winter issue, rival 2012

RI ALcelebrating the Duke & UNC-CH connection

Stepping intothe spotlight

page 8

page 8

page 14

Behind the UniformStudent

Entrepreneurship

VOLUME 8 ISSUE 2 / WINTER 2012

2 RIVAL MAGAZINE • volume 8 • issue 2

content editor-in-chief allie barnes

duke managing editor emily mcginty

photography editor aleise preslar art director tashiana wesley editorial director trent tsun-kang chiang

unc contributing writers caroline land lisa lefever stefanie schwemlein duke contributing writers laura damiani christine delp jake klein akshatha kommalapati emily mcginty lauren paylor columnists laurel burk rachel fischell lilly knoepp

sports columnist ryan hoerger staff designers traci carver moira gill contributing photographers rodrigo martinez aleise preslar bloggers allie barnes arantxa moreno lauren paylor

cover design tashiana wesley cover photo rachel fischell

business public relations director arantxa moreno treasurer eric kline

letter from the editor

allie barnesis a senior at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hilll. She can be reached via email at [email protected]

North Carolina produces and harvests over 5 million Christmas trees a year, ranking sec-ond in the nation. N.C.’s fame extends beyond the state borders- the White House Christ-mas Tree is from Jefferson, N.C., a town in Ashe County. While local Christmas trees are perfect for getting in the holiday cheer, make sure to check out school policies before buy-ing one. For both UNC-CH and Duke, Christmas trees are banned from dorms and suites for fire safety reasons. The policies vary on on-campus live greenery or wreaths.

WINTER 2012

the mailbag:

And we’ll tell you what we think at rivalmagazine.wordpress.com

Rival is a joint publication between Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that seeks to reinforce and redefine the historic rivalry. Rival is independently recognized at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is also a member of the Duke University Undergraduate Publication Board.

Funding for Rival Magazine was provided in part by The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Student Congress and the Duke University Publications Board.

All content, pictures, graphics and design are the prop-erty of Rival Magazine © 2011-2012. All rights reserved.

Tell us what you think [email protected]? did you know:

WHAT DREAMS MAY COMEThere are wonderful opportunities at great in-

stitutions like UNC-CH and Duke. The impressive repertoire of professors, the invaluable academic re-sources and the competitions between bright minds allow us to fulfill our wildest aspirations. On the cusp of graduating, I’m more uncertain than ever: the tragic truth is my dreams have been fulfilled.

I have aspired to be a travel journalist for so long. Although it is a niche field, the travel industry is overcrowded with starry-eyed globetrotters who want to be paid to see the world. There number of hopefuls isn’t surprising, but it’s daunting, and so part of me thought I would never break into the scene. Then, this summer happened.

I spent my time in New York and New Jersey, interning for the travel-trade publication Travel Weekly. My assignments took me all over the city while I reported on hotel rede-signs or new trends in the travel market. Having never been to New York before, exploring the city and visiting amazing businesses was exactly what I wanted (and expected). But my adventures extended beyond the city’s borders; before the sum-mer was over, I went on assignment to Puerto Rico and Mexico.

Putting it mildly, the summer was a dream come true. Going to new places, be-ing exposed to exotic cultures and working with incredibly talented professionals was everything I hoped for. While I could go on and on, the short recap is: I did it. I had completed my professional dream, even if it was only for three months.

Dreams can be elusive. They are longtime aims that have the possibility of never happening. The shorter and less intense desires, the manageable aspirations, are goals. And since I have already made my (admittedly faint) mark on travel journalism, my hopeful career in that field has morphed into a goal.

There is a certain tragedy in fulfilling a dream. That particular kind of drive for the impossible is gone. What you have worked so hard for is finally yours. I have been surrounded by the remnants of my dream, searching for something else, anything else, to kick-start my passions again in the same way. Whereas my target had always been so clear before, it is now fuzzy and at times seems almost non-existent. Where am I to aim?

The time has come to pick a new dream, but I’m not sure I’ll know what it is before I graduate. As such, it makes my impending leap into the “real world” that much more vague and uncertain. It’s time for me to let go and travel where the wind sends me; maybe my dream will be waiting for me there.

Best wishes,

Allie BarnesEditor-in-Chief

WINTER 2012 • RIVAL MAGAZINE 3

in this issue

in every issue

Students take center stage page 8Students take the stage to sing, dance, act and challenge audiences to think deeply about the world around them. Through univeristy-supported groups and programs, Duke and UNC-CH students use preforming arts to inspire creativity and conversation on campus and beyond.

To serve and protectpage 14Take an inside life of the students who live double lives. On one hand, they are dedicated students and friends, and on the other, they are subjects of the government to defend our free country. This is an inside look at the men and women in the Air Force, Army and Navy ROTC programs at UNC-CH and Duke.

Pregamepage 4Water is a precious commodity that isn’t available to everyone. See the efforts at UNC-CH and Duke to change that.

Top Vpage 6Want to know a secret? Check out what we wish we’d known earlier.

Devil’s Advocate page 12Duke’s Laurel Burk looks back on her college experience .

Tar Trackspage 13UNC-CH’s Lilly Knoepp discusses her excitement in the upcoming holiday season.

Athlete’s Cornerpage 21Duke’s Ryan Hoerger evaluates the 2012 presidential election with a different set of criteria: who was the bigger sports fan?

The Width & Breadth Of Itpage 22Want a global perspective? Read what Rachel Fischell has to say about Madrid.

By The Bookpage 26Think you’ve got it bad? Rival compares personal nutrition classes at Duke and UNC-CH.

Out of the Bluepage 27Tired of seeing the same old people? Get to know some new campus faces you won’t want to forget.

A class in high demand page 24Affectionately known as Eats 101, this UNC-CH class focusing on food sourcing and preparation, is in high demand by students at both universities. Each year the class has a number of students from both Duke and UNC-CH, and they learn together the ins-and-outs of what we eat and how it gets to our dinner tables.

23

8


quick, pick-me-up shorts

In a world full of problems, there is not one as simple—and complicated—as providing universal access to clean water. Duke students and faculty are researching the scientific and societal factors that contribute to water’s convoluted

journey from ground to drinking glass in both the developed and developing world.

“It’s a simple liquid, a clear liquid, but a very complex issue,” explains professor James Salzman, Duke University Law School.

Drinking Water: A History, Salzman’s new book published this November, explores water’s critical role as instigator and indicator of significant social, political, and economic events since virtually the beginning of human civilization.

“I’m a big fan of world history through a specific commodity,” says Salzman. “And drinking water is one of the few truly universal actions.”

It is water’s ubiquitous and interdisciplinary nature that makes it the ideal topic for Duke’s Spring 2013 university course. University courses at Duke are semester-long courses that are open to all undergraduate, graduate, and professional Duke students. Bringing together students and faculty from a variety of academic levels and backgrounds will hopefully strengthen the university’s capacity to understand and proactively improve global water-related problems such as pollution, irrigation and scarcity.

“The problem of gaining access to water in the developing world is not technology,” says David Schaad, engineering professor and faculty advisor for the Duke Engineers for International Development program. “The problem is all of the non-technological issues. All of these problems are fixable.”

Finding solutions to the “non-technological” political, social and economic problems surrounding water access may depend upon collaborations between different disciplines and academic ranks, such as the university course this spring. Salzman credited his American water policy students for raising concerns about water issues he otherwise might not have written about, like terroristic water tampering or water mining in outer space or from icebergs.

Pratt’s Schaad also emphasized how direct contact with water access problems through programs like Duke Engineers for International Development (DEID) can better students’

capacity to solve them. “Engineering students in a fluids class have done

calculations for rain-water harvesting tanks in their textbooks,” says Schaad. “But you can’t get a full understanding from a textbook.”

Students in DEID experienced life without running water during a trip to Uganda every summer. The team built rain-water harvesting tanks for families who spent significant amounts of time collecting water from far-off reserves. Schaad says there are certain ironies in the act of collecting water in the developing world.

“Duke students had to actually carry the water themselves in order to mix the concrete for the [collection] tank,” says Schaad..“The most ironic occurrence is carrying water to take a bath in. You might as well have not gotten the water and not gotten sweaty after walking a mile and a half.”

Students hope collection tanks will help families spend less time retrieving water.

For those at Duke not enrolled in the university course or who aren’t traveling around the world to build water management technologies, acting on global water problems begins with considering the deceptively simple task of opening a water bottle or turning on the tap. Students might begin to understand the complexities of water by opening a copy of Salzman’s book.

“I hope readers will begin to think differently about an everyday action and no longer take water for granted,” says Salzman.

“It’s a simple liquid, a clear liquid, but a very complex issue,”

James Salzman, Duke University Professor

pregameBY CHRISTINE DELP, DUKEDESIGN BY MOIRA GILL, UNC-CH

drinking water


quick, pick-me-up shorts

UNC-CH has adopted a two-year campus-wide theme: “Water in Our World.” The purpose of the theme, according to its

website, is to “call for the University and all of its members and resources to mobi-lize around a common issue facing our society.”

