Duke pride, even at the North Pole

14 Nov 2011, Posted by Gloria Lloyd in News, 0 Comments

Special to The Chronicle

Nicolas Cassar, assistant professor of earth and ocean sciences, teaches courses in the Nicholas School of the Environment. From August to October of this year, Cassar’s research on carbon in the Arctic water, ice and air took him to the upper reaches of the Earth, including the North Pole, on the scientific icebreaker the R/V PolarStern.

Cassar was invited on the three-month scientific expedition, which was led by the Alfred Wegener Institute of Germany. The PolarStern left Norway in early August and reached the North Pole on approximately August 22.

“It’s such an amazing place,” Cassar said. “Unless you looked at your GPS, you wouldn’ t know that you were at the North Pole. The ice at the surface is very different even a day later.”

Although tagged polar bears have been tracked as far north as the North Pole, Cassar and his fellow Arctic researchers saw no signs of life that far north.

“As we got further into the ice, there were no birds,” Cassar said. “Above the ice, it was just pure white.”

Unlike the South Pole, there is no stationary North Pole with land that a person can stand on—instead, the North Pole consists entirely of constantly shifting ice and water.

Cassar, who is French, was one of a select few scientists from American universities to be invited aboard the ship—out of around 55 scientists.  Most of the PolarStern scientists were Europeans affiliated with the Wegener Institute, from Germany, Russia or Sweden. The scientists on board spanned the sciences, from biologists, geologists and chemists to physical oceanographers and ice physicists.

“The sea ice is retreating, and we’re trying to understand how that impacts the carbon exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere,” Cassar said. “We are studying how carbon fluxes are responding to the drastic change in the environment.”

The Duke researcher analyzes the effect of increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere on global climate change by studying the movement of carbon in the environment, from the ocean to the atmosphere (and eventually to plant and animal life).

The website for the the R/V Polarstern calls the ship a “large-scale floating laboratory” and “the most important tool in Germany’s polar research program.” The most recent trip was the ship’s third voyage to the North Pole.

Each of the ship’s scientists worked on their individual research in laboratories on the icebreaker.

From the PolarStern, Cassar would take a helicopter to five remote ice floes to drill into the Arctic ice with a corer. He took the samples back to his floating lab and analyzed their contents—the biogenic gases within the ice, as well as the plankton in and under the ice.

While Cassar was taking the samples, the helicopter would stay running in case the ice shifted or a polar bear happened upon the research.

Cassar also continuously pumped water from beneath the ship into the lab to analyze ocean gases as the ship was sailing.

“You work from the time you wake up in the morning to very late at night,” Cassar said. “It costs something like $60,000 a day to be on the water, so you want to maximize the number of working hours.”

With no commute or real-world distractions such as email to deal with, life on the polar icebreaker for Cassar consisted of science all the time, which was made easier due to the round-the-clock daylight.

“There was some darkness toward the end of the cruise,” Cassar said. “We saw some beautiful northern lights.”

Cassar has been at Duke for the past two years after getting his doctorate at the University of Hawaii and conducting his postdoc research at Princeton.

“It’s great that my work takes me to these very pristine environments, like Hawaii and the Arctic,” Cassar noted.

The research team in Cassar’s laboratory at Duke focuses on the Arctic during the summer and the Southern Ocean that surrounds Antarctica during the austral summer.

A research analyst from Cassar’s lab, Bruce Barnett, is heading to Antarctica this January to continue the field research.

And yes, he’s taking the same Duke flag with him to Antarctica.

Politics roundup: Ohio elections and GOP primary

14 Nov 2011, Posted by Walker Schiff in News, Politics Roundup, 0 Comments

Sophia Palenberg/The Chronicle

SB5 fails in Ohio

This past Tuesday, voters across the country cast their ballots for various elections and issues at the state and local level. Perhaps the biggest news from this election cycle was Ohio voters’ emphatic rejection of an anti-union bill commonly known as SB 5.

SB 5 was controversially passed in late March of this year by the Republican-controlled legislature and signed into law shortly after by Republican Governor Jon Kasich.

Similar to the anti-union legislation passed in Wisconsin earlier this year that led huge protests in Madison and recall elections, SB 5 is designed to limit the rights of unions of public workers. It prohibits public workers from striking and limits their ability to collectively bargain.

Within a week of SB 5 being signed into law, opponents to the bill began gathering signatures in order to have a referendum of the bill on the ballot this November. In late June, opponents of SB 5 submitted almost 1.3 million signatures to the Ohio Secretary of State, Jon Husted, well over the total needed to get the referendum on the ballot. A month later, the signatures were verified and Husted certified the referendum.

The bill was voted on this past Tuesday and SB 5 was defeated by a resounding 22 points. Pre-election polls showed that the bill was heading towards a big defeat, but that doesn’t undermine the significance of the demise of SB 5.

This referendum shows that Ohio, which is almost always a key swing state in presidential election, appears to being shifting back towards the Democratic Party after voting very Republican in 2010. Kasich has seen his disapproval rating hover around 50 percent since March. Also, poll numbers coming out of Ohio after SB 5 was rejected show President Obama with comfortable leads over all possible GOP candidates.

SB 5 may have always been destined to fail, but that inevitable failure is very good news for Obama and the Democrats.

GOP Presidential Race Still Evolving

Although many would have expected Mitt Romney to be far ahead of all other challengers in the polls by now, he isn’t. Herman Cain is still leading in most polls, but he slowly dropping. Mitt Romney continues to be near the top of most GOP primary polls, though Newt Gingrich has enjoyed a slight bump in poll numbers, presumably due to Herman Cain’s recent scandal. Many pollsters and analysts have predicted that Gingrich will take over the frontrunner spot from Cain and jump past Romney in the process.

