The ChronicleThe independenT daily aT duke universiTy

FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2011 ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTH YEAR, ISSUE 76www.dukechronicle.com

DGHI partners with ABC News for new

TV series, Page 4

DUMC patient death caused by poisoning, Page 3

onTherecord“Neighborhood revitalization is one area I would like to

continue to work on.” —Durham Mayor Bill Bell on running for re-election. See story page 3

New software will replace Blackboard

addison corriher/The chronicle

K-ville line monitors hosted a special event Thursday night for students participating in black tent-ing. Tenters battled on inflatables and enjoyed food from OnlyBurger.

Fight me Dept. of Ed postpones interviews

Lauren CarrollTHE CHRONICLE

Bye-bye Blackboard. Sakai Collaboration and Learning

Environment will replace Blackboard Academic Suite Version 8 as the Uni-versity’s new eLearning software, an-nounced the eLearning Roadmap Com-mittee at the Arts and Sciences Council meeting Thursday. The University has used Blackboard Academic Suite for the past three years, the committee said, adding that they expect the transition to be completed by July 2012.

In their presentation to the Council, the committee cited the many benefits of Sakai, which include cost efficiency, simpler file uploading and potential mobile device and iPad capabilities.

“Sakai’s open-source application frame-work will be more flexible in meeting Duke’s evolving needs,” said Ed Gomes, senior associate dean of Trinity College Technology Services and chair of the eL-earning Roadmap Committee. “It can be more cost effectively extended to support Duke’s global programs.”

The eLearning Roadmap Committee is composed of various members of tech-nical offices throughout the University and has been researching alternative eL-earning software options for the last year. The Committee noted that the transition from Blackboard to Sakai will present some challenges such as financial risk, legal concerns associated with external hosting of the system and the need for faculty training.

“Some faculty may find that there are limitations to [Sakai],” said Tracy Futhey, vice president for Information Technology and chief information officer. “But we can actually augment the software in ways we can’t with Blackboard.”

The committee launched a pilot pro-gram of Sakai at the start of the Spring semester. The pilot program is for 11 courses with an approximate total of 400 students, varying between seminar-sized courses and large lectures, Gomes said. He added that the Committee plans to ask the Information Technology Advisory Council and various student and faculty governing bodies—such as Duke Student Govern-ment and the Arts and Sciences Council—for feedback and support throughout the transition process.

Faculty members—particularly those with multi-section classes—have already expressed positive feedback, said Amy

by Sanette TanakaTHE CHRONICLE

In a continuing investigation of civil rights complaints filed against Duke last Fall, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights postponed indefi-nitely a series of group interviews with se-lect students.

Originally scheduled for Jan. 12, the eight group interviews would have been facilitated by members of OCR as part of a routine investigation, Chris Heltne, direc-tor of communications for Student Affairs, wrote in an e-mail.

The group sessions come in light of two cases alleging that the University discrimi-nates on the basis of sex and race filed Sept. 13 and Oct. 13. At the time of the filings, the complaints were made by seniors Justin Robinette and Cliff Satell. Robinette, how-ever, graduated early and said he is work-ing in Philadelphia.

Heltne declined to comment on the specifics of how students were chosen to take part in the interviews, including how many students were initially chosen. Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta and Stephen Bryan, associate dean of students and director of the

Duke game to be broadcast in Chineseby Patricia Lee

THE CHRONICLE

Tomorrow’s home basketball game will feature something never done before at Duke or any other NCAA school.

When Duke and Virginia tip off in Cameron Indoor Stadium at 2 p.m. Sat-urday, Duke will broadcast the game in Mandarin Chinese. The free broad-cast—the first of its kind —will be avail-able live and on demand at GoDuke.com Inside Access. ESPN has also agreed to feature the broadcast on their showing of the game.

“This is an experiment, and we thought we’d give it a shot because there’s a small but obviously growing number of Duke alumni in China, but more importantly, the University has a strong interest in raising its visibility in China,” said Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and gov-ernment relations. “Basketball is very popular in China... so this is a unique opportunity to present something that is widely known and widely followed in

the U.S. in a different language for a Chinese audience.”

Jon Jackson, associate director of athletics for university and public af-fairs, said it is difficult to target view-ers in China given the time difference. Since the game is on at 3 a.m. China Standard Time, the University hopes that many of the broadcast’s viewers will be members of the Duke commu-nity who speak Chinese.

“Because of the time difference, I don’t think we’ll get a lot of folks up at 3 a.m. to watch the broadcast, but it is on demand after,” Jackson said. “I think you’re look-ing at mainly Chinese-speaking Ameri-cans, but hopefully we’ll get some folks to watch it after.”

Three Duke undergraduate stu-dents— senior Jesse Sun and juniors Yunze Chen and John Sheng—were chosen for broadcasting duties based on their involvement with the International House and the Office of Global Commu-

SEE council ON PAGE 5 SEE broadcast ON PAGE 5

SEE interviews ON PAGE 6

Toni wei/The chronicle

For the first time ever, a Duke basketball game will be broadcast in Chinese. Saturday’s game against Virginia will be televised in Mandarin.

2 | FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2011 The ChRoNICle

“ ”

worldandnation TodaY:

4119

saTUrdaY:

4824

UniTed naTions — dear foreign dip-lomats, U.s. banks might not want your business.

on March 31, J.P. Morgan chase plans to shut down its division serving the banking needs of new York- and wash-ington-based diplomats as well as for-eign governments. in a terse letter, chase recently wrote that “we recommend that you open a bank account with another financial institution, and begin using it immediately in order to minimize any disruption.”

The move by chase — which came without explanation — marks the latest instance in which an american financial institution has cut off services to a foreign mission. in november, Bank of america cut off five accounts held by the ango-lan embassy in washington, and several other banks have told U.s. officials they plan to get out of diplomatic banking.

washinGTon, d.c. — Boeing’s new computer system for battlefield commu-nications within the army’s combat bri-gades has demonstrated “high cost, poor reliability and performance,” according to lawmakers.

The Boeing system “has yet to dem-onstrate desired performance levels in testing, has very large power, space and cooling requirements and is projected to cost $450,000 each,” said a statement by the house and senate armed services committees. There would be 81 systems per brigade.

combined with the army’s new Joint Tactical radio, the network integration Kit costs $970,000 per vehicle. That “may be unaffordable to procure and deploy” to the army’s 45 active duty brigades, ac-cording to the statement accompanying the fiscal 2011 defense authorization bill spelling out policy.