For a university to adopt a “theme” is rather unorthodox, and the goals of the theme itself can seem amorphous and unattainable. For undergraduates more than most university members, this “theme” may come off as intangible and irrelevant. Indeed, many of the theme’s manifestations do seem geared to faculty and those already specializing in water. But the theme is equally as important, if not much more so, for youth than for researchers and academics.

This generation of Americans, the college students and recent graduates, for the most part have always had stable access to water of high quality and quantity. Clean water has always flowed for them. The fact that many other parts of the world do not have this luxury is not news. Students have heard the statistics countless times. Just as they have become desensitized to the numbers on global hunger and poverty, they cannot process the stats on the global water crisis. World water systems are failing, water resource management is inefficient and millions remain without access to clean water. With a population projected to rise to nine

billion by 2050, and demand for water resources will climb with it. These trends are alarming, but for most college students, this is not a problem.

The basic trends of decreasing supply and increasing demand for water are easy to understand. They can also serve as a quick scare tactic. But this theme does not aim to frighten the University community into taking action. Rather, it provides a platform for exploration and innovation. The university has organized and hosted numerous interdisciplinary water-related events, from speaker and film series to art and theater performances. It also provides grants to professors interested in teaching a course that incorporates some aspect of water and/or conducting water related research.

The theme may not be an in-your-face effort that pushes students directly into studying water, but it shines a light on the importance of these issues in every discipline. Emily Zuehlke is a senior Environmental Health Science major who sits on the Water Theme Steering Committee. She notes the theme “emphasize[s] an interdisciplinary approach that involves research, policy, awareness, conservation, technology, literature, and countless other fields.”

As students begin to see that water issues are relevant to politics, economics, anthropology, art, natural and health sciences—to whatever their field of study, they will (hopefully) care about the issue

more. That is the real purpose of the theme.

It allows each student to contextualize this broad and global problem to his or her own specific field of interest. UNC-CH and Duke are filled with incredibly bright students who will eventually become incredibly bright leaders. What if more of top graduates put their creativity and talent into developing solutions to our global water problems? If water attracted the brightest budding entrepreneurs, scientists and policymakers to the extent that consulting and banking does, one can only imagine the impact it could have.

Kyle Villema, a sophomore Public Policy major and co-president of the new campus student group, A Drink For Tomorrow, recognizes that potential. He and the members of his organization organize and fund-raise for water projects in developing countries. Villema notes that the campus theme has “had a positive impact on [the group’s] ability to mobilize the community around water issues.”

With a community filled with the world’s best and brightest, mobilization around water issues can make a huge difference. If the theme can do anything from the perspective of an undergraduate student, it is this: to spark an interest and passion for water in the people who will soon be in the position to change the world.

BY STEFANIE SCHWEMLEIN, UNC-CHDESIGN BY MOIRA GILL, UNC-CHPHOTO BY SUBMISSION


Go outside your comfort zoneSometimes it is easy to get lost in the internship rat race—especially when you are unsure about your career plans. But remember internships help you explore a specific industry—they don’t lock you into a career for life. Relax and apply for something that seems interesting or even a little outside-of-the-box!

Know where to go for helpSuccessful applicants know who to ask when they need help. Take advantage of Duke’s resources by booking individual appointments at the Career Center, reg-istering for eRecruiting to manage your online applications for specific companies, and even talking with academic advisors from the fields that you are interested in pursuing.

{ top }tips to apply for an internship

Start early Many companies begin recruiting for interns as early as November, so it’s never too early to start looking for an internship! Since online application deadlines can be as early as January, use the fall to network with professionals and part of winter break to perfect your applications!

Leverage Duke’s alumni networkDuke students are smart and ambitious, and they are usually willing to help fellow Dukies develop both professionally and personally. So reach out to alumni via the Career Center and Duke’s Alumni Associa-tion because they might just offer the extra boost you need to land the job.

BY AKSHATHA KOMMALAPATI, DUKEDESIGN BY TASHIANA WESLEY, UNC-CHPHOTOS BY AKSHATHA KOMMALAPATI, DUKE

Do your researchWhen you find a company that you like, do your research. Passionate candidates who can speak to a company’s mission and future challenges are always competitive in the internship process. Leave a favorable impression on your interviewers by dis-cussing the company’s business practices and asking insightful questions.

“Sometimes it is easy to get lost in the internship

rat race...”


Write a draft for resumesIf you’re a senior, it has probably been about four years since you have written a rough draft for anything, but take the time to revise resumes, letters, and applications. Job applications usually have several short-answer essays; so make sure your answers are concise and direct.

Not just about the benefitsWhether during an in-person interview or personal statement, make sure to clarify you understand the challenges you may face in a particular job or industry. It’s not all about the benefits that you’ll receive. Tell them how you will try will try your hardest to contribute to the team and company.

Avoid clichésEvery journalist wants to seek truth, every doctor wants to save lives, and every law-yer wants to promote justice. Whoever is reading your application has a whole stake of competitive candidates’ information and probably spend less than a minute on your resume. Make sure your statements are specific and stand out from other me-too candidates. Use your own voice as a guide.

Don’t procrastinateStart weeks in advance of the deadline so you have time to write essays, cover letters or statements, and to organize your entire application. You often need to submit ref-erences or letters of recommendation, and professors and bosses can’t churn those out on a moment’s notice. Impress your mentors by asking for their help as early as possible.

One word: CareerolinaIf your parents and family friends have started asking what you’re going to do this summer or after graduation and you have no answers, check out Careerolina. University Career Services gives you a “Tar Heel Career tool kit” for uploading your resume to share with potential employers, on-campus recruiters, career fairs visitors, and more.

BY CAROLINE LAND, UNC-CHDESIGN BY TASHIANA WESLEY, UNC-CHPHOTOS BY CAROLINE LAND, UNC-CH


Stepping into the Spotlight

Many new students know they are in college when they pull their first all-nighter. Others remember their first 3 a.m. Cookout run or a

particularly miserable mid-term exam. But for a few, introduction to campus is made by shed-ding most of their clothes to simulate a massive orgy before an audience.

Emily Ellis, a senior at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, recalls feel-ing nervous about auditioning as a first-year for The Wild Party, a “really risqué” musical written by composer and producer Andrew Lippa. The musical, performed in Fall 2009 by UNC-CH’s student-run musical theater group, Pauper Players, features showgirls and the aforementioned orgy, which the group creative-ly adapted for a public audience.

“There is nothing that makes your parents understand you’re in college more than riding around the floor in your underwear,” says Ellis, now a senior double major in Journalism and Dramatic Arts. Ellis was one of a few freshmen selected at the time by Pauper Players’ directors to perform in the musical. Despite her initial apprehension, the Bahama, N.C. native had performed in musical theater throughout high school and was thrilled to participate in the production.

“I fell in love with [Pauper Players] because of that show,” says Ellis, who is the group’s Director of Publicity in its 22nd year of perfor-mance. “It was magical, and the people in that show have ended up being my closest friends in college.”

Showcasing campus talentLike Ellis, many students involved in per-

formance groups at Duke and UNC-CH say the performing arts have powerfully shaped their college experiences. Drew Klinger is the vice president of Hoof ‘n’ Horn, Pauper Players’ musical theater counterpart at Duke, and says he considers the performing arts an integral part of any college environment.

“Especially at a liberal arts school like Duke,” says Klinger, “it’s so important to encourage the arts in general, and theater is one impor-tant way to showcase students’ talent and hard work.”

Klinger, a junior from Chicago, I.L., came to Duke motivated to pursue a degree and po-tential career in the performing arts. He joined Hoof ‘n’ Horn as a freshman and has since been involved with the group in both on- and off-stage roles. Klingner double majors in Public

BY EMILY MCGINTY, DUKEDESIGN BY TASHIANA WESLEY, UNC-CHPHOTOS BY SUBMISSION


Photo by Erika Edwards

UNC-CH sopho-more Andrew

Crabtree makes a sweeping gesture during a scene in

“Eurydice,” per-formed by Lab!


Policy Studies and Theater Studies, and is currently producing the 1960s musical Cabaret, which will debut at the end of January on Duke’s campus.

Hoof ‘n’ Horn is celebrating its 77th season of student-run musical theater at Duke and continues to stage major productions like Rag Time, Avenue Q and Spring Awakening in the past. The well-established group only performs musicals, but many of its members participate in Theater Studies department productions and straight plays (no singing or dancing) put on by Duke Players, the student-run group within the department.

Klinger says groups enjoy collaborating whenever possible.

“Student-only groups can learn a lot from people with degrees and professional experience in the field,” he says. “And folks from the department can learn from [Hoof ‘n’ Horn] since all we do are musicals.”

Stories from the student next door

Although musical theater is popular among students and large audiences, Klinger is equally as excited to be involved in smaller-scale theater that showcases students’ stories. He acted in last year’s Me Too Monologues, a show that featured

Duke students performing anonymously submitted reflections written by fellow students.

“Me Too Monologues provides a forum for students to share stories that otherwise might go unheard,” explains Klingner. “We offer this performance to the community as way of telling everyone: ‘People are go-ing through the same struggles as you.’”

Submissions to Me Too are humorous, deeply sad and everything in between. A similar production is All of the Above (AOTA), a production designed to exclu-sively showcase stories about female expe-riences at Duke. Sophie Throsby, a senior and AOTA co-director, saw the show three years ago and distinctly remembers the performance’s impact on its audience.

