News & Commentary - Archive 2012

May 2, 2012
Three Things Americans Don't Need to Worry About

The United States is not being overrun by illegal aliens, is not running out of oil or natural gas, and is not being sucked into the vortex of Mexican cartel violence along the border.

In fact, illegal immigration is at a 40-year low, oil production is at an eight-year high and U.S. cities along the Mexican border are among the safest in the nation.

All this might come as news to anyone who has closely followed this year's presidential primaries, whose general theme seemed to be that America is circling the drain.
April 25, 2012
Digging into What Duke Has to Offer

Lauren Hendricks PPS ’12 arrived at Duke from South Carolina eager to take advantage of opportunities to broaden her worldview. Outgoing president of the PPS Majors Union and ex-officio member of the Sanford Board of Visitors, Hendricks will head to Mongolia in August as a Fulbright scholar. She talked about her experiences with Communications Assistant Hyejin Sul.

April 24, 2012
How accessible are private social safety net programs in Durham?

Senior economics and public policy student David Deng spent this past fall semester visiting Durham homes and conducting an in-depth research project to gauge access to private social safety net services.
April 24, 2012
FRONTLINE-Duke Collaboration Sheds Light on U.S. Financial Crisis

A collaboration between Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy and the PBS documentary program FRONTLINE will bring to the public full-length interviews with federal officials and industry leaders involved in the U.S. financial crisis.

The videos were produced for FRONTLINE’s four-hour investigation “Money, Power and Wall Street,” airing in two parts on April 24 and May 1.Eight videos, more than seven hours in total, will be available on a new website.
April 18, 2012
Student Finds Focus, Future in Multiethnic South Africa

 “I should have seen it coming,” public policy senior Dan Forti said.

But when Forti decided to study abroad in Durban, South Africa, he didn’t anticipate it would lead not only to an internship and his senior honors thesis, but that Durban would become his new home after graduation.
April 17, 2012
Helping Consumers Choose "Green" Oil

The summer before she started at Duke, Rebecca Ward was in Beijing at the 2008 Olympics thwarting fencing competitors with cool competence.

Ward came to Duke having won two Olympic bronze medals and a gold medal from the 2006 World Fencing Championships. As a college athlete, she set records for Duke’s single-season (81) and career wins (272) on the way to winning three NCAA Women’s Saber Championships.
April 17, 2012
Iranian Activist Says Undemocratic Governments, Not Bombs, Are the Greatest Threat

Nondemocratic governments pose a greater threat to sustainable peace than nuclear weapons, according to Iranian human rights activist Shirin Ebadi, who spoke Monday at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy.

During negotiations on the Iran's uranium enrichment program, the United States should seek to hold Iran accountable for its human rights record, she said.
April 13, 2012
Duke Senior Receives $25,000 Award to Pursue Social Venture in Africa

Duke University senior Michael Bernert has been selected as the first recipient of an award designed to support student social entrepreneurship.
April 11, 2012
Condoleezza Rice on Shocks to the International System

"Three great shocks" are shaking up the assumptions of the international system, affecting the ability of the United States to impress its vision upon the system, said former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Tuesday night in Page Auditorium.
April 10, 2012
Duke in DC Program Set to Launch Next Spring

 

Editor’s note: Attend an information session on Sept. 11, 2012, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., in Rhodes Conference Room, Sanford Building. Lunch will be served. Applications for the Duke in DC-Public Policy program are due Oct. 1, 2012. Apply online.

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