New Boeing army computer system costly, unreliable

Lebanese president rebuilding government

Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious.

— Peter Ustinov

niGel Goddard/The washinGTon PosT

A pack of bloodhounds run in front of a team of riders and huntsman Nic Wheeler, the joint master of the Coakham Hunt in Iden, England. The hounds are trained to find humans; Coakham members have been “hunting men for fun.” The Hunting Act of 2005 made it illegal to use dogs to hunt foxes and some other mammals, but it does not apply to the Coakham Hunt’s quarry—men.

“in then end, singler’s clutch shooting couldn’t save a duke squad that shot poorly from the field and had no offense in the paint. duke has been handed their first loss of the season by a ferocious and athletic FsU squad. The Blue devils came out flat and weren’t shooting well from the field, and their usually impenetrable defense was overshadowed by a career performance from derwin Kitchen. ”

— From The Chronicle’s Sports Blogsports.chronicleblogs.com

Live For Life HealthCheckallen 103a, 10a.m.-4p.m.

Spend 30 minutes with a LIVE FOR LIFE nurse and discover your positive health habits, and devel-op strategies to change the bad.

Life and Thought of Martin Luther King Jr.

webcast, 12-1p.m. To ask Professor Richard Lischer question, email live@duke.edu or

tweet #dukelive.

“Freedom Riders” nasher Museum, 6-9p.m.

A film about the Freedom Riders, civil rights activists who chal-lenged segregation in interstate

transport in the South in 1961.

Chase ends bank services for foreign diplomats

onschedule...

onthe web

TODAY IN HISTORY1882: First country club in U.S.

established.offthe wire...

The ChRoNICle FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2011 | 3

Incumbent Bell seeks sixth term as mayor of Durham

by Yeshwanth KandimallaTHE CHRONICLE

Durham Mayor Bill Bell, incumbent since 2001, will run for a sixth term this year.

Although the official filing period for mayoral candidates is not until July 1 to July 15, can-didates such as Bell may campaign and raise funds earlier, said Mike Ashe, director of the Board of Elections.

Bell said he will kick off his campaign once he files the paperwork with the Board of Elec-

tions, which he plans to do in the upcom-ing months.

The mayor has a positive outlook for Durham as he seeks his sixth term. Bell, who has served in city government in various ca-pacities since the 1970’s, hopes to oversee the continued revitalization of downtown Durham and the city’s neighborhoods.

“The city has been on a positive path,” Bell said. “Neighborhood revitalization is one area I would like to continue to work on.”

Bell was elected by substanial margins in recent elections. In 2009, he won 77 per-cent of the vote compared to his opponent Steven Williams’s 22 percent.

If Bell, a Democrat, wins re-election and serves a sixth term, he would join E.J. “Mutt” Evans as the longest-serving mayor in Durham history. Evans served as mayor

of Durham between 1951 to 1963.In upcoming years, Bell said he expects

the economic recovery to increase city rev-enues and allow officials to continue city improvements.

“There are budget priorities, such as public safety and other core responsibili-ties of the city government,” he said. “With an increase in revenue, we could look at ad-ditional improvements in housing or parks and recreation facilities.”

He cited Duke as a “key partner” in downtown revitalization efforts, noting that Duke’s Division of Community Health contributed to the creation of the Walltown Neighborhood Clinic and the Holton Well-ness Center, both primary care facilities.

Phail Wynn, Duke’s vice president for Durham and regional affairs, said he “wel-comed” Bell’s candidacy in the upcoming election, describing him as a “very com-mitted partner” in collaborating with the University.

“He’s been working with us on eco-nomic development issues and revitaliza-tion, which has had a major impact on the neighborhoods,” Wynn said.

Bell contributed to the creation of the Bull City Connector, the bus route estab-lished last August that links Durham and Duke, Wynn noted.

Wynn also praised Bell for his work to help Duke receive approval for the pro-posed construction of new facilities on campus.

from Staff ReportsTHE CHRONICLE

An autopsy released during winter break revealed that a woman who died at Duke University Medical Center was poisoned by a pain reliever and common antihistamine.

The autopsy determined that Cheryl Suber, 30, died from an overdose of oxy-codone and diphenhydramine, an allergy medicine and sleep aid sold under the brand name Benadryl, The (Raleigh) News & Observer reported.

Suber was found unconscious in her hospital bed Oct. 5 and succumbed to cardiac arrest despite resuscitation at-tempts made by medical staff. The Duke University Police Department is investi-gating her death as a possible homicide.

Hospital staff found two suspicious sy-ringes in Suber’s bed that were labeled “sa-line” but contained a pink, opaque liquid.

According to a search warrant issued by the DUPD, “No one recognized what was in the syringe, but everyone felt that it was not a medication used on the unit.”

Suber was visited in her room on the day of her death by her boyfriend, David Bass, according to an affidavit filed as part of the search warrant. In an interview with police, Bass said he realized something was amiss and immediately notified Kimberly Turnage, a nurse who was working in the hallway. Tur-nage found Suber unconscious and without a pulse before activating a Code Blue alert and performing chest compressions.

A staff member said Bass entered Suber’s

room 10 to 20 minutes before the Code Blue alarms went off, according to the affidavit.

“We can say that this appears to have been an isolated case and that no medical per-sonnel were involved except in responding appropriately to the situation,” said DUPD Chief John Dailey in an October statement.

The criminal investigation was prompt-ed by the concerns of Dr. Daniel Kaplan, an attending physician who was suspi-cious of the circumstances surrounding her death, according to the affidavit. No charges have been filed at this time.

Suber was frequently hospitalized be-cause she had sickle-cell anemia but was not thought to be in life-threatening condition on the day she died. She left behind her parents, three siblings and a grandmother, the N&O reported.

“She’s no longer with us, and we don’t know why,” said Kevin Suber, her uncle, in a prepared statement released in Octo-ber reported by the N&O.

Autopsy shows poisoning as cause of DUMC death

Bill Bell

lawson KUrTz/chronicle File PhoTo

A recent Duke Hospital death was caused by a lethal combination of oxycodone and Benadryl. SEE bell ON PAGE 6

4 | FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2011 The ChRoNICle

Profs look for more compromises in Congressby Alex Zempolich

THE CHRONICLE

Championing a new bipartisan ap-proach, President Barack Obama and the

lame-duck 111th Con-gress enjoyed a pro-lific December, though questions remain as to how long this produc-tive spirit can last.