“I remember sitting on the floor because the small theater was so packed,” recalls Throsby, a political science major from London, United Kingdom. “The show was incredibly well received, and the whole time I kept thinking: ‘These are the stories everyone knows but nobody verbal-izes.’”

From embarrassing moments in the Shooters cage to encounters with abortion and sexual assault, AOTA, like Me Too Monologues, runs the emotional gamut. At their core, both shows share a com-mitment to making theater accessible and change-oriented.

“Performance art in general is first and foremost a means of communication and a way to create conversation and change,” says Klinger. “And things like [Me Too and AOTA] are doing that more directly than mainstream theater.”

Klinger and Throsby hope their produc-tions open more honest dialogue about the joys and pains of life as Duke students and general citizens. Non-traditional theater productions also offer students the chance to engage with performance art in more intimate settings.

“[AOTA] is a performance that people feel relates to their everyday lives,” says Throsby. “Which makes this a great entry-way into theater for people who come to hear relatable stories and not necessarily to view ‘theater.’”

Throsby says most of last year’s AOTA cast had never acted before, and she hopes the production continues to attract newcomers. Both the Me Too Monologues and All of the Above accept submissions through early spring semester, and the productions debut on different weekends in late spring.

Although the shows’ directors hope their work draws a diverse audience from within and outside of Duke, UNC-CH students can find student-written and per-formed work within the reach of Chapel Hill’s walls.

Hoof n Horn, a Duke performing

arts group, puts on a production

of the musical Aida.


Spotlight on identity politicsA group within UNC-CH’s larger

Black Student Movement seeks to engage campus in the art of spoken word and poetry performance. Ebony Readers/Onyx Theater (EROT) performs on campus and around the Triangle to promote the power of spoken word, which the group considers the intersection of poetry and performance.

EROT also hosts slam poetry events for other groups on campus. The RE-JECTS, a spoken word organization with an emphasis on public service, debuted as a recognized student performance group in August 2011. The REJECTS host workshops for students and community members to improve writing and perfor-mance skills.

The group seeks to foster community within and beyond UNC-CH through artistic expression and operates under the motto: “Leave your drama at the door, un-less you’re ready to turn it into a poem.”

Karamu Theater Company is a Duke University-based student performance group that shares EROT’s commitment to performing shows that tackle identity issues. Karamu (Kuh-RAH-moo), which means ‘a joyful gathering’ in Swahili, showcases black playwrights’ work and currently focuses on contemporary, mostly student-written theater.

“Our company also gives students who aren’t theater studies actors a spotlight to perform under,” says Lexia Chadwick, a Duke sophomore and Karamu’s president.

The unique group has re-formed this past year since its initial founding around 1970. Chadwick, a Literature major from Dallas, T.X. explains the company per-forms only plays written by black play-wrights, but the group itself is comprised of a wide array of Duke students. She considers the group “experimental” in nature and says Karamu is still defining its own place within the larger performing arts scene at Duke.

“This group isn’t about how trained you are or what your background is,” says Chadwick, “it’s about whether you have the personality, even if you’re not a good rapper or dancer, to get up there and try.”

Beyond requiring new skill sets, Karamu’s shows are “a bit racy” according to Chadwick, and she says the shows are challenging Duke students to step outside their comfort zone.

“We tackle complicated black histories,” says Chadwick, “but our main goal is that our shows will always contain material Duke students can relate to.”

Karamu’s fall showcase, which took place in early November, featured plays written by two Duke alumnae and directed by current students. In addi-tion to offering specific reflections about the experience of some black women on campus, Chadwick says the performances “transcended color”.

“We hope to challenge the normative discourse on campus,” says Chadwick, “so you walk away asking your friends new questions about their experiences at Duke.”

Challenging and questioning campus culture is a recurring theme throughout smaller, more intimate performances like EROT’s spoken word slams or All of the Above or Karamu’s black box shows (shows that are typically low-cost and without major props or costumes). The groups do benefit, however, from their campuses’ larger, more experienced per-forming arts community.

“I have exchanged emails with Hoof ‘n’ Horn’s president asking her for advice,” says Chadwick, “About how to get your name out there, how to get a group’s foun-dation set, and how to define your place in the Duke community.”

Creativity and collaboration: All in a day’s work

Although most responsibilities for major productions– including casting, directing, producing, lighting, operating sound boards, building sets, making cos-tumes, and more – are entirely coordinated by students, performing arts students express gratitude for support-ive faculty and staff.

One particular group at UNC-CH is lucky enough to rub elbows almost daily with artists in the Playmakers Reper-tory Company, the professional theater in residence on campus. The student-run LAB! Theatre is housed in the Center for Dra-matic Arts, the same building Playmakers calls home.

“The fact that we’re in the same build-

ing [as Playmakers] is a resource that has certainly helped my personal education,” says Zach Meicher-Buzzi, a senior from Chapel Hill and one of LAB!’s five produc-ers. “It’s been a gift to work with people who are still acting and actively pursuing their craft.”

LAB! Theatre is celebrating its 30th anniversary as an organization dedicated to offering students space to explore their creative theater interests outside the classroom. LAB! focuses less on musi-cal theater and more on straight plays, comedies, and dramatic pieces, and also highlights student work. In spring 2013, LAB! will feature two student-written repertory shows along with a handful of other performances.

Meicher-Buzzi, a double major in Dramatic Arts and Philosophy, says he has dedicated much of his time at UNC-CH to LAB! Theatre. Although he jokingly says he has pursued the “not-profitable degrees” in college, Meicher-Buzzi hopes to give professional theater a chance in an administrative or directing role.

“What I appreciate most is that theater is the most collaborative art form,” says Meicher-Buzzi. “You get to come in every day and work with people who have really creative visions, and there’s nothing better than that.”

Photo by MElaniE rio

Luke Wander, a senior at UNC-CH, performs a scene from “Diary of a Some-body,” with his cast mate Jack Utrata, also a UNC senior.


devil’sadvocatelaurel burkis a Duke senior majoring in psychocolgy and English. She is a Durham native and serves as President of the Duke’s Women Club Basketball team.

The real college “experience”In my last three years on campus (almost

three and a half now—scary) I’ve been an avid reader of student opinion columns, especially in this magazine and Duke’s Chronicle. Maybe it’s because they have the potential to be spectacularly terrible—in style and content—and I sometimes seek them out in anticipation of a carnage-filled train wreck. If that’s the reason you’re read-ing this column, I applaud your Schaden-freude motivation because I have it too. On the other hand, these sorts of articles can, on a special day, be readable, even eloquent. Whether sharp or dull, well-written or unintelligible, many columns over the years have given me opinions about “the college experience” and “campus culture.” I’m here to tell you, in the words of Joe Biden, it’s all a bunch of mularkey.

Campus culture usually refers to social life. A dissection of Duke’s now officially disavowed “work hard, play hard” slogan (the PE department is now pushing “work smart, play well”), a denouncement of progressive parties, or a defense of Duke’s supposedly anti-intellectual climate. Many past writers have portrayed campus culture as some invisible, unstoppable force that sweeps up interchangeable students like leaves in the wind. Duke students become a collective type, rather than an array of individuals.

The college experience, in opinion col-umn tradition, consists of a set of activities and attitudes endorsed by the writer: Drink heavily and live life to the fullest; Avoid parties and immerse yourself in the life of the mind; Eat cheese fries at 3 am; Use these years to focus on your well-being by spend-ing countless hours on the treadmills and ellipticals. Forge lifelong bonds. Ditch your friends and expand your social circle.

Taken as a whole, the advice is contra-dictory, but each writer is adamant that the college experience is a unified concept that looks similar across a range of disparate student experiences.

Even in this cacophony of opposing voices, I think most of these opinions would agree on two superficial components of campus culture and the college experience: sweatshirts and coffee. These are perhaps

the most stereotypical college accessories. Even so, only one of these items has made its way into my personal college story. If you’re thinking, “wow it’s November, you must be so cold without a sweatshirt,” you’re on the wrong track. I have an excessive number of Duke sweatshirts. I’ve never had a cup of coffee.

Don’t get me wrong; I have no objections to caffeine. I drink tea and soda occasion-ally. Chocolate is a must. Sure, when I see people sitting in a wood-paneled room of Perkins Library, nursing to-go cups of cof-fee, it does enhance the collegiateness of the atmosphere, but I can’t be persuaded to join the coffee drinkers. I can’t stand the taste, and my college experience hasn’t suffered one bit.

I imagine there are many others who feel the same way about their “empty” check-boxes on the stereotypical college experi-ence list—the non-drinkers (I mean alcohol this time), the non-sports fans, those who don’t own a shred of their college’s apparel.

Campus culture does not necessar-ily make you into one type of person or another. Being thrown into a new environ-ment does not erase all the values and ambi-tions at your core. There is no one Duke experience.

On the morning of a freshman-year football game, I saw a hallmate getting dressed up as some kind of neon fairy—ready for tailgate (of the now infamous, beer-throwing variety). Finishing up her look, she turned to me and said, “Laurel, you could at least look like a Duke student.”