Also, there were two debates this week and Perry took this opportunity to cement his place as worst debater in the GOP field. It wasn’t pretty.

Devil delivery

13 Nov 2011, Posted by Ashley Mooney in Dining, News, 0 Comments

Sophia Palenberg/The Chronicle

It’s been said that after a while, food on campus gets a bit old. So, college students broaden their food-consumption horizons.

Approximately 27 percent of total student food points are spend with Merchants on Points vendors, Rick Johnson, assistant vice president for housing and dining, wrote in an email Thursday.

MOP allows students to spend meal plan dollars—food points—off campus through delivery services. Johnson noted that MOP is a more flexible program than at many other universities across the nation, which allow only general or all campus card points—the equivalent of Duke’s Flex points—to be used off campus.

To become involved with Merchants on Points, a vendor first must express interest to Duke Dining Services. Dining services then facilitates a presentation to the Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee, Johnson said, adding that if DUSDAC recommends their inclusion, the vendor will then sign a contract for MOP.

Currently, the Food Factory and Grace’s Café—both on central—are the only two on-campus locations that also provide delivery services. The Food Factory began delivery in early October, according to The Chronicle, and Grace’s Café is one of the most profitable MOP vendors.

“Each delivery vendor calculates their own profit or loss,” Johnson said. “[On Wednesday] Jimmy John’s and Grace’s were the two leaders in popularity by quite a margin over the next group of vendors.”

The most popular hours for delivery are evening hours between 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., Johnson said.

There are few things in life more convenient than service to your door. For college students, there are few commodities more valuable than food.

It’s Movember at Duke

12 Nov 2011, Posted by Ibe Alozie in News, 0 Comments

Sophia Palenberg/The Chronicle

Around this time every year, Duke students spurn the razor in favor of facial hair—for better or worse.

What began in Australia as a novel method of raising money for charity has become a tradition for college students around the United States. For Freshman Matt Darlow Movember is a new and exciting experience.

“It’s for a good cause, and it gives me an excuse to be lazy,” he exclaimed.

But others have been more staid in their response to the tradition. Freshman Grant Petersen showed some uncertainty about the disconnect from the true tradition of no-shave November. Sophomore George Fan stated that even though it’s for a good cause, he has never participated.

“Some people look good with facial hair. Some do not. If you do, go for it,” Fan continued.

Graduate student Mike Lehman agreed with Fan, but added that the concept of No-Shave November is definitely a bigger thing at Duke than at other similar-tiered schools.

“It is entering a bit of a renaissance at Duke.”

Senior John Mekjian acknowledges that it is for a great cause, but does not see it as big at Duke. “I see why people do it, and it is for a good cause. But it is definitely bigger on the West Coast than Duke.”

The noble cause that it was created for has not been forgotten by Duke students. Sigma Chi has joined with the Movember Foundation to raise awareness for prostate cancer and other male-related diseases. Zac Silber and other brothers of Sigma Chi have devoted November to raising money for the Movember Foundation.

“Last year, Movember raised $150 million worldwide through its November fundraiser,” Silber said.

He added that most of the brothers of Sigma Chi are also participating in the No-Shave November aspect of the fundraiser, and are happy to see others join especially if it raises awareness.”

Digging into Durham: the James Joyce

12 Nov 2011, Posted by Ibe Alozie in Digging into Durham, News, 0 Comments

Chase Olivieri/The Chronicle

When looking for a slightly classier night-time venue than Shooters, some Dukies opt to frequent the James Joyce.

One of the best restaurants in Durham, the James Joyce is aptly named after arguably one of the best Irish writers in history. Situated a short walk away from the walls of East Campus and within seconds of Shooters, the James Joyce provides a quick get-away from the Southern cuisine of Brightleaf and the tiresome, American cuisine of Duke.

According to the James Joyce website, Owner Fergus Bradley came to the United States from the small town Ennis, in County Clare, Ireland. After a brief stay in Boston, Bradley came to Durham, and set up an Irish pub.

Adele Williams, co-manager of the James Joyce, recounted the history of the James Joyce.

“As you can tell, this is the original James Joyce,” she said. “It was just a bar, and the restaurant came along later. The street signs from Ireland and Joyce family pictures attest to the authentic Irish roots of the James Joyce.”

Much like many restaurants in Brightleaf, the James Joyce has outdoor seating with heaters, which makes eating outside a viable option in any temperature.

But it is inside that the real James Joyce experience begins.

Candlelit tables are set up around the bar, which has about 10 stools under it. Posters of different types of Irish brews and Irish street signs are only interrupted by televisions, mounted on the walls. Almost immediately upon choosing your seat, a waiter or waitress (rarely holding a pen or pad) comes by to take your order.

The menu features American staples like salads, grilled cheese sandwiches and hot wings, but the Irish cuisine of meat and potatoes prevails. Delicious options like Irish smoked salmon, clam chowder, sirloin tips with mashed potatoes, shepherd’s pie and fish and chips highlight the distinctly Irish menu.

The great food and experience has not been lost on one portion of the Duke population however. The spot has become a favorite of graduate students according to Williams.

“About 85 percent of the Duke students we get here are graduate students,” he said. “Lots of graduate students.”

On Fridays and Saturdays the James Joyce features live music at 10 PM. Directed towards college students bored of the club scene, the pub features Tuesday night Trivia at 9:30 p.m., which generally gathers a crowd, Williams said. Friday nights also boast All You Can Eat Fish&Chips from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.—an ever-appealing concept to the starving college student. Finally, one of the pub’s most popular features is its Sunday night Open Mic Night starting at 9 p.m.