A harsh political reality dictated a new approach for the president and his party after losing the House and their super-ma-jority in the Senate. Their subsequent path was one of compromise, preferring passable bills with numerous concessions. Although Obama alienated some Democrats, others

found the results impressive—the extension of the Bush tax cuts, the New Start Treaty, the 9/11 health bill, the “don’t ask, don’t tell” repeal and new federal funding mea-sures were all bills passed more peacefully than would have been expected after the “shellacking” Obama called the midterms.

“[Obama] has always shown a procliv-ity to compromise, but now it’s a neces-sity. You will see him try to incorporate and preempt Republican ideas that still fit into his own progressive frame,” said Pope McCorkle, a visiting associate professor of practice at the Sanford School of Public Policy and a former Democratic analyst. Although, McCorkle added, he will have to “widen his frame and make some com-

promises concerning himself.”The concessions included an extension

Bush tax cuts for all incomes and a de-creased estate tax, which lapsed for 2010 but is back with an exemption of $1 mil-lion per person and a maximum rate of 55 percent. Many Democrats in the House were outraged by the concessions and Obama’s hand in shaping them behind closed doors. But ultimately Republican consent to the administration’s demands for a 13-month extension of benefits for the long-term unemployed and both par-ties’ unwillingness to allow the full spec-trum of Bush-era tax cuts to expire at the end of the month proved strong incen-tives for compromise in the House. The

deal, however, only adds to the national debt and leaves the question of how to eventually decrease it unanswered.

Although Obama made several com-promises, he was unwilling to compro-mise over the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and the New Start Treaty, which continued U.S.-Russian arms reduction efforts.

Refusing to back down and suffer what aides called a “huge loss,” Obama decided to take a gamble and demand that the Senate approve the treaty by the end of the year. The result was the largest battle over arms control in a decade in Washington as Obama worked with No-bel Peace Prize winner Henry Kissinger, who served as secretary of state in the Nixon and Ford administrations, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to pass the treaty that would cut both arse-nals by 30 percent and require both na-

ABC partners with GHI for new TV series

by Michael ShammasTHE CHRONICLE

ABC News and the Duke Global Health Institute have established a part-nership to create a year-long television series covering health issues around the world.

“Be the Change: Save a Life” premiered Dec. 17 on a special edition of “20/20.” The series will focus on the challenges that face various people in need of health care in nine of the world’s poorest countries. In addition to providing research analy-sis and statistics for the television series, DGHI will also contribute to the series’s website. The partnership will extend over the rest of the year.

“The DGHI and Duke are very excited about this unprecedented opportunity to influence and support this initiative,” Geelea Seaford, DGHI assistant director for communication, wrote in an e-mail. “The commitment of ABC News to un-dertake this year-long global health se-ries is to be commended, and we hope will ultimately have tangible results that improve access to health and health care around the world.”

The initiative will be led by “World News” anchor Diane Sawyer and Dr. Rich-ard Besser, ABC News’s chief health and medical editor. The series is supported by a

SEE abc news ON PAGE 6SEE congress ON PAGE 6

news analysis

The ChRoNICle FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2011 | 5

Campbell, assistant director of the Center for Instructional Technology.

“A lot said they had an ‘a-ha’ moment, but after that it was great,” she said.

The pilot program will be externally hosted by the University of North Caroli-na, which has been using the software for three years, said Samantha Earp, director of academic services for the Office of Infor-mation Technology. Earp added that many other universities nationwide have made a similar transition.

in other business:A South Asian Studies certificate pro-

gram was proposed to the council by Keith Whitfield, professor of psychology and neuroscience and chair of the Curriculum Committee.

“[South Asia has] been important, and it’s going to remain important, and Duke is just a little behind,” Whitfield said “Students want to be able to say, ‘Look, I have this major, but look at my sub-field. I’m perfect for a job in India or in Sri Lanka.’”

The goal of the program is to provide students with an understanding of the history, culture and importance of the re-gion, ideas not necessarily covered by the International Comparative Studies and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies depart-ments, he added.

The council is postponing a vote on the program until faculty have an op-portunity to discuss funding and study abroad requirements with the proposal’s authors.

The formerly ad-hoc Faculty Assess-ment Committee was unanimously ap-proved as a standing committee by the council. The committee will advise Lee

Baker, Trinity dean of academic affairs and associate vice provost for undergrad-uate education, by reviewing assessment plans and providing feedback and sug-gestions for improvement to the student assessment process.

At last month’s meeting, the council had discussed a desire for a more promi-nent role of faculty in the student assess-ment process and this was achieved with the approval of the new committee, said council Chair Ruth Day.

“Rather than it being an adminis-trative job, it will be a faculty job,” she said.

COuNCIl from page 1

soPhia PalenBerG/The chronicle

Arts and Sciences Council Chair Ruth Day discusses the approval of the Faculty Assessment Committee as a standing committee.

6 | FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2011 The ChRoNICle

Office of Student Conduct, declined to comment.

The focus groups that were originally scheduled were “not specifically about any incidents,” and were instead “to get a sense of student perspective and observations about the climate on cam-pus for students of color, [gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender] students, ra-cial differences, men and women and more,” according to Heltne’s e-mail to students selected to participate in the sessions.

Robinette and Satell confirmed that they filed complaints against the Univer-sity but declined to comment further.

Last year, Robinette claimed that he was impeached from his former posi-tion as Duke College Republicans chair because he is gay. Robinette filed com-plaints with the Duke Student Govern-ment Judiciary, and he later criticized the administration’s inaction in resolv-ing his case.

According to its website, OCR serves as a “neutral fact-finder” in investiga-tions such as this one. OCR often con-ducts interviews with the complainants, the recipients of the complaint and oth-er witnesses to determine the validity of the claims.

“We are postponing our on-site visit for next week to work with the Uni-versity to resolve the allegations,” Kay Bhagat, an OCR attorney, wrote in a Jan. 6 e-mail to the complainants in the investigation. “If the resolution process is not successful with the University, then we will also notify you of any fu-ture plans to resume our interviews with your witnesses.”

Bhagat deferred all comment to Jim Bradshaw, an employee in the U.S. De-

partment of Education press office. Brad-shaw said that since January 2007, OCR has received 12 complaints involving the University—including the two involving Robinette and Satell, former Duke Col-lege Republicans vice chair, that are cur-rently open.

Bradshaw said he could not comment on the details of the specific case against Duke, adding that a resolution has not yet been reached and OCR is still in the in-vestigation process.

Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations, said in a December interview that Duke typically receives one or two complaints from OCR “every other year.”