I was fairly certain I looked like a Duke student, seeing as I was wearing a Duke T-shirt, ready to bypass tailgate on my way to Wallace Wade Stadium. Setting aside whose kind of Duke student is better or more cor-rect, the obvious reality was we were both Duke students, and we held strong, oppos-ing beliefs about what a Duke student looks like on a Saturday morning.

Rather than tell you what campus cul-ture and the college experience should be, I’ll instead encourage you to explore what it can be—which is nearly anything, given the diversity of majors, activities, schedules, and peer groups available at Duke and UNC-CH.


‘‘

lilly knoepp is a junior political science and religious studies double major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Haul out the holly: a modern holiday experienceNow that Thanksgiving is just a blur of

turkey, football and spending time with family it is time to launch into another festival of feasting: Christmas!

Every year, everyone gripes about how the holiday season starts earlier and earlier; Stores stock up on plastic roof-top Santas and reindeer antlers for your dog the second the clock strikes midnight on Halloween. Even with the relentless bar-rage of enticing Christmas goodies, I am especially excited for the holidays (and not just because of Christmas break from school).

This year is the first time I have ever lived in my own house. Even better, I have two housemates who bring their own tra-ditions to the holiday season. We will each celebrate a different holiday during this season. I was raised celebrating Christ-mas, one housemate celebrates Kwanzaa and my other roommate celebrates Pass-over. While we will all be going home at some point to be with our families, we will get to celebrate each other’s holidays in our own home in Chapel Hill.

I grew up in rural western North Carolina without too much diversity, as the majority of people in my town were Caucasian and Christian. When I came to college here at UNC-CH, I wanted to meet a diverse array of students. I love meeting people who come from differ-ent backgrounds because I enjoy learning about their unique perspectives. And that is exactly what I have gotten to experience here so far.

I now have friends of almost every faith who come from different parts of America.

I’ve also met many international students and learned about their completely dif-ferent cultural customs. It is even more interesting than my friend’s hard fought debates over the proper pronunciation of “a tournament in Oregon.” Those from the South know that the state should be pro-nounced just like the word “organ” instead of emphasizing each letter of the word (Or- E- Gone.) The ability to have people that are so different come together at school to live and learn together is wonderful, and it is also embodied in my house this year

During Hanukkah, which is a Jewish tradition, we are planning to have all of the traditional Jewish food and rituals such as a Seder dinner. Under the guidance of my roommate, this completely new experience will be fun, even though I’ve never had a latke.

For Kwanzaa, an African heritage celebration, the tradition is to light a dif-ferent red, black or green candle each night and receive one present for each day of the

tar tracksholiday. Each candle represents a different characteristic strive to embody that day, such as faith or creativity. My roommate will mostly celebrate Kwanzaa with her family, because it begins over break, but hopefully we can have our own version in Chapel Hill.

As for my end of the holiday bargain, My grandparents were British, so in my house we always have a traditional Brit-ish Christmas dinner with roast beef and Yorkshire pudding (a kind of bread dish). Last year, my mom even made Christmas Pudding, a traditional British dessert that is a kind of fruit cake. You serve the cake covered in brandy and light the alcohol on fire before eating it. But I’m not sure I can pull off this tradition away from home so my roommate will have to settle a tasty batch of Christmas cookies for us to share.

I hope that everyone is able to enjoy just as many new experiences this holiday season. Have fun over break and Happy Holidays!

Every year, everyone gripes about how the holiday season starts earlier and earlier; Stores stock up on plastic roof-top Santas and reindeer antlers for your dog the second the clock strikes midnight on Halloween.


Behind the

UniformBY JAKE KLEIN, DUKEDESIGN BY TRACI CARVER, UNC-CHPHOTOS BY RODRIGO MARTINEZ, UNC-CH

The ROTC Armory, located on UNC-CH’s North Campus, houses all three ROTC branches.


Of the many students on campus, these are most recognizable in their uniforms. They spend their mornings training their

bodies before going to class to train their minds. They follow strict academic stan-dards. Failure to meet these requirements could cost them their coveted scholarships. These hardworking students aren’t basket-ball players or even athletes. They are the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) cadets of Duke and UNC-CH, and this is their story.

Background: Scholarships and Requirements

Contrary to popular belief, colleges have little control over who serves in their ROTC programs: applying to ROTC is separate from the college application pro-cess. Potential cadets fill out an application with the military branch of their choos-ing, sending in their high school grades, SAT’s, and, if they are applying to the Air Force or Army, Candidate Fitness Assess-ment scores. The CFA tests applicants’ physical abilities, and includes running, push-ups, and either sit-ups (Air Force) or curl-ups (Army). There isn’t a physical component for applying to NRTOC unless the applicant is applying to the Marines. There is no set formula for ROTC accep-tance, but, in the words of a Duke Cadet, “if you can get into Duke, you don’t have to worry about it.” The same could be said for getting into UNC-CH. Once accepted into ROTC, cadets submit an ordered list of five schools that their scholarship can be applied to, and then they have to wait for their acceptance letters just like the rest of civilian applicants.

Getting into ROTC is just the beginning for cadets. Once they are on campus, there is a whole slew of standards waiting for them. For starters, cadets have to take an additional course per semester in a mili-tary science course. Generally speaking, the minimum GPA to remain in ROTC is 2.5. Navy ROTC students can retain their scholarships with a 2.0, but have to go before a Peer Review Board if their GPA is below 2.5.

In addition to the rigorous academic standards, ROTC cadets also have to meet physical fitness standards. The first of these is the height-weight requirement. These vary depending on age and branch of service. For example, the maximum a 6’0” tall student, who is 17 years of age,

could weigh would be 200 pounds in Army ROTC, 201 pounds in Navy ROTC, or 202 pounds in Air Force ROTC. Each program also has its own fitness tests, usu-ally involving running and a combination of strength tests. Navy ROTC’s Physical Readiness Test is based on a 100-point scale with performance levels such as “satisfactory”, “good”, and “excellent”. For the aforementioned 17 year old student, a nine-minute time for a mile and a half run would yield a score of 90 (Outstanding) while 50 curl ups would result in a score of 45 (Satisfactory). The average scores from curl-ups, push-ups, the run, and either a 500 yard or 450 meter swim formulate the total score.

Beyond remaining sound of mind and body, ROTC cadets must also commit to summer programs and post-graduation service. Cadets are expected to participate in vari-ous summer training programs, which depend on the branch of service. For example, students in the Navy ROTC program will spend the summer after their sophomore year getting to know enlisted sailors. One day, cadets might have to lead soldiers like these in battle, so getting to understand how they think and feel will be a valu-able tool for cadets. For Army cadets, no acronym is more intimidating than LDAC (not to be confused with Duke’s Last Day of Classes, LDOC). The Leader Development and

Assessment Course is a 5-week summer program in rugged Fort Lewis, WA that cadets take between their junior and senior years. LDAC is a test of the leadership and military skills students have learned throughout their time in ROTC. (That definitely sounds nothing like LDOC). For more information on LDAC, check out its WordPress site at warriorforge.wordpress.com.

The post-graduation service require-ment can be fulfilled in active duty or, in special cases, as a reserve (except in the Air Force). Service requirements vary depend-ing on cadets’ involvement in their branch. The general minimum is 4 years, but ca-dets will serve longer if they are a pilot (10 years in the Air Force, 8 years in the Navy) or occupy another specialty position.


Surprising Connections: A Historical Perspective of ROTC

Both Duke and UNC-CH have ROTC programs for all three service branches. Duke and North Carolina Central Uni-versity’s Army and Air Force programs are shared. However, there is a connec-tion between Duke and UNC-CH, as well. North Carolina State University, UNC-CH, and Duke’s Naval ROTC programs form the North Carolina Piedmont Consortium. This fancy title means that the Triangle Schools follow the same standards and military leaders. But, the connection across Tobacco Road extends even farther.

Duke and UNC-CH began recogniz-ing Army ROTC scholarships in 1982 and 1989 respectively, which is fairly recent considering ROTC was first formed in 1860. The schools’ programs were joined under the Blue Devil Battalion, an exten-sion of the military science program they participated in starting in the spring of 1974. NC Central’s ROTC program also joined the ranks in 1995. However, in 1998, UNC-CH ROTC officially became its own program, and broke away from the Blue Devil Battalion. To this day, Duke and NC Central remain connected through what is now the Blue Devil Eagle Battalion.

There is a lot less controversy in the schools’ Air Force ROTC programs.

UNC-CH’s program, Detachment 590, was founded in 1947. It has never had official ties to Detachment 585, Duke’s program, which was founded in 1951 and is cur-rently linked to NC Central University.

A Day in the Life: Personal Stories from Actual Cadets

There are obvious questions and con-cerns about becoming an ROTC cadet. Why not just go to a service academy? Is the free education really worth the service commitment? The answers to these ques-tions are as different as the cadets them-selves.

Joining ROTC is a compromise between going to a service academy and getting the traditional college experience. This explanation was offered by both se-nior Sam Pulliam, an Army ROTC cadet at UNC-CH, and freshman Anna Reinhart, a Navy cadet at Duke.

