC’s underrated family drama) to feign interest in The Wall Street Journal and The Economist. You’ve totally got this whole Greece thing down—Austerity now!—and can even make a few graphs that show how it all affects the banks.
(10/12/11 9:00am)
I make sure to find time for food every time I go home for break. It’s not that I dislike the options in Durham, but without a car, I can only go so far within the Durham and Chapel Hill areas (thank you, Robertson bus). There are times where a friend might drive me to new food places, but my “foodie friends” and “friends with cars” rarely overlap. It’s rough.
(10/05/11 9:00am)
Last Thursday, I was walking to class when I saw dump trucks unloading brown piles onto our quads. For a brief second, I wondered if I was imagining this entire situation—it still was early enough and I hadn’t yet drunk my coffee. Could we really be dumping piles of what appeared to be manure onto our quads? Was this Larry Moneta and the rest of the administration’s response to recent student dissent?
(09/28/11 9:00am)
I honestly don’t remember when I first read about Troy Davis’ case. Using reference points—namely when New Jersey abolished the death penalty—I can safely say it was sometime in late 2007 or early 2008. I was a card-carrying member of Amnesty International who lobbied my Congressmen and State Senator to abolish the death penalty in New Jersey with a group of high school friends. I also sent letters. I sent a lot of letters.
(09/14/11 9:00am)
My father has an amazing memory. For some reason, he can recite random minutiae about television shows, political events and other topics you probably learned in middle school. This trait often captivates people, as he combines an immense knowledge of trivia with personal tidbits that make you want to hear about, say, President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s pet (a Weimaraner named Heidi). When he uses this ability to retain personal details about you—your wife’s name, what sports teams you follow and shows you watch—it simply is unfair. My brother somehow was passed these remarkable people skills, and this ability to make people feel important (as well as his good looks) has helped him get job offers in fields he probably is not qualified for (no offense, Sal). I’ve tried to develop both the ability to remember arcane trivia and to win over those around me, but some of it is innate.
(09/07/11 9:00am)
At the end of last year, I spent days talking to the Young Trustee candidates. When I got the opportunity to question them, I tried to ask questions I thought were sensitive yet crucial, including many about Duke’s plans to build a campus in Kunshan. Many of the candidates’ responses regarding the venture were standard. They argued for the need to expand without cutting jobs in Durham and emphasized a need to get all the facts before making a final judgment.
(08/31/11 9:00am)
I was sitting in my apartment with my roommates and a few of his band friends when someone stated that The Beatles were the best band of all time.
(08/22/11 9:00am)
Despite being a diehard sports fan, I never understood the methodology behind baseball’s awards selections. For example, Felix Hernandez won the Cy Young award (best pitcher in his respective league) based on sophisticated mathematical calculations. Metrics used in the past—things such as how many wins a pitcher ended the season with—were modernized to attempt to use algorithms and advanced statistics to deepen our understanding of players’ accomplishments. Baseball has evolved, and those who understand the math are witnessing the sport on another level.
(04/18/11 9:00am)
In an email to alumni a year ago, President Richard Brodhead proclaimed that, despite budget cuts that came as a result of the recession, “care was taken to preserve our core commitment to financial aid, to sustain the quality of the student experience and to continue the hiring of outstanding faculty.” In the year since that message, Duke has seen its economic situation improve substantially, leading to the University resuming “merit-based pay increases this year,” according to a March 28 email sent to employees. Sizeable deductions and reviving financial markets “put the University’s budget back on a sustainable footing.”
(04/04/11 11:15am)
Duke admitted 3,739 students for the Class of 2015. The overall admission rate dropped to 12.6 percent, staggeringly low when compared to the 14.8 percent for Duke’s Class of 2014 and 17 percent for those graduating in 2013. It is easy to be impressed by the number trend. Simply put, a low admissions rate means a school is “more selective” and adds a certain prestige to it all.
(03/21/11 9:00am)
There is something cute about the entire Blue Devil Days process. Innocent high school seniors come onto campus—many experiencing Duke for the first time—expecting to gain information that will help them decide whether they will attend this university. Truthfully, such weekends have very little impact on most people that come. It’s highly unlikely that a presentation on pre-law advising will convince someone to matriculate.
(02/21/11 11:57am)
My mom never had to warn me. I knew to (try to) make wise decisions, and that includes making sure I know who I’m getting in bed with. I mean, the wrong girl could mean very, very bad news. No form of protection can prevent a slew of consequences that follow a mistake.
(02/07/11 10:59am)
In last year’s Young Trustee election, 2,169 students voted. Over the course of the next week, student group after student group will fill these back pages with their endorsements based on their respective agendas or visions for the future.