Schoenfeld added that Duke and OCR made the joint decision to postpone the interviews pending the review of addi-tional information submitted by Duke to OCR, but he declined to comment on the specifics of the information, including the future date of the OCR sessions.

“All I can say is that there has been a complaint that the OCR is investigating, and Duke is cooperating,” he said.

According to the OCR website, OCR will contact the recipient of the complaint and try to negotiate a voluntary resolu-tion agreement if it determines that a civil rights law has been violated. The Depart-ment of Education may mandate “specific remedial actions” that the University must take to address the complaint, which will be monitored by OCR.

If the recipient is unwilling to negoti-ate an agreement, OCR will issue a docu-ment outlining factual and legal trans-gressions, as well as measures to ensure action.

Bradshaw said about 90 percent of cas-es that are submitted to OCR have been resolved within six months, though some may take longer due to the complexities of the allegations.

INTERVIEWS from page 1

“We have had some delays with the new construction approvals,” he said. “Mayor Bell has actively helped speed up the ap-proval process.”

Wynn described his outlook for the re-lationship between Duke and Durham as “very optimistic” if Bell were elected for a sixth term.

BEll from page 3

$1.5 million grant from the Bill and Me-linda Gates Foundation and with an in-vestment from ABC News of more than $4.5 million that covers personnel and production costs.

Seaford said because DGHI spans multiple departments, she believes that it is a good fit for ABC.

“The Duke Global Health Institute is an attractive partner for many reasons,” she said. “It is an interdisciplinary, uni-versity-wide institute that draws upon faculty and expertise from all of Duke’s outstanding schools.”

Seaford added that the series will be beneficial for both Duke and ABC.

“This partnership is important to raise awareness of global health is-sues and challenges among the vast and diverse ABC News audience,” she said. “Our partnering with such an in-fluential and leading news organiza-tion like ABC News will help increase recognition of Duke and the Duke Global Health Institute as leaders in global health.”

Anna Barry-Jester, a consultant for ABC who recently visited Duke for pur-poses related to the series’s production, said she believes it is worth the hefty investment because it will have tangible benefits.

“I know that for ABC, this is an op-portunity for the reporters to work on stories that they really care about and that they don’t really get a chance to tell a lot—the stories that aren’t really a part of the normal news cycle but still matter,” she said.

The partnership will also cause a sig-nificant increase in stories concerning global health during the normal news cycle as well as the number of hours de-voted to the subject during prime time.

Barry-Jester noted that the relation-ship with Duke will give ABC easier ac-cess to credible information.

“I know that, for ABC, they like hav-ing the collaboration with Duke to get some expertise on global health issues,” she said.

The series has sparked interest among students as well.

“Although I don’t watch ABC, my parents do,” said junior Matt Mrozek. “They would probably see the series at some point since it’s on for the whole year. I’m sure it’ll do a lot to raise awareness about global health issues. Also, my major, chemistry, obviously concerns health issues, so I plan on tak-ing a look at the series myself.”

ABC NEWS from page 4

tions to resume on-site inspections.“It’s in [the United States’] best inter-

est to ensure that the weapons that are un-der Russian control do not become loose and end up in other places,” said Ole Hol-sti, George V. Allen professor emeritus of political science.

Holsti dismissed opinions of Republi-cans in the Senate who were hesitant to support a treaty they believed could leave the nation vulnerable, explaining that the incredible destructive power of modern nuclear warheads renders the decrease a harmless change, especially with Russia

following suit. The main goal of the trea-ty, however, is to further talks with Russia about curtailing smaller nuclear weapons which can “much more easily end up in the wrong hands,” Holsti said.

Looking to the incoming 112th Con-gress, McCorkle said he expects “very interesting” political dynamics. Among them is the Tea Party variable and how it will play into the budget and unemploy-ment plans.

“The support for the Tea Party beyond the hard-core was an oppositional base against the Obama administration on tax-es and big government,” he said. “How do you go from an antigovernment force to a positive force?”

CONgRESS from page 4

Going to the game?

Show your Crazie-ness with The Chronicle’s pull-out banner, on pages 8

and 9.

nications, and their familiarity with Duke basketball.

“We spent a pretty good amount of time with them on the front end making sure they were comfortable with what we were asking them to do,” Jackson said. “All three of them have a passion for Duke and have a passion for basket-ball.”

Jackson and Schoenfeld said the idea has been in place for a couple of months but had not been possible until now be-cause of space constraints in the press box.

BROADCAST from page 1

The ChRoNICle FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2011 | 7

8 | FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2011 The ChRoNICle

Wahoo: It’s What’s for Dinner

The ChRoNICle FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2011 | 9

Wahoo: It’s What’s for Dinner

10 | FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2011 The ChRoNICle

by Tim VisutipolTHE CHRONICLE

It’s been almost two years since Duke lost two games in a row.

Tomorrow night, the Blue Devils will try to make sure that the number stays the

same. After their disappointing loss to Florida State Wednes-day, ending a 25-game win-ning streak, No. 1 Duke (15-1, 2-1 in the ACC) returns to Cam-eron Indoor Sta-dium, hoping to

avoid back-to-back losses in conference play. The team takes on Virginia (10-6, 1-1) Saturday at 2 p.m.

The Blue Devils enter the game with what appears to be an unbalanced of-fense. Against the Seminoles, Duke at-tempted 35 three-pointers, making only 11. The also relied heavily on its guard play, with its big men scoring a mere six points throughout the game.

While the statistics look daunting for the Blue Devils, their fans can be comforted by the program’s success in dealing with past adversity. The last two Duke teams that won the national cham-pionship all suffered early losses against ACC competition.

Senior Nolan Smith believes these

early season losses may have paved the way for these teams to go on and win the NCAA title. In an interview last Au-gust, he attributed last season’s success to the early losses against Georgia Tech, N.C. State and Georgetown as important learning curves for the team.

“Those three losses, in particular, brought us together as a team, brought more focus to the team… that really helped us through the NCAA tournament,” Smith said. “If we can win every game this sea-son that would be great—if we’re learning from those games. But if we don’t, then we need to learn from those losses. That’s the most important thing.”

DUKE VIRGINIACAMERON • SATURDAY • 2 p.m. • ESPN

men’s soccer

Grossman drafted later than expectedSenior selected by MLS’s Columbus Crew with 28th pick

margie truwit/ChroniCle file photo

After an All-Acc season at Duke, cole Grossman moved on to the professional ranks yesterday.