For Pulliam, the route to ROTC was a bumpy one. He had originally planned on joining the military but wanted to go to a

service academy or military college to earn his degree first. This all changed when he spoke to a family friend, who had served two tours in Iraq after graduating from Davidson’s ROTC program, about his col-lege experiences in ROTC. This conversa-tion inspired Sam to pursue his degree at a non-military school and apply to ROTC.

Reinhart’s path was similar. Growing up near the Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, she always knew she would one day enlist in the Navy. She had two choices to complete her goal: stay in Annapolis or enroll in an ROTC program. In the end, she said the opportunity to prepare for a military career while still being able to enjoy a college life was too great to pass up.

Duke’s Army ROTC website introduces the program by saying “It’s not for every-one…but that’s kind-of the point.” Only a special few have the combination of honor, courage, and selflessness it takes to put their country before themselves. “We as students in ROTC have chosen a career path much more important than our own wellbeing and that is something we take great pride in,” said Pulliam on what being a cadet means to him.

Other Facts about ROTC

-Former President Gerald Ford and Hall of Fame baseball player Ted Williams trained with UNC-CH’s Navy ROTC program.

-While Army ROTC students can major in almost any field, Navy and Air Force cadets are limited to math, science, engineering or foreign language majors.

-Cadets can lose their scholar-ships if they suffer an injury that prevents them from fulfilling their physical requirements.

-ROTC students can also be stu-dent athletes.

UNC Senior, Micah Poulson, is a two-year Air Force ROTC cadet double majoring in African History and US His-tory. ROTC has provided Poulson with many opportunities for “direction, purpose, and structure”, and while his schedule is busy on a daily basis, he plans on rejoining UNC-CH’s boxing team next semester. Picture submitted by Mical Poulson.

“It’s not for everyone…but that’s kind-of the point.”


This summer, a group of Duke and UNC Chapel Hill students will venture out of North Carolina to enter the ultimate birthplace of

innovation: Apple University headquarters in Cupertino, CA. Although Apple rarely allows outsiders a look inside their head-quarters, this summer a group of ambi-tious students from the Research Triangle will take a course on entrepreneurship inside Apple’s campus.

This course, entitled Building and Sustaining a Successful Enterprise, will be administered through Duke in Silicon Val-ley, a four-week program offered by Duke University’s Innovation and Entrepreneur-ship Center in conjunction with the Global Education Office for Undergraduates. The program will allow students to develop the skills necessary to succeed as an entrepre-neur through a combination of classroom

instruction, mentorship by leading innova-tors, and tours of company headquarters and research facilities.

“Our hope for this program is to help bridge two of the nation’s biggest tech areas, the Research Triangle Park and the Silicon Valley entrepreneurial hub,” says Dr. Kimberly Jenkins, director of the Duke in Silicon Valley program and former Se-nior Advisor to the President and Provost for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Duke.

Prior to teaching courses in entrepre-neurship and leadership to faculty and students at Duke University and UNC-CH, Dr. Jenkins received both a B.S. in Biology (’76) and a Ph.D. in Education (’80) from Duke. Afterward, she proceeded to work with technological and entrepreneurial leaders Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, where she successfully launched Microsoft’s edu-cational division and oversaw marketing development at NeXT. Since then, Jenkins has established two non-profit organi-zations that educate legislators on the importance of technology. She will return

to Duke next fall to teach an undergradu-ate seminar entitled Advanced Multimedia Production, Innovation and Entrepreneur-ship with Amy Unell, an Emmy-nominat-ed former producer for NBC’s Today Show and founder of StoryTales Productions, a multimedia production company in Los Angeles.

The inspiration behind this summer program is found in the invigorating spirit of entrepreneurship at Duke and UNC-CH where students don’t often realize that CEOs and start-up directors are sitting right next to them in class. Yet entrepre-neurial talent can occasionally be slightly easier to spot: Bryan Silverman, a Duke sophomore studying neuroscience, was a finalist in Entrepreneur Magazine’s College Entrepreneur of 2012 contest. Silverman is the co-founder of Star Toilet Paper, a start-up that promotes advertisers on rolls of toilet paper.

“The [idea] for this product started with my brother, who thought of the idea as a sophomore at the University of Michi-gan,” recalls Silverman. “He was in the

STORY BY LAUREN PAYLOR, DUKEDESIGN BY MOIRA GILL, UNC-CH PHOTOS BY SUBMISSION

Student Start-up $avvy


bathroom one day, reading his phone, and thought to himself, ‘Why hasn’t advertis-ing percolated into the bathroom, a place where everyone reads?’”

When his brother approached him with the idea soon after, he immediately thought the idea was “pretty crazy.” How-ever, as his brother added more details, Silverman slowly began to see “how beneficial it was for every party involved, as well as its exceptional potential to be the next marketing tool.”

While the Silverman brothers are responsible for the idea and the initia-tive behind their business, the nurturing environment at Duke ultimately provided Star Toilet Paper with the necessary boost to launch.

“The environment and atmosphere [provided by] Duke students and faculty always [pushes] me to the next level,” says Silverman. “There is a competitive atmo-sphere, but one where everyone strives to help each other reach the next level. Every-one loves seeing one another succeed, not only in the classroom, but also in all that students take on outside of the classroom. I am constantly motivated by all of the great things happening around me.”

Ting-Ting Zhou is the $50,000 Grand Prize Winner of the 13th Annual Duke Start-Up Challenge, a yearlong entrepre-neurship competition that consists of sev-eral different phases, including an Elevator Pitch Competition and a Business Plan Competition. Like Silverman, Zhou was also motivated by the Duke atmosphere

while developing her start-up company, Nanoly.

“My relationships at Duke are what has helped me the most with my business,” says Zhou, whose company provides tech-nology to enable the cheap, effective and safe delivery of vaccines to any place in the world. “The support of my friends and mentors has been very beneficial. [Ad-ditionally,] my leadership involvement on campus gave me the skills and confidence to work on the business side of [Nanoly].”

Doug Hanna, a Duke senior and CEO of Durham-based Web hosting company, A Small Orange, was also inspired by his experiences at Duke.

“I credit my Duke liberal arts education with exposing me to several different peo-ple, areas of study, and ideas,” says Hanna. “I read obsessively about topics that seem completely unrelated to [my professional career] because I believe that being knowl-edgeable about a wide variety of things is an important trait of any leader.”

Hanna is convinced that the best resource Duke has is its people, includ-ing faculty, staff and students. He firmly believes that meeting people has impacted his life more than the factual knowledge he has learned in the classroom over the past three years.

Dr. Jenkins also attributes much of her entrepreneurial success to the knowledge and skills she developed in the “robust ecosystem” she was surrounded by as a Duke student.

“I had an extremely rich academic

experience,” recalls Jenkins with a hint of nostalgia. “This was mostly attributed to the cultural environment at Duke as well as the easily accessible professors. As a student, I learned to write critically and work hard, but most of all I learned to listen and be passionate. Listening and passion were the keys to my success when I was lobbying for an educational division at Microsoft. Bill Gates initially turned me down...but soon the division was 10% of the company’s revenue.”

Carrie Harbinson, a 2007 UNC-CH grad with a master’s degree from Duke, is the Program Manager at UNC-CH Kenan-Flagler’s Center for Entrepreneurial Stud-ies. At the Center, she is responsible for collaboratively planning and administer-ing several core entrepreneurship courses and programs: the Carolina Challenge, Launching the Venture, and the Venture Capital Investment Competition. She maintains that her academic experiences at both Duke and UNC-CH prepared her for a career in entrepreneurship.

“The Undergraduate Business program at UNC-CH Kenan-Flagler provided me with a strong foundation that I draw upon almost every day in my current role: solid communication skills, knowledge of key business principles, and the ability to differentiate opportunity from risk,” says Harbinson. “My degree from Duke in Liberal Studies, however, taught me how to be a much better and more engaged scholar. In terms of entre-preneurship, my degree at Duke taught me that true innovation requires the courage to step outside traditional disciplinary boundaries into unfamiliar territory and new ways of understanding.”

Hayden Rose, a UNC-CH junior studying psychology, also attributes much of the success of his company, Zentra, to the university. Zentra is an online store specializing in coins, coin supplies, bullion and paper money. It is currently expanding into also selling toys and electronics.

“My accounting class provided me with a number of useful skills, and I have received a lot of helpful advice from indi-vidual professors,” says Rose. “The library is also a great resource if I need to learn more about a specific topic. In general, the college environment at UNC-CH is a great place to develop the skills needed to run a successful business.”

Bryan Silverman attributes the success of Star Toilet Paper to other Duke resourc-es as well.

“One of the Duke resources I utilize is DUhatch, Duke’s student incubator,” says Silverman. “It has been a great place to use free office space as well as have access to


their on-call coaches and its knowledge-able director, Dr. Larry Boyd. I also utilize the Duke Start-Up Challenge and Elevator Pitch Competition to perfect our elevator pitch and business plan as well as obtain much-needed capital.”

Aside from the Start-Up Challenge, Silverman and other student entrepreneurs also rely on their innovative brainpower in seeking out other ways to fund their businesses.

