“Eye-ball” takes on a whole new meaning…

18 Mar 2012, Posted by Ashley Mooney in News, 0 Comments

Special to The Chronicle

When it’s all about keeping your eye on the ball, having eyes as big as the ball—like giant and colossal squids—certainly does not hurt.

Now, the name of the game is different for different species. Instead of balling, these squids use their huge eyes to spot and escape their predators: sperm whales. Massive eyes allow the squid to collect more light, improving their ability to detect small contrast differences. Their super-vision stretches across “freakishly long distances” of 120 meters, said Duke biologist Sönke Johnsen in a release.

“Giant squids have watermelons for eyes,” Shikha Nayar, a sophomore with superior-sized eyes, said. “If we had eyes that big, we could see much further into the distance and have better peripheral vision—we’d be like seahorses.”

Maybe not like seahorses, but instead like the ichthyosaurs—a swimming dinosaur—according to the release. Ginormous eyes may have helped the extinct marine dinosaur detect large targets lurking in the dimness.

Using photos and captured animals, Johnsen and his team measured the eyes of the squids. They also collected data on water clarity and the amount of light where the squid live, which is usually between 300 to 1,000 meters under the sea, the release said.

The study was published Mar. 15 in Current Biology. The researchers also working on a more detailed model of the mechanics of deep sea vision, to be published later this year.

With their work, they have shown how giant and colossal squids truly redefine the word “eye-ball.”

The color of change

18 Mar 2012, Posted by Jack Mercola in News, 0 Comments

Chris Dall/The Chronicle

Flashes of yellow could be seen among the overwhelming sea of blue faces at this year’s Duke-UNC basketball game showing Duke students’ opposition to North Carolina’s controversial marriage amendment.

As the long-awaited basketball rivalry took place March 3, many Crazies took a minute to wave 1000 yellow bandanas in the air. They did this to display their distaste with Amendment One, a measure that would define marriage as exclusively between one man and one woman in the North Carolina constitution.

It would be the only recognized domestic partnership possible in the state, said junior Elena Botella, a member of Duke Together Against Constitutional Discrimination and columnist for The Chronicle. Duke Together teamed up with Durham People’s Alliance to organize this “yellow flash mob” by distributing the bandanas before the game, she added. The cloud of yellow protest was visible on ESPN after the first television time out.

“The goal was to demonstrate to the 3.5 million viewers of the game—many of whom are North Carolinians—that Duke is united in opposition to Amendment One,” Botella said.

The enthusiastic protest was effective because of its simplicity and straightforwardness, noted junior Mitu Yilma, one of the Crazies that wore and waved the bandana during the Tobacco Road rivalry.

“Simple, unified moves seem to get the most attention,” she said. “Nearly every student in the student section waved the yellow bandana…to show the huge audience watching the Duke-UNC game that Duke is not having it with this Amendment One nonsense.”

Injustices to members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community as well as to unmarried couples are why Crazies and the wider Duke community reject Amendment One, said Ubong Akpaninyie, a senior who participated in the protest.

“The rights of a minority population should never be contested in a format of a vote,” he said. “Upholding the ‘one man and one woman’ marriage as the only domestic legal union recognized in North Carolina affects more North Carolinians than just LGBT-identified people. I believe that yellow bandanas advocated this statement and showed a broad coalition of support on campus.”

Botella said some students refused bandanas because they did not care to make a political statement at the University’s most cherished sporting event.

Both Yilma and she added that they see this as a human rights issue, not a political issue.

“I think lots of Duke students believe though that opposing Amendment One isn’t about a ‘political statement,’” Botella said. “Amendment One is about the basic rights and dignity of LGBT individuals and unmarried individuals in the state of North Carolina. The UNC game was a good venue because it is a moment of unity and solidarity, and Duke Together is also about unity and solidarity.”

Update: Elena Botella is also a columnist for The Chronicle. 

Pop Culture Grid: Schork vs. Marion

16 Mar 2012, Posted by Annie Wang in News, 0 Comments

Peter Schork, DSG President, heads the prestigious governmental body for undergraduates at the University. Michael Marion, East Campus Council President, heads the student body comprised of freshmen representatives. No Dukie’s education is complete without knowing the following information about these influential individuals. 