SEE grossman ON pAGE 12

Difficult road swing to test unbeaten Blue Devils

women’s bAsketbAll

toni wei and kim solow/the ChroniCle

Jasmine thomas [top] and Haley Peters [bottom] will be tested by a challenging set of games.

FRIDAY, 6:30 p.m.Tallahassee, Fla.

No. 21 FSU

No. 3 Duke

vs.

SUNDAY, 2 p.m.Blacksburg, Va.

VirginiaTech

No. 3 Duke

vs.

Duke will look to benefit from loss

SEE virginia ON pAGE 12

by Shiva KothariTHE CHRONICLE

Despite leading the nation with three wins against top-10 ranked opponents, there

is one win that Duke does not have on its résumé this year.

A conference road victory.

The No. 3 Blue Devils (15-0, 1-0 in the ACC) get their first chance to change that when they face No. 21 Florida State (14-3, 2-0 in the ACC) in Tallahassee, Fla. tonight at 6:30. Coming off a thrill-ing victory over No. 14 Maryland at home to open up its ACC schedule, Duke looks to push its season-

long winning streak to 16 games in its first road ACC game of the year.

Head coach Joanne p. McCallie is ready to take on another tough challenge and thinks that the Blue Devils’ recent wins against ranked opponents will help them in this game.

“We are just excited,” she said. “Our schedule has been really hard and [previ-ous] games have been really good prepara-tion. You always have be ready to battle.”

part of the battle will take place under-neath the basket tonight. Krystal Thomas as well as the entire Duke team will need to emphasize rebounding against a Florida State squad that ranks 11th nationally with a 10.3 rebounding margin.

“Rebounding [needs to be] really con-

sistent because Florida State is a big team with a lot of post presence,” McCallie said.

Following Friday’s game against the Seminoles, the Blue Devils will play an-other road ACC contest at Virginia Tech Sunday in Blacksburg, Va. The Hokies will be the first non-ranked team Duke will play after facing three straight ranked op-ponents, including Florida State. McCal-lie believes the difficulty of this ACC road trip will help Duke in the future.

“It really helps us for the NCAA Tour-nament,” the coach said. “We talked about going two-for-two against Kentucky and Maryland [at home]. The same is true when you are... in the NCAA tourna-ment, you are on the road a lot if you are successful. For us, it’s trying to go two-for-two.”

As always, senior Jasmine Thomas re-mains a key player for Duke. She looks to lead the No. 1 freshman recruiting class into their first road ACC road games. Re-cently nominated as one of 20 midseason candidates for the John R. Wooden Award for National player of the Year, Thomas has seemed to save her best for last in recent games. She led the Blue Devils to several late victories over Winter Break, and in their most recent win against Maryland, the senior had seven points over the final 1:58 in the game.

“She is always in attack mode, whether it is defense or offense it doesn’t matter,” Mc-Callie said. “And I think that’s something we want modeled by the other players and especially the younger players that are com-ing in and learning the ropes a little bit.”

The Blue Devils are off for four days af-ter this road trip and will play next at home against Georgia Tech on Friday, Jan. 21.

SportsThe Chronicle

www.dukechroniclesports.com

FRIDAYJanuary 14, 2011

>> WRESTLING

ONLINE

The Blue Devils came from behind to beat Davidson on the road last night, 23-18

SI’s Luke Winn says that Seth Curry is one of the nation’s best uncontested shooters

Duke-Virginia will also be broadcast in Mandarin Chinese

on Goduke.com. For more on this story, please see page 1.

MORE ON THE GAME

by Danny VinikTHE CHRONICLE

After a strong performance in the com-bine, Cole Grossman entered Wednesday’s MLS Draft in Baltimore, Md. with big expecta-tions as to where he would be selected. Many MLS experts had Grossman pegged to be picked in the middle to late first round, with some even expecting him to be a top-10 pick.

Unfortunately, Grossman had to watch the entire first round without hearing his name called. He continued to wait until the Columbus Crew chose him with the 10th pick in the 2nd round, 28th overall.

“It’s the old cliché, but anytime someone passes on you, especially in a draft where it’s such a personal thing, it adds more fuel to the fire and more motivation,” Grossman said. “I have no idea really why I dropped deep in the second round, but I did and it’s definitely going to motivate me to prove anyone who didn’t pick me wrong.”

During the past few days, Grossman has been at the MLS combine, an event where potential draftees can show off their skills and get close up attention from team scouts.

12 | FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2011 The ChRoNICle

RELIGIOUS DIRECTORY

TUTORING

Duke professor seeks af-terschool tutor for teen with ADHD. Skill in math/science needed; French a plus. $25/hour. Reliable transportation and good driving record required. E-mail your qualifications and availability for interview to di-ete001@mc.duke.edu

ANNOUNCEMENTS

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posICIoNes De TIempo parcial disponibles para lectores del espanol. Nuestro centro de calificar en Durham esta re-clutando lectores que tengan su titulo (de 4 anos) en cualquier campo academico, y que sean fluidos en espanol (hablar, leer y escribir) para calificar muestras de escritura en espanol de es-cuelas latinoamericanas, empe-zando en enero, 2011. El proyec-to durara varias semanas. Horas de trabajo de 5 PM a 10:15 PM, lunes a viernes, con un sueldo de $12.10/h. Entrenamiento y trabajo sera mayormente en es-panol. Para bajar una solicitud, visite el sitio http://www.meas-inc.com/Employment/Reader-Durham y despues llame a Terri Johnson al 919-425-7728 para una entrevista.

HELP WANTED

The Duke fooTbALL TeAm is looking for part-time help in the video office for the upcom-ing 2011 season to videotape practices and assist with other video needs. No exp. necessary. Must be enrolled at Duke for the 2011 spring & fall semesters. Benefits include team meals and team issued clothing. Hours 8-11am Monday, Wednesday, Fridays for the spring /Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursdays for the fall and game days throughout the season. $10/ hour, starts Feb. 1, 2011. Please contact Tom Long at 919-668-5717 or tlong@duaa.duke.edu.

The museum of LIfe AND sCIeNCe in Durham seeks en-thusiastic Birthday Party Educa-tors! Must like kids, teaching and science and be available weekend days. For more infor-mation and application infor-mation, visit www.ncmls.org/get-involved/jobs

The museum of LIfe AND sCIeNCe in Durham has sever-al openings within its Guest Re-lations department. Lead Guest Relations Associates will work the front desk and Guest Rela-tions Associates-BioQuest will work in our outdoor exhibits. Both positions require previous customer service experience, weekend availability and excel-lent people skills! For more in-formation, including complete job descriptions and application instructions, visit www.ncmls.org/get-involved/jobs EOE

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Duke IN pArIs INfo mTG: Students of all majors are invited to attend an information meet-ing about the summer Duke in Paris program on Tuesday, Janu-ary 18, at 5 pm, in Languages 305. The application deadline is February 3. See the Global Edu-cation Office for Undergradu-ates (GEO-U) website at global.duke.edu/geo for more details about the program.