“We have been able to use a combina-tion of our own funding and the revenue we bring in from advertisers,” says Silver-man. “We also received a $1,500 scholar-ship from Ann Arbor SPARK [a start-up accelerator in Michigan] and a grant for 30 hours of legal work for patent services.”

For many Duke and UNC-CH students, becoming an entrepreneur can be one of the most unexpected, yet defining, parts of their college careers.

”To be honest, in high school we didn’t think much about entrepreneurship,” says Silverman. “[But] once my brother came to me with the idea, I definitely caught the entrepreneurial bug, and I am so glad that I did.”

He humorously adds that he didn’t “necessarily” see himself operating a toilet

paper advertising company when he was younger.

Often times, the most difficult aspect of launching a business as a college student is finding a balance between being a full-time student as well as a full-time CEO. However, passionate student entrepreneurs do not consider this obstacle to be a hin-drance to their education.

“If you’re passionate about something, you learn to prioritize what’s important,” says Zhou. “I’ve learned to be conscious of how I’m spending my time.

Silverman reiterates Zhou’s passionate dedication.

“For me, this company is just part of being a student,” says Silverman. “Here at Duke, students grow to succeed in the real world, not just to pass tests.”

Rather than becoming heavily involved in alternative extracurricular activities, Silverman says running Star Toilet Paper is simply his “thing.”

“Outside of class, I love making calls, meeting local business owners, and being involved in the entrepreneurial commu-nity at Duke, in Durham, and the Research Triangle Park,” says Silverman.

Alternatively, Grant Warman, a 2012 Duke graduate and founder of TabSprint,

a drink ordering app that eliminates the time-consuming hassles of bar tabs and credit cards, has a different view on suc-cessfully running a business as an under-graduate: he thinks it is impossible.

“I used most of my free time during the school year to build a prototype of our product, but it wasn’t until after graduation that I could really devote the time neces-sary to successfully launch and run the business,” says Warman.

Rose agrees that running a business as a full-time student is extremely challenging.

“For most companies in my industry, about 20% of annual sales occur between Black Friday and Christmas,” says Rose. “That period also includes 100% of my final exams this semester. The time con-straint has forced me to evaluate the most productive uses of my time in a way that I had not done before, and this process has given me ideas about how to make the business more efficient next summer. Currently, I am generating half the level of sales I did over the summer with a fifth as much of the time.”

For Warman and many other young entrepreneurs, launching a business has created a new alternative for their post-graduation future.

Duke sophomore Bryan Silverman was a finalist in Entrepreneur Magazine’s College Entrepreneur of 2012 contest for his start-up Star Toilet Paper.

Grant Warman, 2012 Duke graduate and founder, of TapSprint, says it wasn’t unitl after graduation that he could really devote the time to launching the business.

“For me, this company is just a part of being a student” -Bryan Silverman


“After graduation, the plan is absolutely Star Toilet Paper,” says Silverman. “Right now, I honestly cannot see myself doing anything else. This has been my baby for the last two years (plus), and I hope it stays that way for a long time. My brother graduated [this year] and is currently working [on our company] full-time in New York along with two of our other full-time employees.”

“Our ultimate goal is to be the toilet pa-per provider for every public venue across America,” Silverman adds. “We want to be the next big marketing tool that companies add to their toolkit.”

Doug Hanna, whose graduation date looms much closer than Silverman’s, is also set on continuing down the entrepreneur-ial path.

“[A Small Orange] is doing great and I want to be with the company for the foreseeable future,” affirms Hanna. “We want to be the best hosting company in the marketplace.”

Elizabeth Spiers, a 1999 Duke gradu-ate who founded Dead Horse Media, which publishes gossip sites Dealbreaker, AboveTheLaw, and Fashionista, is prob-ably most famous as the founding editor of Gawker.com. As a senior at Duke, her entrepreneurial spirit was sparked as the co-founder of a small non-profit, the CIR-CLe Network. As a successful entrepreneur and, most recently, the previous editor-in-chief of the New York Observer, Spiers offers her best advice to aspiring student entrepreneurs in the Research Triangle.

“Get some experience in a very early stage startup [with] less than ten employ-

ees,” advises Spiers. “Then you can see what the on-the-ground challenges are for early stage entrepreneurs without having to jump into the deep end. Or just jump in the deep end, if you can afford it.”

The entrepreneurial spirit is flourish-ing in all areas of the Research Triangle. At UNC-CH, entrepreneurship has been a buzzword since 1997, the inaugural year of the Center for Entrepreneurial Stud-ies. The Center offers students, staff, and faculty the resources to pursue entrepre-neurial opportunities, as well as connect to mentors in Research Triangle Park, one of the nation’s most vibrant entrepreneurial hotspots. The university features both an entrepreneurship minor for undergradu-ate students as well as an entrepreneurship concentration for undergraduate students pursuing a degree in business.

“I truly enjoy helping students with entrepreneurial aspirations connect to the right resources so they can succeed,” says Carrie Harbinson. “As a junior at UNC Chapel Hill, I competed in the Carolina Challenge and it was a fantastic learning experience. Furthermore, it broadened my understanding of entrepreneurship as a lifelong mindset, not simply a set of tools used to launch a new venture.”

Although both Duke and UNC-CH possess extremely impressive entrepre-neurial programs, Harbinson expresses the difficulty for these programs to collaborate because they are both so occupied serv-ing their own respective entrepreneurs. However, she still believes there awaits a massive opportunity in connecting like-minded students with one another to

build successful businesses. In fact, the success of the American Tobacco Cam-pus in downtown Durham has already allowed consistently large numbers of entrepreneurs from Duke and UNC-CH to collaborate with one another on a variety of new ventures.

Another influential leader at UNC Kenan-Flagler’s Center for Entrepreneur-ial Studies is Patrick Vernon, who serves as the Center’s Executive Director as well as Adjunct Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship. Vernon also serves as faculty adviser for the Carolina Challenge, a campus-wide business plan competition at UNC-CH that has launched several suc-cessful start-ups, including our very own RIVAL magazine in 2006.

Prior to joining UNC Kenan-Flagler, Vernon was an entertainment entrepre-neur, founding an independent record label based in Los Angeles. In addition, as an MBA student at UNC-CH, he was president of the entrepreneurship club and ran the Venture Capital Investment Competition. In Vernon’s opinion, the biggest entrepreneurial success at UNC-CH is “slowly changing the culture so that students and faculty recognize entrepre-neurship as a viable means to change the world.”

In the same respect, Harbinson believes that the entrepreneurship programs at UNC-CH have been extremely success-ful in building a highly dedicated and supportive community of innovators who drive the long-term sustainability and growth of its programs.

“The entrepreneurial culture at UNC-CH prides itself on inclusivity and the many ways in which the term “entrepre-neur” can (and should) be defined,” says Harbinson. “I advise aspiring student entrepreneurs to stay humble...stay hun-gry...and never lose sight of what is most important during the process of starting a new venture.”

Vernon adds that his advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is simply to “be entrepre-neurial.”

“Enjoy the pursuit of ideas, whatever they may be,” says Vernon. “It’s a great way to make your mark on the world and to meet like-minded people.”

Entrepreneurs at both schools all agree that the most vital part of entrepreneur-ship is developing and working on busi-nesses that they love. Silverman, whose company’s tagline is “Don’t Rush, Look Before You Flush!” lives his life inspired by another motto: “Choose a job you love and you will never work a day in your life.”


There were several hot-button issues in this year’s election: the economy, health care, and foreign policy are only a few. Both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney had strengths and weaknesses in these

areas, and ultimately (for those of you surfacing from beneath your rock dwellings) President Obama emerged from the fray victorious.

Now, what if we had voted solely on the question, “Which candidate is more sports-friendly?” Would that have resulted in a different outcome? Probably not.

Let’s start with President Obama’s sports résumé. Once a Senator from Illinois, he’s been very vocal in support of the Chicago Bears and Chicago White Sox. He threw out the first pitch at the 2009 MLB All-Star Game, sporting his White Sox jacket (and “mom jeans”), and at the 2010 season opener for the Washington Nationals. He engaged in friendly trash-talk with Green Bay Packers cornerback Charles Woodson, whose team defeated Obama’s Bears en route to Super Bowl XLV.

Obama is also an avid basketball fan. On the campaign trail in 2008, Obama visited North Carolina, a pivotal swing state, and scrimmaged with the UNC-CH basketball team. In addition to the element of fun involved, this was also a calcu-lated political tactic. Why did he scrimmage at UNC-CH and not Duke? Plain and simple: there are more UNC-CH alums than Duke alums living in North Carolina, so scrimmaging with the Tar Heel squad probably appealed more to the state than playing at Duke. That strategy paid off as part of a larger effort to garner support, as Obama turned North Carolina “blue” in 2008 for the first time since 1976.

As president, Obama has carried on the tradition of welcoming the national champions in American sports to the White House. In his first term, these visitors included both UNC-CH and Duke. The president typically makes generic remarks about the champions, making it pretty clear that the Commander in Chief didn’t really pay attention to the season. Not the case with Obama. Every March, he’s picked a March Madness bracket for ESPN (he correctly picked UNC-CH to win in 2009, and incorrectly picked the Heels in 2012). When

Duke busted his bracket by winning it all in 2010, Obama jokingly complained when the Devils made their White House visit. That’s not the first time a Duke basketball player has been to see Obama at the White House; Obama’s former personal aide, Reggie Love, played basketball at Duke, and the two regularly played pick-up games.

