Politics roundup: Santorum and contraception

13 Feb 2012, Posted by Walker Schiff in News, Politics Roundup, 0 Comments

Santorum Sweep

This past Tuesday, Rick Santorum won the Colorado and Minnesota caucuses as well as the “beauty contest” primary in Missouri that did not count for delegates due to caucuses that will be held by the state’s Republican Party on March 17^th. Tuesday was Santorum’s day in the spotlights as he convincingly won his first three states since his slim Iowa caucus victory at the beginning of the primary season. In Minnesota and Missouri, Santorum didn’t give up a single county, winning by double-digits over the 2^nd-place finisher in each state.

Mitt Romney, who won Minnesota and Colorado in 2008, was five points behind Santorum in Colorado and finished a distant third in Minnesota behind 2^nd-place finisher Ron Paul. This outcome surely came as an unpleasant surprise to a Romney campaign that had just won a pivotal Florida primary. The week wasn’t totally lost for Romney though. He squeaked ahead on Ron Paul in the Maine caucus on Saturday and took home a straw poll victory at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

Newt Gingrich, who very recently was considered Romney’s strongest challenger, had a horrible week. A 3^rd-place finish in Colorado and a 4^th-place finish in Minnesota have helped everyone forget the momentum he once had following his South Carolina primary win. Perhaps an even more ominous sign that his campaign has lost all traction and is now in free fall is that fact that his presence at CPAC this past weekend was almost totally ignored by conservative activists and the media. His 3^rd-place finish in the CPAC straw-poll is also now a good sign.

GOP and Obama Administration Fight Over Contraception

If you have been following the news over the last couple weeks, you probably have noticed the uproar from conservatives and Catholics over a provision in the Affordable Care Act that says employer-based health care plans must cover contraceptive services without copays. The regulation was finalized by Health and Human Services a few weeks ago.

When the regulation was finalized, it was revealed that places of worship that employ people who share the institution’s view on contraception would be exempt from the provision. Having said that, some religious nonprofits wouldn’t be exempt because not everyone they employ has the same beliefs. Because some religious institutions would be forced to provide their employees contraception, the issue of birth control has been thrust back onto the national stage and politicians have spent the last two weeks politically maneuvering to safer ground on the issue being that it is an election.

First, pro-life Republicans attacked the Obama administration on the issue, seeing the provision as both a violation of these religious institution’s pro-life, anti-contraception beliefs and their freedom to choose their own health care. These attacks caused a backlash from pro-choice Republicans that were worried about how a heavily publicized birth control battle would affect their popularity.

Then, on Friday, President Barack Obama announced a compromise that would no longer force the institutions in question to provide birth control to employees but would force insurers to offer free contraception coverage if requested. Although some members of Congress may have been breathing a sigh of relief after the compromise was announced under the false belief that this contraception battle was over, high-ranking Republican members were plotting to take this battle even farther.

On Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced that Republicans plan to move forward with legislation that would allow any employer to deny contraception coverage despite Obama’s compromise. It looks, at least for right now, that birth control will be the hot issue for the near future.

This Week in Irony: competitively spirited

11 Feb 2012, Posted by Hong Zhu in News, 0 Comments

Special to The Chronicle

The day after Duke’s too-awesome-for-adjectives win over UNC, Carolina fans were hardly the only ones hurting. Through stories, I’ve heard about various mob-related injuries and dramatic tales of people thinking they’d meet death by stampede.

Somewhere along the sprint from the main quad—the first major scene of West Campus celebrations—to Cameron—where droves of students swarmed in anticipation of the return of the team bus, it occurred to me that this was no ordinary expression of school spirit. When the mob arrived at the scene behind Cameron, shoves were thrown left and right as people struggled to get the best view. When the players arrived, the crowd descended upon them with such fervor that I got lifted and moved by the throng of bodies. Far from being a simple celebration, this was a competition of the dog-eat-dog, survival-of-the-fittest variety.

At its core, Duke pride is about asserting Duke’s dominance over other schools. At Duke, this external competitiveness has been ironically become an internal one as well. In other words, we are competitive about being competitive (or, by another name, spirited).

A similar observation can be made about the Duke Memes phenomenon that erupted on Facebook this week. Although it’s not clear exactly how the memes page attained such an astronomical degree of popularity, I feel it’s fair to say that the answer, at least in part, has to deal with school spirit. We enjoy pointing out the things that only a Duke would understand—the stuff of a distinctive community.

The page not only exploded with memes, but also with commentary and criticism about the supposed improper usage of memes. People took it upon themselves to judge what memes they did or did not like (often being especially vocal about the latter type). Again, we were competitive about being spirited (a type of external competition).

Perhaps this is sort of healthy competition is a fluke we happened to see twice this week. Or, maybe it’s just part of the Duke culture. Regardless, I (personally, at least) wouldn’t have it any other way.