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After Wednesday’s defeat, head coach Mike Krzyzewski echoed these sentiments and urged his team to grow from this un-expected setback.

“Each team has to learn from going through tough experiences,” Krzyzewski said. “That’s why playing conference games makes you better because we’re going to get everyone’s best shot.… We haven’t been in a game like that all year.”

The contest against Virginia pits two opponents attempting to bounce back from defeats, with the Cavaliers playing for the first time since suffering a six-

point loss to North Carolina.Virginia has also been set back by

news that senior forward Mike Scott will be out for the season after undergoing surgery on his left ankle. Scott leads the team in both scoring and rebounding.

Like Scott and the Cavaliers, Duke also continues to deal with the loss of its own vital player, Kyrie Irving. Sat-urday, the Blue Devils will continue to learn what kind of team it is without its phenom point guard.

“I’ve said all along, we’re not a great team since Kyrie’s injury,” Krzyzewski said. “We’ve got a chance to be a good team. We have to learn what this team can do.”

GrossmAn from page 11

Caroline rodriguez/the ChroniCle

nolan smith, who scored 19 and tallied six steals wednesday, will take on the seminoles saturday at 2 p.m.

virGiniA from page 11

While few players made much of an impres-sion in such a short trial, Grossman capital-ized on the opportunity, standing out as one of the top midfielders at the entire event.

“The combine went really well. By all accounts, I played really well,” he said. “The coaches and all the teams down there thought I did well. I’m not sure how much it helped me, but it certainly didn’t hurt my performance.”

However, the senior could not help but admit that he was a bit disappointed that he fell so far.

“To be honest, I was expecting to go higher,” he said.

Grossman had a terrific senior year for the Blue Devils, starting all 20 games. He scored 10 goals and added eight assists as well.

In the first round of the NCAA Tourna-ment this year, Grossman had possibly his best game in a Duke uniform. Assuming the duties of suspended forward Ryan Finley, the captain scored two goals in the final 15 min-utes against Coastal Carolina to give Duke a 2-1 victory. Grossman’s Duke career came to an end in the following game, however, in a 1-0 overtime defeat to South Carolina.

For his career, Grossman amassed 25 goals and 24 assists while playing in 70 matches. He was named to the All-ACC first team this year.

With his Duke career behind him now, the St. Louis native is ready to start the next chapter of his soccer life. And even though he didn’t go where he expected, he’s ready to make the best of it.

“I’m excited. [Columbus] is a pretty tra-dition-rich organization,” Grossman said. “They’re a great team and they’re known for having a great stadium and great fans.”

the chronicle FriDAY, JAnUArY 14, 2011 | 13

DiversionsShoe Chris Cassatt and Gary Brookins

Dilbert Scott Adams

Ink Pen Phil Dunlap

Doonesbury Garry Trudeau

Sudoku Fill in the grid so that every row, every col-umn and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9. (No number is repeated in any column, row or box.)

Answer to puzzle

www.sudoku.com

the chronicle rush, 2011:

skipping it in favor of simba and nala: .............................dr. carterjust want to chill with some other delbartan bros: .... dough, ruppready to chart 5852% increase in busch light sales: ............sabrinathis can’t be healthy, right?: ...........................................drew, elizagoing to be takin’ some early nights...: ...... andyk, notorious v.i.g.... and having some groggy mornings: .......... audrey, sophie, indualcohol is killing brain cells...: ................................................dennis... making finishing staff boxes very hard: ..............................chenBarb Starbuck <3’s rush, h8’s recruitment: ............................... Barb

Student Advertising Manager: .........................................Amber SuAccount Executives: ............................. Phil deGrouchy, Will Geary,

Claire Gilhuly, Gini Li, Ina Li, Spencer Li,Christin Martahus, Ben Masselink,

Emily Shiau, Kate ZeligsonCreative Services Student Manager ...........................Christine HallCreative Services: ..............................Lauren Bledsoe, Danjie Fang,

Caitlin Johnson, Megan MezaBusiness Assistant: ........................................................Joslyn Dunn

In the hyper-competitive world of elite universities that Duke inhabits, the quest for the nation’s brightest high school seniors is fierce. At-tracting qualified applicants is only half the battle—getting the best students to matriculate is a unique challenge.

In this context, it is under-standable that Duke has not followed top universities such as Harvard, Princeton and the University of Virginia in elimi-nating its binding early deci-sion program. As this editorial board indicated in its Oct. 20, 2009 editorial “Early admis-sion still the right decision,” there are concrete advantages to early decision. For Duke, early decision serves as “a use-ful tool to stabilize the predict-

ability of admissions yield.” For the applicant, an early ac-ceptance diminishes the stress of the admissions process.

In light of the continued commitment of Harvard,

Princeton and Virginia to non-binding admis-

sions, we believe the impact of early decision should be re-visited. Recent financial pres-sures have prompted Virginia and Harvard to consider re-instating an early action pro-cess that is nonbinding. But these schools, and others that repealed their early decision programs in 2006, have made it clear they will not return to a process that is binding.

Although we recognize the pragmatic economic con-siderations that necessitate early decision at Duke, we

are concerned about the im-pact of a binding process.

Opponents of binding early decision cite disparities in socioeconomic status be-tween applicants in the early and regular decision pools. Because early decision noti-fications are received before financial aid is calculated, early decision applicants are frequently those whose abil-ity to pay for college is as-sured. Although need-blind financial aid helps mitigate these concerns, binding early decision decreases an individual student’s ability to make a college decision that incorporates all economic considerations.

This disparity would be less concerning if not for large dif-ferences in acceptance rates between early and regular

applicant pools. For Duke’s Class of 2014, the chances of being accepted early decision nearly doubled the chances of acceptance through regu-lar decision, with acceptance rates at 30 percent and 15 percent respectively. The numbers reinforce the notion that for high school seniors looking to attend elite uni-versities, waiting until April to commit to a school can seri-ously damage the chances of acceptance.