Let’s move to Mitt Romney now. Perhaps the most sub-stantial sports accomplishment in Romney’s corner is his leadership in running the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. But what about Romney, the fan? He was governor of Massachusetts, one of the most sports-crazed sports states in the nation, and a state that has had abundant sports success in the past decade. The Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 for the first time in 86 years, and Romney was right there at Fenway Park when it happened – or at least that’s what he said. The problem was, the Red Sox clinched the Series at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. He went to a Celtics playoff game or two this spring, and announced the score of a Boston Bru-ins playoff game to a New Hampshire primary audience. And then there was his campaign gaffe in which he was asked if he followed NASCAR racing. Romney responded that he has a few friends that are NASCAR owners, which, while cool, seemed to cast him as an out-of-touch rich man. Just because you know some owners doesn’t make you a good sports fan.

Clearly, on sports, Obama has the more impressive acu-men. Sure, he has earned a lot of his sports opportunities just by occupying the Oval Office, but in a state as sports-rich as Massachusetts, Mitt Romney has no excuse for not being a more visible presence at sporting events as governor. I think it’s fair to say that America picked the better can-didate to be its Fan in Chief.

BY RYAN HOERGER, DUKE DESIGN BY TASHIANA WESLEY, UNC-CH

athlete’scorner

RYAN HOERGER is a freshman from Duke. He is undecided about his major but greatly enjoys sports.


the widthand breadth of it

Adjustments and AccomplishmentsSTORY AND PHOTOS BY RACHEL FICHELL, DUKE DESIGN BY TASHIANA WESLEY, UNC-CHPHOTOS BY RACHEL FISCHELL, DUKE

Do you remember first semester freshman year? The first two months of college, at least in my mind, can be summed up as a blur of meet-ing new people, getting to know a new place and being completely overwhelmed by so many new things that all I could think was: “Oh my gosh! I’m in college!”

Then those second two months come around and the novelty begins to wear off. Suddenly, new and exciting things no longer overwhelm you. Instead you’re burdened by outrageous amounts of work and you still don’t feel fully settled into

your new home. Now all you can manage to think is: “Oh my gosh. I’m in college…”

My semester in Madrid has been remarkably similar to that first semester at Duke. The first two months (with the exception of a few days when, at the end of the day, all I wanted was to speak English), things were great. There were fifty new people to meet and get to know through the Duke in Madrid program and countless more people to meet at the University of San Pablo in Madrid where I study. On top of all that, there was a brand new city to explore! It was incredibly


astounding, and every once in a while, I’d take a step back, smile, and think to myself (in a vaguely familiar way), “Wow. I’m in Madrid!”

It all went by so quickly… but then came that two-month mark, right on schedule. For about a week, everything made me nostalgic for home. Of course, I missed my family and friends from the start, but I was not necessarily homesick for Duke or my home in Virginia. I just missed the good ol’ USA.

It became extremely evident how ef-ficient and simple everything seems in the United States, from getting antibiotics when you have an infection to getting a replacement debit card when yours gets stolen. An email that would take a profes-sor in the United States four hours to reply to could take up to four days here; maybe two days if you’re lucky. Nothing seems quite as simple abroad.

After that week passed, however, I came to the realization that yes, I’d been in Spain for two months, but no, I wasn’t leaving for a good while longer. That is when accep-tance settled in. Now, I hardly notice when I’m speaking or writing English instead of Spanish, and I’ve settled in enough to thoroughly enjoy my last few weeks in a foreign city.

One extra thing that has made the semester fly by is the seemingly con-stant travel. As part of our study abroad program, we take five trips. Two of them are just day trips, but the other three are at least two-night visits. The first trip we took, we visited Andalucía (the south-ern region of Spain where flamenco is incredibly popular) for six days.. While in Andalucía, we visited Granada, which the Muslims had ruled for thousands of

years, leaving behind “La Alhambra”, as well as Seville (a little further West) and Cádiz, which is on the Southern coast. After that trip, we took a day trip to Segovia, (located just Northwest of Madrid) and a few weeks later, went on a three-day excursion to Galícia, the northern region of Spain where it always rains.

By this point, the trips had become significantly more fun because I had met everyone in the program and actually knew everyone’s name. After the initial introduction, it just becomes a mat-ter of actually getting to know people, and what better way to do that than by explor-ing a strange city together? Most recently, we visited Toledo, which is a city about an hour outside of Madrid, and soon we will be off to Barcelona!

Outside the organized travel, most students elect to travel over weekends, es-pecially since we have 3-day-weekends (no Friday classes). Some of the most popular destinations have included Prague, Paris, Amsterdam, Morocco, Copenhagen, Rome and Venice. Anyone who has been knows that travel in Europe is so easy - they never even stamp your passport if you’re travel-ing within the European Union!

Amazingly enough, when we return to our home-stays from trips now, it actually feels like coming ‘home.’ After eight weeks, I have adjusted enough to living in Madrid to be comforted by its familiarity upon my return. Having never lived in a city before, this has been a big adjustment. But these days, even if I seem to be lost in the city,

I can walk five minutes in any direction and am sure to encounter a landmark I recognize.

Not only have I learned to navigate the city, but I have improved my Spanish an unbelievable amount through speak-ing it every day. My brain used to con-fuse English and Spanish so often I had trouble speaking both languages, but now I communicate easily, switching back and forth freely. Feeling as settled as I do now in Spain, not only in terms of language comfortability, but culture and ability to navigate the city, I certainly have a unique sense of pride and accomplishment that I might never have discovered without studying abroad.

Despite the stages of culture shock I’ve endured since my arrival, I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. Upon my return home, I can’t even begin to imagine how I’m going to feel. I will certainly be in a state of culture shock once again, and I know I’ll miss speaking Spanish every day. At the same time though, being reintro-duced to the convenience and familiarity of the United States will undoubtedly be a wonderful feeling.

Catharine Kappauf (left), Rachel Fischell and Kelsey Tarzia pose on a beach in Teixido

Rachel Fischell poses from on top of a lighthouse in A Coruña.

STORY BY LISA LEFEVER, UNC-CHDESIGN BY MOIRA GILL, UNC-CHPHOTOS BY ALEISE PRESLAR, UNC-CH

The University of North Carolina’s acclaimed EATS 101 is a popular undergraduate honors course among UNC-CH and Duke students alike. The class focuses on food sourcing and

preparation, in addition to a study of the culture behind food consumption and preservation. The class, taught by UNC-CH Professor Dr. James Ferguson, started with a basic one-page syllabus that has now expanded to four-teen pages that includes detailed lessons plans, readings, class field trip itineraries, and a list of special guests.

“We start with a disarmingly simple question: what’s a healthy diet?” says Professor Ferguson.

The class aims to interest students in the interdisciplin-ary study of food systems sustainability. The class consists of group meetings, weekly dinners, field trips and a major research project.

Since the course’s establishment in 1997, many new is-sues have arisen in the realm of food, such as the shortage of land due to urban development, and these issues have been incorporated into the class, but the main objective of the course have stayed the same and that is to study the food sustainability issues across the globe .

Ferguson said in addition to studying food itself, the class focuses on the factors that shape food systems like history, policy, and economics. He says that it is necessary to go all the way back to the middle ages to fully under-stand how our food practices have been shaped. In other cases, studying modern relationships to our diet reveals a lot about the state of food today.

“If there’s a shift in emphasis, it’s been holding on to

history but also getting contemporary, like the study of eating disorders for example,” says Ferguson. The realm of topics that are covered in the course is so diverse that Ferguson tries to avoid one solitary concentration.

Jocelyn Streid, a Duke senior from St. Louis, M.O. said the class has been a highlight of her college experience. Streid, an English major, heard about the class from an upperclassman when she was a first-year.

“It immediately struck me as a perfect fit - I’ve long been interested in food in multiple spheres, be they ethi-cal, political, scientific, sociological, or theological,” Streid says.

Fortunately for Streid and others, Ferguson’s class is designed to be highly interdisciplinary and offers students the option to writing assignments and class projects of personal interest.

“Professor Ferguson does an excellent job of plunging us into ever-dynamic realm of food studies,” Streid says.

“We’ve heard from a public health researcher, a private-sector consultant, small-business owners, a biologist, a philosopher and a former dean of Duke Chapel, just to name a few,” she says.

The usual ratio of students in the class is about two to three Duke students to eleven UNC-CH students; the small seminar course has a capacity of fifteen students.

“In my opinion, the elegant triad of good food, good conversation, and good company is more than worth the trek over to a lighter shade of blue,” says Streid, a Robert-son Scholar. This is Streid’s eighth class at UNC-CH.

Students who are already affiliated with both schools,

Eats 101

Caitlin Nettleton (left), UNC-CH ’13, and Elizabeth Davis (center), UNC-CH ’14, also practice smelling the steeping coffee grinds.


like Robertson scholars, aren’t the only ones angling to take EATS 101. Attending courses at the other university is possible through an inter-institutional application process open to all students at Duke and UNC-CH.

