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(08/22/14 9:23am)
One thousand seven hundred first-year students descended upon Duke’s Chapel Wednesday like a migrating flock of swallows, to borrow Dean Steve Nowicki’s apt metaphor from Convocation 2014. Like thousands of students before them, they sat as echoing speeches ushered them into Duke’s ranks. But unlike their predecessors, they marked unprecedented "firsts"—the highest admissions yield since 1979; the first class where more than half are students of color. What do these milestones mean, and are they cause for celebration?
(07/06/14 8:03pm)
When members of the class of 2018 eagerly arrive on East Campus and watch as Freshman Advisory Counselors unload their treasured belongings, they will experience a rush of excitement unlike any other. Innumerable opportunities to form new friendships, mandatory orientation activities and elated introductions to campus will make the transition to Duke seem unexpectedly stress-free.
(04/28/14 10:43am)
Over the last decade, Duke has begun to expand globally, constructing a campus in China and creating or expanding programs that enable more students to study abroad. The University has also ventured, albeit shakily, into the realm of online education. Duke will soon feel the impact of the humanities' national decline, as the University continues to stress interdisciplinarity, faculty research and professional education. All the while, existential threats to brick-and-mortar colleges like Duke have turned higher education into a (pricy) commodity that students often consume as a mere means to an end.
(04/23/14 9:12am)
At the end of every year, it is always a valuable exercise to look back and reflect on the year in its entirety, to understand what sets it apart from past years and to assess how far our fair institution has come. In the spirit of reflection and ruthless evaluation, we have assembled the most important—and overlooked—news stories of the 2013-2014 academic year.
(04/22/14 11:16am)
Released last week, the Duke Inquiries in Social Relations report aims a critical lens at campus culture, bringing data and thoughtful analysis to bear on some of Duke’s most divisive cultural issues. The report explores topics ranging from the prevalence of gender violence to perceptions of various campus groups, and we commend the student research team for producing an expansive and well-researched study. The entire report is worthy of a careful read, but the sections on student identity, in particular, shed new light on social divisions that have long sundered campus.
(04/21/14 9:15am)
The Duke Student Government Judiciary has recently been growing in influence. The addition of the Bill of Rights and the efforts of individuals such as former Chief Justice Daniel Strunk, a senior, have expanded the scope, responsibility and power of the institution. Recent standoffs between the Judiciary and DSG Senate, however, raise important questions about the appropriate relationship between these two branches of power.
(04/18/14 9:23am)
Enter the phenomenon of celebrity academics. Professors like former Princeton University professor Neil Degrasse Tyson, University of Chicago professor Steven Levitt and Duke's own Dan Ariely, James B. Duke Professor of psychology and behavioral economics, have catapulted themselves to fame and wealth by distilling their research into widely accessible sound bites and disseminating it to general audiences. TED Talks, the popular online compendium of conferences, is often their platform of choice.
(04/17/14 8:17am)
First, we question the motivations that inform a student’s decision to declare a double major. In the best case scenario—indeed, the one we wish were most common—students would elect to double major because they genuinely want to expand their intellectual horizons and to explore two disciplines about which they truly feel passionate. Some combinations of majors make intuitive sense—math and economics, for instance—and some students may feel that their knowledge of one field will be enhanced by studying the other. Other students pursue radically different majors, using one as a safety net and pursuing the other because it is what they genuinely want to study: their “passion major.” We also see a number of students stumbling into a second major because they have already taken so many classes in a particular field that seeking a major just makes sense.
(04/16/14 8:41am)
The Arts and Sciences Council recently approved a new certificate program designed to teach entrepreneurial skills. Formally called the innovation and entrepreneurship certificate, the new program aims to help students learn how to transform ideas into functional businesses. We are skeptical, however, that the new program will be effective.
(04/15/14 8:12am)
Perhaps the use of like, however, is, like, actually polite. A recent New York Times article suggests that our seemingly sloppy generation is actually moving towards a more sophisticated use of language. “Like” can be used as a tool. When you frame something you are about to say with a “like” it creates a buffer between your opinion and those you are addressing. It allows you to wallow in a middle ground where you can imply, “I know this is not something you completely agree with, so I’m going to use 'like' to soften the blow.”
(04/14/14 6:13am)
When asked the same question, Sherman responded, “It may just be that guys are more willing to give it a try and women are more conscious.”
(04/11/14 7:36am)
Some might call it organized debate—a clash of ideas and opinions in the form of invigorating verbal jousting. Others might call it a form of introspection—exploring important issues surrounding Duke life that, at times, challenge the status quo and, at times, ignite raging debate. We like to call “it” The Chronicle’s Editorial Board, the independent voice of the student newspaper. And, today, we invite all opinionated individuals with a fire for argumentation to apply to join the debate.
(04/10/14 12:49pm)
In Wednesday’s Editorial, we endorsed candidates for three of the five contested committees. Today, we turn to the remaining two contested races—facilities and the environment and services.
(04/09/14 9:55am)
Residential Life
(04/08/14 8:17am)
The thesis writing experience varies wildly across disciplines. Some departments expect students to conjure up their own questions, assemble their methods and dive into their research with very little structure or guidance. In other departments, students receive too much structure, and many wind up slipping formulaic projects into generic thesis templates. Due dates, expectations, advisor involvement and grading schemes also differ from department to department, creating inconsistencies in the amount and type of work students perform.
(04/07/14 7:33am)
Last Tuesday, a group of Dartmouth College students staged an overnight sit-in in the office of college president Phil Hanlon. The activists demanded a point-by-point response to their Freedom Budget, which entailed over 70 action points ranging from diversity concerns to problems with sexual assault within the greek community.
(04/04/14 9:16am)
For many students, minor anxiety at some point during the Duke career is common—after all, Duke is a stressful place. For students confronting serious mental or physical issues, a medical leave of absence can provide the necessary break they need to recover and refocus. The University and its policies should be understanding and supportive of students who are considering taking medical leaves of absence.
(04/03/14 10:27am)
Since 2010 Duke’s plans to partner with Wuhan University to build a campus in Kunshan, China have been fraught with controversy. Construction delays pushed back the opening date to Fall 2014. Faculty members have objected to opaque planning processes that excluded their input, and skeptics have questioned whether enrollment would meet the stated goals. These doubts were corroborated when Duke Kunshan University programs recently extended their application deadlines.
(04/02/14 8:13am)
Last Thursday, President Richard Brodhead gave his annual address to the Academic Council. One of the topics Brodhead focused on was staff transitions and plans for moving forward. His emphasis on transitions is telling—Duke is about to undergo sweeping changes.
(04/01/14 7:41am)
Low acceptance rates have become a hallmark of great colleges, often signaling the quality of education promised to prospective students. Common sense might dictate that a large applicant pool signifies a more competitive group of admitted students and, therefore, a better university. But, in reality, admissions statistics are largely a metric for calculating the reputation of a university and do not necessarily reflect the quality of the education provided.