As it is unlikely that the early applicant pool is signifi-cantly more qualified than the regular pool, admissions officials have in the past justi-fied the higher early admis-sion rates as helping ensure the presence of students with unique enthusiasm and spirit for Duke. While the presence

of these students is important, it should be noted that stu-dents who are willing and able to apply early to Duke are like-ly to be students who would ac-cept offers of admission even if they were not bound to.

Undoubtedly, schools like Harvard and Princeton have the unique advantage of ma-triculating the majority of students who receive accep-tances. Duke, as it is current-ly situated within the higher education landscape, cannot afford to give up the admis-sions advantages secured by binding early decision.

Yet it is important to note that when it comes to college admissions, binding early decision does more for the schools that employ it than for the students seeking to gain admission.

“How can you sit there watching TV during Winter Break? If you waste your time like that then you’ll nev-

er get into a good college!”I didn’t actually say that.

That’s my 15-year-old daughter making fun of me—and of her friends’ anxious parents. Because guess what? We’re all suddenly waking up to the fact that in only TWO YEARS our kids will have to somehow differentiate them-selves from thousands of other candidates to get into the college of their choice. Two years is not long when you think about all those painful boxes in the college application forms where you have to list your extracur-ricular activities, leadership skills, community service and passions. Every Duke student has been through it. You know. So yes, I do admit that this Winter Break I bugged my daughter. Didn’t she have something better to do than play Pet Puppy Lite on her iPhone? Shouldn’t she be pursuing her passion—or if she doesn’t have one, then *#?& well going out and find-ing one?

As a faculty member in residence, I have a secret fascination with the accomplishments of the freshmen in my dorm. What did they all write in those boxes to attract the attention of the admissions officers—in addition of course to their perfect grades and SAT scores? I know that each of them has something—national Scrabble champion, ran a 100k marathon in the Mongolian steppes, raised $50,000 to dig wells in India, had a composition performed in Carnegie Hall, founded a sheep-shearing sta-tion in Australia, who knows what else? (Two of those are actually listed on the Duke web site as accomplishments of the incoming class of 2015.) But of course, everyone is modestly doing his or her best to look as ordinary as ev-eryone else.

Honestly, I think the students in my dorm are incredible young people. But in my more cynical moments, I do wonder if filling in those boxes hasn’t become just another college prep skill, like juicing your GPA or picking the best answer in a multiple choice test.

When I was in high school, I wouldn’t have had a clue what to put in those boxes. But that was in the Dickensian days when schoolboys were “vessels ready to have imperial gallons of facts poured into them until they were full to the brim.” Extra-curricular accomplishments were not required for college application—

exam results were sufficient (that was in Eng-land—I actually don’t think it’s changed much since). It wasn’t until my last year in college

that I started to worry about what I actually wanted to do with my life. I had an answer but it seemed far too risky; so I became a bank-er like half of my classmates. It wasn’t till more than 10 years later—I was 33 years old—that I took my life in my hands and en-rolled as a lowly first year student in a history Ph.D program. Finally I was pursuing my passion—and I haven’t looked back since! But if someone had given me better ad-

vice, mightn’t I have saved that whole decade spent lost in the corporate wilderness?

So now, when students ask me for advice about what to do after graduation, I usually ask them this question: If your great-aunt Mildred left you $10 million today, what would you do? If you have an answer to that question (provid-ed it’s not just “party till I drop”) then you’re lucky. Because now is the time for you to pur-sue your dream. That’s right, you don’t have to wait for Mildred to kick the bucket. We are lucky enough to live in a society that no matter how crazy your dream or passion, there is prob-ably a way to pursue it without actually starving. And if the whole thing turns out to be a ter-rible mistake, wouldn’t you rather find that out at 25 than at 50? Actually, your attempt to live your dream will probably look great on your law school application!

Yes, I’m all in favor of identifying and pur-suing passions early. But I can’t help thinking that there’s a significant difference between the kind of passion I’m suggesting we should all follow, and the kind of passion I’m bugging my daughter to go out and get to work on. What am I really asking of her? Is she supposed to go out and somehow find an actual, authen-tic dream—oh, yes, and take some significant steps toward fulfilling it—within the next two years? Or is it enough to just pick some activi-ties that will look good on the application? And if the latter, isn’t that a bit cynical? Isn’t it, in fact, more or less a reversal of the idealism I try so naively to convey to my students?

If anyone has an answer, please stop my daughter in the hall and tell her.

Simon Partner is an associate professor in the his-tory department and faculty in residence in Alspaugh Dormitory. This is the first in a weekly column from the faculty members in residence on East Campus.

commentaries14 | FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2011 the chRoNIcle

the c

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editorial

You have to have PASSION

Binding admissions questionable

”“ onlinecomment

Well done, Chronicle Editorial Board. May the relevant Duke decision-makers heed your call for transparency.

—“noblesse d’epee” commenting on the editorial “Hellinga case demands resolution.” See more at www.dukechronicle.com.

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E-mail: chronicleletters@duke.eduEditorial Page DepartmentThe ChronicleBox 90858, Durham, NC 27708Phone: (919) 684-2663Fax: (919) 684-4696

Inc. 1993Est. 1905 the chronicleLindsey Rupp, Editor

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simon partnerthe professor

next door

commentariesthe chRoNIcle FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2011 | 15

On Wednesday, the year-old unity govern-ment of the nation of Lebanon collapsed, as 11 of its 30 cabinet members resigned

in protest of Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s cooperation with the U.N.-backed international tribunal inves-tigating the 2005 assassination of his father. The tribunal is expected to issue indictments, which will likely include members of Hezbollah, a political party with alleged terrorist ties, in the near future, the anticipa-tion of which has been the root of growing tension in the nation for some time now.

Of the 11 ministers to resign, two are members of Hezbollah and eight belong to the Shia Amal movement, a group allied with Hezbollah, and Michel Aoun’s bloc of Maronite Christians, with the eleventh being Minister of State Adnan Sayyed Hussein.

Although the resignations and consequent dis-solution of the nation’s governing body may have been unanticipated, general political turmoil was not. An indictment implicating members of Hez-bollah in the Hariri assassination would largely tarnish the image of the Iran- and Syria-backed group in Lebanon, which maintains itself as a pure resistance movement working to defend the nation from Israel, its neighbor to the south. The bombing in question, however, killed 22 people, and such high-profile Lebanese blood on the par-ty’s hands would likely undermine grassroots sup-port. As such, the party has been quick to label the U.N.-backed tribunal as an “Israeli project” and for that reason urged Hariri, prior to their sweeping resignations, to oppose the investigation. The res-ignations themselves were prompted specifically by the cabinet’s refusal to convene an emergency meeting in hopes of condemning the tribunal’s forthcoming findings.