The class is full of an assortment of students from various schools and majors. This is the third year the class is accepting Food Studies majors, a newly created ma-jor at UNC-CH. Ferguson said this fall he has three Food Studies majors in the class, but he likes to keep a diversity of students in the course because the subject is one that everybody can relate to each other on and gain something from.

“We would never want the class to be entirely food studies majors, so we have political science, biology, history, classics, Journalism school students and environ-mental science [students],” says Samantha Buckner, a former EATS 101 student and member of the UNC-CH class of 2008. Buckner now assists in teaching the EATS 101 class beside Professor Ferguson.

Ferguson says the mix “makes for really interesting conversations.”

The class has weekly dinners where members discuss a host of controversial topics, like land use and food shortages. At the dinners, students are arranged by Ferguson and Buckner as to whom they sit by and what they do. Professor Ferguson said he sees his students dine together and become a kind of “harmonious family.”

Ferguson says that they can spend more than two or three hours at a single meal. He says it is a fascinating and unique experience to actually have a time to sit

down at a meal with his students.

“Sam is not just the TA, Jim is not just the professor, and Ellie (Ferguson’s wife) isn’t just the genius behind our amazing bread - they’re our cooking guides and our dinner hosts, people who are genuinely interested in us as adults, as friends, as companions gathered around a table,” Streid says.

The class recently had a field trip to Coun-ter Culture Coffee Shop in Durham, N.C. where the class was able to experience coffees im-ported from all around the world. Class trips usually take place about once a month and some of their other trips this semester will be to Car-rboro’s Farmer’s Market and two farms in the area.

Ferguson says the field trips are a great opportunity for stu-dents to mix with the people who are directly involved in the \ing the food industry and breaking it down so our students feel like they have an understanding and that they put something tangible with what we are talking about in the class-room,” Buckner says.

“EATS 101 allows us to not only witness but also become part of an amazing intel-lectual community - one that knows that the mealtime ritual isn’t just a ritual, but the glue of human communion,” Reid says.

If any students are interested in taking EATS 101, the application can be found on the class’s website. Students should be aware that it necessary to apply early because the course tends to have a wait list spanning a few semesters out.

“And remember that food’s not frivo-lous - this is serious business you’re getting yourself into, and while a free meal might be the motivation behind half of our en-deavors as college students, this class is so, so much more,” Streid says.

There is no standard qualification for taking the class (as an honors class, mini-mum 3.0 GPA is a must), but Buckner says that they want students that are willing

dedicate the necessary time and effort that the course demands.

The course is very text heavy and re-quires students to read 9-10 books before the course begins. These readings provide the students a background of the subject material.

“We just want people who are genuinely interested in learning more about food and all aspects of food and people who are go-ing to take the course seriously. It is a big time commitment,” says Buckner.

According to Ferguson, the students will work very hard, but also play hard. He says the class is like a mini-course on life because some students come into the class thinking they know all there is to know about food, but come to find out that is certainly untrue.

“The world of food is positively electric, and Professor Ferguson and Sam Buckner have welcomed us in,” says Streid.

One of the instructors, Samantha Buckner, and two senior UNC-CH students, Danielle Balderas and Patrick McCarthy, prepare to experience “cupping,” a method to test the quality of the coffee, at Counter Culture Coffee training center in Durham as a class field trip.

UNC-CH junior Elizabeth Davis tests the final step, tasting the finished coffee.


RIVAL MAGAZINE • volume 8 • issue 126

OUT OF THE BLUEIn our By the Book section, we compare the syllabi of two similar courses—one from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and one from Duke University. This issue we take a quick look at the diet and nutrition classes at each univeristy.

by the book:YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

UNC-CH DUKE

course name: Personal Health Diet and Nutrition

course number: EXSS 141 P.E. 110

professors: Debra Murray Franca B. Alphin

offered in spring 2013? yes yes

required books: Choosing Healthby: A. Lynch, B. Elmore & T. Morgan

Nutrition and Applied Approach with Food Analyssis Codeby: Janice Thompson & Melinda Manore

number of quizzes: 6 6-10number of exams: 3 0course grade: quizzes: 10%

midterm: 25%final: 25%exam/homework: 40%

homework: 40 ptsquizzes: 100 ptsduke Farm experience/paper: 30 ptsdietary Assessment: 120 ptsclass discussion: 20 ptsterm project: 150 pts

attendance policy: mandatory mandatory

beyond the classroom: office hours office hours

Up close and personal with foodFor the past few years, there has been a thirst for information about the food industry. From

the treatment of employees at processing plants to the ethics behind sourcing meat and foreign fruits and vegetables, the media has attempted to answer those tricky questions. UNC-CH’s wanted students to learn about it and made the 2010 summer reading assignment Eating Animals by Jonathan Foer. Other popular texts include Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto. Some texts, however, haven’t had the same kind of spot-light. For some under-the-table reads, check out Righteous Porkchop by Nicolette Hahn Niman, The Empty Ocean by Richard Ellis, Salt by Mark Kurlansky and First Fruit by Belinda Martineau.

Fall 2012 • RIVAL MAGAZINE 27

OUT OF THE BLUETing-Ting Zhou

Ting-Ting Zhou, a Duke senior from Plainsboro, N.J., is double ma-joring in Political Science and Envi-ronmental Science and Policy while obtaining a minor in economics. Since her freshman year, Ting-Ting

has been involved in many leader-ship positions, including the Asian Student Association, in which she is now President, and Campus Enterprises, where she worked as the Vice President of Catering and the Chief Marketing Officer her sophomore year of at Duke. Ting-Ting explains, “my leadership involvement gave me the confidence and skills to really succeed with the Duke Start-Up Challenge.” Last year, Ting-Ting was awarded $50,000 from the Duke Start-Up Challenge for the funding of the company she co-originated, Nanoly. At the moment, Nanoly is working to develop a nanopar-ticle that will allow vaccinations to be kept without refrigeration. Growing up in China, Ting-Ting always had a passion for global health and never took the distribu-tion of vaccines for granted, which pushed her to use her leadership skills to support the growth of Nanoly.

Clay BallardYou will spot sophomore Clay

Ballard on the Quidditch field, or, as it is more commonly know, Mangum Quad. The Global Studies and Peace, War and Defense double major plays the beater position.

“Naturally as an orange-headed guy that looks like a Weasley, I play as a beater,” Clay says. “Beating is a sur-prisingly strategic as it is all about positioning and know-ing when and who to hit.” Originally from Wilmington, N.C., Clay holds a high title in a nearby state. “I’m a Kentucky Colonel.,” Clay says. “The title is the highest title be-stowed by the state of Kentucky for community service, and is where the Colonel Sanders his title from. I was admitted to the league, along with the rest of my youth group, while building wheel chair ramps for impoverished families in rural Kentucky.” He is also involved with both the Speaker Series Committee and the Tech and Web Committee on the student government cabinet. Hoping to become a diplomat, Ballard is hoping for an internship at the Beijing embassy for the upcoming summer.

Emily Morton-Smith This computer science major,

from Apex, N.C., is a junior trying to make a difference for the students at UNC-CH. Emily, who is hoping to add a women’s studies minor to her studies, is involved in the

Student Democratic Society (SDS) and Student Power, which Emily says is “a coalition led by students to make sure that our university is holding to the same ideals of equality and social justice that we believe in.” Gender Non-Specific Housing is a current focus of Student Power, a movement that was unanimously approved by the UNC-CH Board of Trustees’ University Affairs Com-mittee on November 16, 2012. When she is not dedicat-ing her time to her student organizations, she likes to spend time focusing on her fitness by lifting free weights. “Squat, bench, dead lift, overhead press, power cleans... I do it all! I used to be a total cardio freak and just ran all the time, and while I still love running, weight lifting is an entirely different type of fitness. Here’s me not falling victim to the idea that I need to be really small and tiny to be attractive.”

Jenny ShermanJenny Sherman is helping

refugees settle comfortably in Durham. Sherman, a Duke junior from Cleveland, O.H., organizes MASTERY (Mentoring, Academ-ics and Self-Esteem: Tutoring and

Engaging with Refugee Youth), an English language-learning program for K-12 refugee students. Sherman, a Cultural Anthropology major, cofounded MASTERY with fellow junior Grace Benson, and together the pair trains Duke volunteers to tutor ad mentor refugee students from around the world. The MASTERY program creates a student-tutor “buddy system” to help tutors understand students’ strengths. “Each child has things they’re great at, from art, to being a leader, to having a really incred-ible work ethic,” says Sherman. “And what a student loves to do can help their tutor find a way to approach what they struggle with.” MASTERY is supported fi-nancially by The Kenan Institute for Ethics, which also houses the FOCUS cluster (Ethics, Leadership, and Global Citizenship) responsible for introducing Sherman to Durham’s refugee community.

By Emily McGinty, UNC-CH (photo self-submitted)

By Laura Damiani, Duke (photo self-submitted) By Allie Barnes, UNC-CH (photo self-submitted)

By Allie Barnes, UNC-CH Duke (photo self-submitted)

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