Duke Free Store

20 Apr 2011, Posted by Chris Taylor in News, 0 Comments

If you walked through the Bryan Center Plaza on Thursday, you may have noticed people dropping off and picking up a very random assortment items, from books and school supplies to kitchen utensils and old personal items.

This take-a-penny table of paraphernalia was this semester’s final run of the Duke Free Store, a program created nearly ten years ago by Duke Recycles as a way for faculty, students and staff to donate unwanted office supplies. Over the years, the program has grown from a small “store” on Buchanan to a regular event on campus, opening every other week in the Bryan Center or on the BC Plaza.

“The craziest things we’ve had were often the quickest ones gone,” says Mohamed Ismail, a sophomore involved with the Student Sustainability Leaders and the Environmental Alliance. “My favorite has been a jelly bean statue to store jelly beans that sang when you opened it. We had a book by Dan Ariely dropped off and taken within two minutes.”

The Free Store still operates under the original framework, allowing anyone to drop off anything they want—as long as it is not dangerous, living or illegal. Students passing by may freely grab anything that interests them, free of charge.

“The Free Store became so popular for those who knew about it that we ran out of things after about four runs,” said Ismail. “Now we’ve worked on getting the word out through bus ads, Facebook, a listserv and email blasts to sustainability lists.”

Even though the Free Store has held its last session for this semester, their increased success over the year is a good indicator that it will continue into the future. Look out for collection bins during the last week of classes and as you begin the process of clearing out your dorms. Who knows? You may see something you donate again in just a few months.

Class of 2015 on College Confidential

18 Apr 2011, Posted by Chris Taylor in News, 0 Comments

With colleges recently sending out their decisions to their prospective classes of 2015, this is a very exciting time for those of us already in college. Not because we get to relax while friends from high school stress about which school to choose, nor because of any excitement at a new class of freshman. No, college decision season is exciting for us because we get to sit back and read through the insanity that is College Confidential.

In case you are not familiar, College Confidential is a website that offers anyone the opportunity to discuss any aspect of any college. Over the years, this general aim has simplified to high school students posting their “stats,” pretending to think they are horrible, and asking if they can get into a certain school. Anxious parents also frequent the discussion boards, trying to glean tips on how to steer their eighth grade children to success.

The website has become particularly entertaining over the past few weeks, as discussion boards have come to life with recent applicants rejoicing over acceptances, lamenting their rejections, and ambivalence toward being wait-listed.

“Holy…?!!? IS THIS REAL LIFE?!!?!?! Never been happier!!!” says hl0523, a student recently accepted after being deferred from early decision. Along the same lines, massgirl92 writes “thank GOD I never gave up on them. Today is the BEST DAY EVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!” Like hl0523, massgirl92 was accepted after being deferred from early decision. Congratulations to both.

For some people, the initial reaction was more a sigh of relief than a shout of joy. “First reaction? ‘Thank God…’” wrote dprichey after being accepted into Trinity. Likewise, icapax felt nervous opening up the decision page. “But after I saw the word, “Congratulations,” total relief. I’M GOING TO COLLEGE.”

Even some who were rejected sounded grateful. Aznmeeagi thought, “the rejection letter sounded more thoughtful than others and I appreciated that. Way to keep it classy, Duke (;”

Once you have had your share of reading through these comments, take some time to appreciate the variety of usernames. There are many of the basic “name+number” combinations, but you will also find some more interesting combinations. So far, RageoftheMonkey has won my heart. Luckily, Rage has been accepted and is strongly considering Duke—I’ll be on the lookout for some angry primate during Blue Devil Days.

Teach me how to DefMo

17 Apr 2011, Posted by Minshu Deng in News, 0 Comments

First things first, watch this.

And this.

And that is all you need to know. But no, really, read on.

This past Saturday saw the ninth annual DefMo Showcase entitled “transcenDance” that took place before a packed Page Auditorium. DefMo, short for Defining Movement, is Duke’s premier multicultural dance troupe. Showcase pieces ranged from your must-have feel-good bhangra and sexy Sabrosura Latin dance to gripping explorations of sexism and death. Guest performances by groups such as UNC’s hip hop dance team Kamikaze and Duke’s very own Spoken Verb exhibited a similar diversity of style.  I don’t know about other audience members, but Showcase was a freaking emotional rollercoaster for me. A strange combination of euphoric joy and delirious frustration overwhelms me every time I watch a DefMo performance. The latter emotion is simply a product of me wishing I could werq my body like these talented dancers.

DefMo is a cultural group united by its members’ common love for dance. Founded in early 2002 by Christina Chang and friends Fran Lebajo, Sonia Cheung and Jeff Wu, the group’s original purpose remains true to this day, which is essentially to share its love for dance and in doing so promote cultural awareness. A very visible group on campus, DefMo presents original dances choreographed mostly by its members at various events on campus throughout  the year, two of the more well-known ones being Diya’s annual production Awaaz and the Asian Student Association’s Lunar New Year.

While I have heard some complaints from individuals who claim that DefMo isn’t that impressive, that they could dance just as well as DefMo—first of all, respect for being able to move like DefMo (which you must realize takes amazing memorization and long, late-night practices multiple times a week), and second of all, it’s not just about the dance. Going back to the founding pillars of the group, dance is only a means towards an end of cultural awareness, appreciation and dialogue. Thus, while renowned for their killer moves, DefMo truly, well, transcends dance.