Many have been quick, especially in western me-dia, to dispel Hezbollah’s allegations of some sort of dark Israeli hand in the tribunal as overstated, but it’s easy to imagine that Israel would be pleased with an erosion of Hezbollah’s place in Lebanon, regardless of Israel’s involvement with the tribu-nal. And the Lebanese love their conspiracy the-ories (there is a relatively popular notion there that the Haitian earthquake was triggered by the U.S. government in an effort to establish military

bases close to Cuba). It’s not hard to see why they might be wary of the intentions of Israel, which has invaded Lebanon and challenged its borders

on multiple occasions, the most re-cent skirmish occurring a mere six months ago.

All of this amounts to a situation that is extensively complex, and one that is best characterized, for lack of a more eloquent turn of phrase, as an absolute mess. And it raises a question that stretches as far back as the found-ing of that nation itself, which is this: What are the Lebanese to do?

After all, in addition to their con-spiracy theories, the paradoxically cynical optimists that inhabit the nation hold tightly as well to their grudges, and the issue at stake in the Hariri investi-gation is one that pits the value of absolute justice against that of present and future stability. And al-though the notion that no crime should go unpun-ished, especially as it relates to one’s own blood, is perhaps one of the strongest motivators to man’s sense of purposeful initiative, at what point does it be-come nothing more than obscenely unproductive?

There are many who argue that those respon-sible must be brought to justice, and that to deviate from that conviction is to not only give in to and reward criminal behavior, but to ensure that it per-sists in the future. The argument is one with which I, alongside many other Americans, align myself, but it is not one that I can say with absolute certain-ty should be universally applied. That is because it is founded on supposition; the supposition that a governing or judiciary body can cooperate within itself against outside forces and that it is capable of ensuring its own preservation. This supposition does not apply in the case of a government that has endeavored to dissolve itself.

I do not know what will happen in Lebanon, nor can I discern exactly what should happen, ei-ther, and I suppose that many in the region feel the same way. Sadly, though, I think that history will be doomed to repeat itself there in the com-ing months, and what was for a time known as the Paris of the Middle East will become once again embroiled in the political and military feuds of its many factions and lawless neighbors.

Chris Bassil is a Trinity junior. His column runs ev-ery Friday.

Duke and Progress

On Monday, Duke Energy and Progress Energy announced that they would merge in a stock deal worth a reported $13.7 billion. In the process, the two North Carolina-based utilities

would create not only the largest elec-tric utility in the country with territory in North and South Carolina, Indiana, Ohio, Florida and Kentucky, but also become a near monopoly in the North Carolina energy market.

Duke Energy already provides Duke University with all of its electrical pow-er and is responsible for a whopping 52 percent of the University’s total campus greenhouse gas emissions, al-beit indirectly. To quote from the Uni-versity’s 2009 Climate Action Plan, “The carbon intensity of these emissions will be impacted by Duke Energy’s plans to reduce their GHG emissions over time.” The carbon intensity of such a large slice of the emissions pie will, by extension, significantly impact the Uni-versity’s goal of reaching carbon neutrality, and that’s why Duke Uni-versity cares about the impact of this merger.

At the outset, the deal will do little to improve the actual environ-mental impact of either company’s operations, promising to alleviate some redundancy in dispatching and transportation of fuel. However, since Progress Energy has a portfolio with lower carbon intensity than Duke Energy’s, the new company, which will be called Duke Energy, will benefit. Again, by extension, the interests of the University in see-ing Duke Energy’s carbon intensity decline will be satisfied as well.

Duke Energy already maintains a healthy but improvable low carbon sector in its portfolio, with 15 percent of capacity coming from nuclear and 11 percent from hydro/wind sources. The newly-merged company will lose a few percentage points of non-emitting capacity, augmented instead to a more even, 42/35 percent split between coal and gas/oil ca-pacity. Natural gas, now consumed by the newly renovated East Campus Steam Plant, has a lower direct carbon intensity than coal.

In the long term, while the utilities hedge their bets against reg-ulation and consolidate, they are also preparing for investment to infrastructure, upgrades to the grid and new technology. Regulators generally allow utilities to pass infrastructure improvement costs on to rate-payers, so the resulting larger customer base will mean a smaller marginal increase in rates for consumers.

Cheap electricity is a foundation of the North Carolina economy, attracting the likes of Google, Facebook and Apple to build huge data centers in the state. Although maintaining low rates is likely to result in customer satisfaction, it provides little incentive for invest-ments, especially by homeowners, in efficiency and renewable tech-nology. Since the residential sector accounts for more than one-fifth of all electricity consumed in the United States and roughly half of all carbon emissions from buildings, this is a significant disincentive unlikely to be remedied during the approvals process.

Without consumer side incentives, the burden to lower GHG emissions defaults to the producers, and regulators who set targets and deadlines. Through this regulatory pressure to decrease over-all emissions, utilities that are anticipating its implementation are making low-cost consolidation moves to prepare to better and more cheaply meet future requirements.

For Duke Energy, in addition to increasing its consumer base, “…scale becomes very important to attract capital and the combined companies will have a very strong balance sheet,” Duke Energy CEO James Rogers told The Wall Street Journal. Rogers is likely refer-ring most notably to the ability of the combined company to pursue nuclear projects already in the works at both Progress and Duke En-ergy. Both have reportedly been looking for partners.

In the University’s own calculations, the introduction of non-emitting nuclear power makes up a huge drop, about 40 percent, in the carbon intensity of the electricity purchased from Duke En-ergy in the near term. Provided the projects are able to get off the ground as a result of this deal, the likelihood of that anticipated drop increases dramatically. Better yet, the time frame of the pro-jected decrease becomes more likely, that is, by 2020, leaving a small buffer before the 2024 date for carbon neutrality for delays.

The deal between Duke Energy and Progress Energy is in no way done. The companies have given themselves until the end of the year to complete the proceedings. During that time, they will be seeking regulatory approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the North Carolina Utilities Com-mission and the South Carolina Public Service Commission, as well as shareholder approval and a federal antitrust review. The near monopo-ly in North Carolina may prove interesting in these proceedings.

In the mean time, suffice it to note that this is the biggest strate-gic move by Duke Energy, and a promising sign for Duke University, as both look forward to the changing energy landscape.

Liz Bloomhardt is a fourth-year graduate student in mechanical engineer-ing. Her column runs every other Friday.

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16 | FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2011 the chRoNIcle