Sophia Palenberg/The Chronicle

Soundoff: Lent

03 Mar 2012, Posted by Hong Zhu in News, 0 Comments

Tyler Seuc/The Chronicle

Lent starts with Ash Wednesday and hails in forty days of self-deprivation of something of your choice. The Chronicle’s Hong Zhu went around campus to ask people what they’ve been giving up. 

“I’m giving up meat, and it’s actually the first time I’ve done it.”

Adria Kinney, junior

“I’m not doing anything this year, but last year I gave up going out on Thursdays.”

Teddy Okechukwu, junior

“I’ve given up things up before, but only when there’s something in particular I thought would be good to give up. This year I couldn’t think of anything.”

Adam Salloum, religious life staff

“Oh, I’m not religious.”

Lauren Lee, sophomore

“It’s not a tradition that I’ve had. I’m Christian but I’m not giving up anything for Lent.”

Jason Wong, senior

“I’m a Methodist, and I go to Duke Chapel on a regular basis. This year I’m giving up froyo.”

Katherine Morrow, Junior

“I gave up Facebook. I had my friend change my password, so I can’t even access my Facebook.”

Kelsey Richards, freshman

“I’m not participating, I’m kind of against it, actually. I don’t think you should wait for a specific time to change something in your life.”

Andrew Bean, senior

“I’m more trying to do things differently than giving something up. I’m trying to get at least six hours of sleep a day.”

Maria Romano, sophomore

“I’m giving up Youtube. It’s saved a lot of time.”

Alex Gutierrez, Freshman
“I gave up cussing, so I’m trying not to use any curse words.”

Kensley Elliott, sophomore

“I’m not biting my nails. I do it every year, and it lasts until football season, when I start biting them again.”

Spencer Rogers, Sophomore

“That’s a good question, I haven’t thought about it yet.”

Justine Sinnaeve, Junior

Gourmet dorm food?

28 Feb 2012, Posted by Ashley Mooney in News, 0 Comments

Tori Powers/The Chronicle

Duke students are not known to champion their dining options.

But, as the innovators of tomorrow, they obviously don’t just accept the status quo. Students find alternative sources of food in their own dorms and apartments.

A few years ago, one Duke student opened a restaurant… in his Central Campus apartment.

In 2006, Bryan Zupon—who was then a junior—started his own gourmet “New Southern” restaurant in his room, according to an article from the New York Times. With the help of his parents, Zupon stocked up on the latest kitchen gear and set up shop.

His three-hour meals consisted of six drool-worthy courses—including “candied olive crumble with fish, braised short ribs with scallops… ‘fierce, barnyardy’ robiola cheese with fizzy carbonated grapes and chai ice cream with miso-sesame chocolate and powdered peach and pineapple,” the article said.

Within a month of opening, Zupon was booked almost every week for the following two semesters, garnering the interest of the Triangle food scene and foodies across the East Coast.

Zupon, who graduated in 2008, took his restaurant with him, but other students on campus similarly make the best of their amenities.

Sophomore Yavuz Acikalin said he cooks a few times each week in his apartment.

“I obviously don’t have the time to cook every meal, but if I have the time and the energy, I prefer eating my own food,” he said. “I find it way easier to cook on Central. The simple feeling of ‘being home’ is a big source of motivation for me to cook, and it’s also much more convenient for having dinner parties and cooking for your friends.”

Communal kitchens have limited equipment, making Central more attractive to those who love to cook. Finding the proper ingredients on campus, however, is not an easy task, Acikalin said.

“I do most of my shopping at Whole Foods, Target, or Walmart. There definitely isn’t enough access to ingredients one would need to cook a decent meal on campus, so I don’t really visit on-campus stores very often.”

As far as what Acikalin cooks: poached salmon with tzatziki sauce, beer-simmered bratwurst with sweet onions, manti—Turkish ravioli—and grilled cheese-stuffed meatballs.

“I love preparing breakfast, and I think I enjoy experimenting with eggs the most, so I guess my favorite is improvising with eggs and whatever else I can find in the fridge on a Saturday morning.

“Central Campus resident Andrew Murray, a sophomore, also cooks gourmet meals, although he said he would not consider opening a restaurant.