If you’re like me, you have definitely thought about trying out for DefMo.  All those lonely impromptu dance sessions in your room, and going through week-long phases where you stretch compulsively with the goal of being able to do a split by the end of the semester, but then go a month without stretching…this may or may not be what manifested desire to be a part DefMo looks like. Every now and then you may feel some bitterness towards your parents for not making you take dance lessons when you were younger.

There are, however, a few members in DefMo who have had no formal dance training. Freshman member Albert DeCaprio had no formal dance training prior to joining DefMo. So, is he just someone who, formal training or not, would be good at dance anyways, or is there hope for awkward people like me?  Regardless, Albert’s advice in regards to trying out: “Just do it! I say don’t hold back and just go for it and have fun with it. You will not regret it!  Each part [of the audition process] is far from formal and it’s nothing but a good time. A candidate’s appeal is a mix of their dancing abilities, their personality and dedication to the purpose of raising cultural awareness. They are all equally important.”

Well, still not sure if there’s any hope for me, but I won’t be too upset about making a fool of myself during auditions in the fall; I’ll only regret it if I don’t tryout at all.

Hope to see you there! Get it.

Latino Student Recruitment Weekend builds community

17 Apr 2011, Posted by Ashley Mooney in News, 0 Comments

On Thursday, admitted students of a Latino/a background began arriving for the Duke Latino Student Recruitment Weekend.  Organized largely by Mi Gente, LSRW is an opportunity for minority students to explore Duke and celebrate cultural diversity.

LSRW-specific events include a reggaeton concert, a dinner and dance at the Washington Duke Inn, and an opportunity to attend Duke’s Mezcla show.

“I think it’s a great program,” said freshman Julian Salazar, who attended a day of Blue Devil Days as well as participating in LSRW, and is currently hosting students for both.  “It’s definitely different from Blue Devil Days, just from the experience of hosting both of them.”

There are some criticisms of hosting weekends such as LSRW, or a similar weekend focused on minorities called the Black Student Alliance Invitational.  Some have expressed concern that the weekends actually decrease diversity and promote self-segregation among minority groups before they are even attending the school.

However, others feel that these criticisms are unwarranted, maintaining that minority recruitment weekends are meant to celebrate culture and provide minority students with support networks.

It is also important to note that, at least in the case of LSRW, events are shared with Blue Devil Days events, allowing students from both programs to meet.

“LSRW is integrated into the Blue Devil Days schedule, so its not like they’re all off on their own doing their own thing,” Salazar commented.

Students who have attended the weekend expressed positive feedback.

“It’s given me an opportunity to know about Duke,” said Peter Harvey Jr., an accepted student of the Class of 2015.  “It’s intimate, and I discovered a lot of things that if I didn’t go on this program, I wouldn’t have known about.”

Salazar also mentioned that one of the aspects he enjoyed about LSRW was that it introduced him to Duke’s Latino community, an integral support network for many Latino students.

“I think [LSRW] helps you get in touch with the Latino community,” Salazar said.  “It’s definitely a gateway into the community.”

Obama speaks on debt issues at George Washington

15 Apr 2011, Posted by Alexander Kazandjian in News, 0 Comments

President Barack Obama gave a speech Wednesday at George Washington University about his plans to stop the United States’ rapidly increasing debt problem.

Obama began with the plan proposed by the Republican Party, which called for a reduction in spending on Medicare and Medicaid, social security and unemployment. He said that America would lack what it takes to be a great country without these commitments. Early in the speech, he made it clear that keeping these institutions alive was his priority. But what must be given up in order for this to happen?

By 2025 the taxes that will be collected will only serve to cover Medicare, Medicaid, social security and unemployment. Due to the high costs of these programs, borrowed money would have to pay for every remaining penny spent by the government. The Republicans’ proposed plan of action, which encourages reform of the healthcare and social security systems, would cause 50 million Americans to lose their means of living and insurance.

We cannot afford to invest nationally in education, healthcare or retirement funds, Obama argued, and yet the government somehow manages to give $1 trillion worth of tax breaks to the wealthy. He stated that everybody will make sacrifices going ahead, but “those who have benefited most from our way of life can afford to give a bit more.”

Obama’s proposed a four-step plan to reduce the national deficit by four trillion dollars over the next twelve years. The first step in this plan is to keep annual domestic spending low, as agreed upon by both political parties. This step alone will save $750 billion by government spending and investment cuts.

The second step proposed that spending on national defense should be reduced. Obama did not mention where exactly the spending cuts would occur in either of these cases.

The third step in this plan is to reduce healthcare spending by reducing the cost of healthcare itself. By speeding generic drugs to the market and holding the government more responsible for Medicare and Medicaid, these reforms would save the country $500 billion by 2023 and another one trillion over the next decade, he said.

The last step in this plan is to reduce tax expenditures by getting rid of itemized deductions and tax cuts for the top 2 percent of the nation. By reforming the individual and corporate tax code, we can save $2 trillion in spending cuts. Of course, this includes letting the Bush tax-cuts expire—another extension of the Bush tax cuts is “not going to happen” as long as he is the President.

Finally, Obama’s plan calls for a Debt Failsafe. If the overall national debt is not projected to fall to reasonable levels by 2014, this failsafe would force the administration to severely reduce spending and lower tax cuts, thus ensuring our finances stay on track.

Overall, Obama calls for an investment into America’s future with continued spending in education, clean energy, the environment, and transportation in order to create new jobs and new opportunities.