This Week In Chronicle History: President visits Duke and RA troubles

11 Feb 2012, Posted by Andrew Luo in News, 0 Comments

February seems to be a good month for Dukies. Aside from beating UNC and finding out the LDOC lineup, fifteen years ago, a special guest visited the University.

Andrew Luo/The Chronicle

According to front page article of The Chronicle from Feb. 4, 1988, President Ronald Reagan visited Duke exclusively to speak at a conference about substance abuse. The conference, “Substance Abuse in the Workplace: Strategies for the 1990s,” was sponsored by Duke and the office of former North Carolina Governor Jim Martin. Reagan was invited to the event by former University President Keith Brodie and Governor Martin.

On the day of the conference, the President landed in Durham along with his five-helicopter entourage on the lacrosse field at the corner of N.C. Highway 751, and made a brief statement to students, faculty and staff before proceeding to Cameron Stadium for his speech.

According to the article, Reagan also held a closed meeting at Cameron with several community leaders affiliated with the substance abuse issue to get a “hands on feel for the issue.”Preparations for Reagan’s speech began five weeks prior, and the conference also featured a keynote address by former U.S. Secretary of Labor Ann McLaughlin and a panel discussion moderated by Malcolm Gillis, former dean of the Graduate School and vice provost for academic affairs.

Andrew Luo/The Chronicle

In another article published on Feb. 9 1987, a resident advisor dropped charges against a freshman because he felt pressured by University officials to let the Undergraduate Judicial Board handle the case. Trinity freshman Peter Guthrie had allegedly kicked Aycock RA Kenneth Page in the leg and groin, and Page pressed charges. According to an anonymous source, Leslie Marsicano, former assistant dean for residential life who supervises RAs, encouraged Page to drop charges against Guthrie. Marsicano led Page to believe that University officials wanted to handle to case in the UJBB and not he district court, where a conviction would have gone on the student’s permanent criminal record. Following discourse, Guthrie was expected to receive a full suspension and required him to serve hours of community service.

Hear those bells?

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

Melissa Yeo/The Chronicle

The Duke Carillon can be heard around campus, chiming every day from its home in the tower of the Duke Chapel.

Each weekday at 5:00 p.m. and after worship services on Sundays, the carillonneur plays the 50 bells, according to the Duke Chapel website. Although most carillons today are electrical, the Duke carillion is played entirely by hand.

“The Duke carillon is completely mechanical, played from a clavier of wooden batons and pedals,” University Carillonneur J. Samuel Hammond wrote in an email Thursday.

Hammond plays the carillon from a keyboard in a small cabin under the bells, according to the website. He begins each recital by playing the largest bell—weighing 11,200 pounds and measuring 6 feet, 9 inches in diameter.

The carillon features occasion-specific recitals. Each Friday, however, the bells play the Duke Alma Mater—“Dear Old Duke”—in a tradition started during Terry Sanfords reign as University President, the website said.

“In choosing music, I try to follow the academic, civic and religious calendars—including holidays—as well as public announcements for occasions, which might be suitably observed from the carillon,” Hammond said.

Duke to release recipe book

10 Feb 2012, Posted by Minshu Deng in News, 1 Comments

Sophia Palenberg/The Chronicle

Everyone loves food, whether they like to admit it or not. At Duke, some of us are so into food that we take classes that are focused on food-related issues, take the inaugural University Course and Charles Thompson’s Politics of Food course, both of which have seen widespread demand and popularity during class registration.

Sometimes I wish there were actually culinary classes here where I could just cook and eat afterward…but I guess I didn’t come to Duke to take cooking classes. No worries though, because Duke is providing some other outlets for those of us who love to eat and appreciate cooking.

Being as globally oriented as we are, Duke is now looking to bring an international perspective on food and cooking.

LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke’s employee wellness program, is calling all Duke staff and faculty (Sorry, no students, but hey, I’m more than happy to settle for taste testing for now.) to submit their favorite recipes that come from all around the world, the best of which will be included in a recipe book, titled “Local Foods, Global Flavors”, that will be out just in time for the Duke Farmers’ Market, which opens April 27.

LIVE FOR LIFE will select nine recipes, one for each month starting in April and ending in December. Each month’s recipe should include a key seasonal ingredient, with the breakdown as follows:

• April – leafy greens
• May – berries
• June – peppers
• July – blueberries
• August – tomatoes
• September – squash
• October – pumpkin
• November – sweet potato
• December - cruciferous vegetable (bok choy, arugula, cauliflower, kale, etc.)

For more information on the Duke Farmers’ Market, check out their website here. Considering how poorly we all might be treating our bodies on LDOC on April 25, some nice, seasonal produce during reading period could only do our health and wellbeing some good.