On the Record with Ellie Balk

Appeared in the May 19, 2009, edition of The Brooklyn Downtown Star, a community newspaper; photo by Eric Bishop.

Ellie Balk tends to describe her art in terms of the interactions it triggers—including the unwelcome ones.

“That one yelled at me for days,” she said Sunday, gesturing at one of her paintings on display in Prospect Heights. “I ended the argument with a little blue. It calmed things down a bit.”

The 33-year-old from Clinton Hill isn’t just getting an earful from her works—she’s also inspiring interaction among people in the community, a prime example being her mural outside the Fort Greene coffee shop Tillie’s of Brooklyn. Last year she completed the mural—a circular, multicolored map representing the area and surrounding neighborhoods—with the help of a diverse array of paintbrush-wielding volunteers. The project also included opportunities for locals to drop by and paint dots on the map to represent their homes.

“I wanted to create a space where the old and the new residents could come together and celebrate that this is their home,” Balk said.

Abstract cartography has become something of a calling card for Balk. Prior to the Tillie’s mural, she’d worked with students to create map murals at several Brooklyn public schools. 

“I just think it’s such a perfect image,” she said. “When people talk about where they live, they’re letting their guard down, and it’s a really good way for people to communicate and start telling stories about where they live and to get connected to each other. That’s really what the murals are all about.”

In a way, her creations are a far cry from the work she did as a graduate student at the Pratt Institute—interactive art installations composed of found objects. However, she notes that the spirit behind her early work, using art as “a tool for interaction,” remains intact.

On Saturday Balk helped students and volunteers create a multi-orbed street painting outside P.S. 67 that was loosely based on the surrounding geography. Currently, she’s finishing up a community mural at M.S. 136 in Sunset Park. A public dedication event, to feature spoken word performances by students, is scheduled for June 18.

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Related article: “Taking Art to the Streets—Literally” (Brooklyn Downtown Star)

Trinity Park Residents Hear Off-East-Hotel Plan

Appeared in the Oct. 5, 2006, edition of The Chronicle, Duke University's independent daily newspaper.

A proposed hotel and condominium development off East Campus is primed to liven an area where an old clinic and parking lot now stand, but the developments are making some Trinity Park residents anxious.

The project--which could break ground on the 2.4-acre property as early as next spring--will feature a 100-suite hotel at the corner of Main Street and North Buchanan Boulevard and a 42-unit condominium complex at the corner of Main and Lamond streets.

To clear space for the hotel, developers chopped the 1890s-built home that stood at Main and Buchanan streets into four pieces and moved it down Watts Street. They plan to build around the historic, red-brick McPherson Hospital, which currently sits next to that property.

Developers will also tear down a recent addition to that space--a portion of the former North Carolina Specialty Hospital location--and replace it with a four-story extended-stay hotel. The abandoned parking lot across the street will be home to two buildings-a small house-like structure that will be designed to look like the surrounding Trinity Park homes and a seven-story, multi-tiered condominium building.

"It will be a wonderful entranceway project into the western side of our downtown from Duke's East Campus," said Bill Kalkhoff, president of Downtown Durham, Inc., an organization that facilitates downtown revitalization.

"You look at who's going to be staying there--Duke Med Center folks, University folks, visiting executives from the companies at American Tobacco--you're going to be bringing a whole new bunch of people who are going to be interacting with Ninth Street and Brightleaf Square," he said.

Despite the project's potential to breathe new life into the abandoned spot, some residents worry that the new development will tarnish the historic neighborhood.

"Whatever is developed there needs to reflect both the character of the neighborhood and also the historical aspect," said John Hodges-Copple, a Trinity Park resident who has been advising the neighborhood on land use issues.

Initial plans were for the hotel to be developed by Durham-based Park City Developers as a "boutique hotel." During the summer, however, Park City sold the site to a partnership that includes Concord Hospitality Enterprises of Raleigh, which operates several Marriott-owned brands including extended-stay Residence Inns.

Concord told Trinity Park residents in a Sept. 6 meeting that the hotel could be a chain, prompting concern that the architecture and building materials would be unbecoming of a historic neighborhood.

"If it's a hotel that looks like it could just be plopped down off an exit ramp in the suburbs, that's just not a good fit," said Alice Bumgarner, president of the Trinity Park Neighborhood Association.

Residents are also worried about the appearance of-as well as noise and light from-the hotel's parking garage, which will rise two stories above Buchanan Boulevard. "Would you want headlight after headlight [from the garage] coming into your windows late at night?" asked Ellen Dagenhart, a Trinity Park resident.

Fortunately for concerned residents, the site plan for the property has yet to be approved by the Durham City-County Planning Department.

Trinity Park residents wrote a letter to Concord last week expressing their anxieties, and they remain hopeful that Concord will revise the hotel's site plan to accommodate the neighborhood.

Bumgarner said the developers need to take Trinity Park's preferences into consideration to get the necessary site approvals from Durham.

"They know that the neighborhood wields a lot of influence," she explained.

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Buried in the Blue Zone

Appeared in the Sept. 20, 2006, edition of The Chronicle, Duke University's independent daily newspaper; photo by Sara Guererro.

It sits quietly amid the flow of commuting students, most of whom probably aren't even aware of its existence.

T.J. Rigsbee Family Graveyard, a privately owned cemetery composed of 14 headstones and surrounded by a three-foot-high stone wall, is nestled smack dab in the middle of the Blue Zone parking lot and overlooks the second lot closest to Wallace Wade Stadium.

For those who do notice it, however, the cemetery lingers on-a curious reminder that the West Campus students know wasn't always the home of towering academic buildings and bustling students, but was once the home of one of Durham's most prosperous families.

The Rigsbee estate, graveyard included, stretched across 600 acres of forest and fertile farm land at the height of the family's prominence.

The primary Rigsbee home stood on the left side of the current Blue Zone and Jesse Rigsbee later built a log cabin on the present-day site of Duke Hospital. According to family lore, the family's hogs once slopped on the spot where Duke football now competes.

The Rigsbees raised sweet potatoes.

Four of them fought in the Civil War, and one, Henry Rigsbee, is referred to on his grave marker as the "benefactor of Durham's first free school."

Before Thomas J. Rigsbee, Jr., died in 1924, legend has it neighbor James B. Duke sat with him on the wall of the graveyard and told him his vision for the University. Duke wanted to expand the campus, which at that time was was limited to today's East Campus.

The original expansion site-just north of East-would have been pricey, said Associate University Archivist Tom Harkins. Land speculators had been snatching up property there in anticipation of the University's growth. Instead, Duke sought the Rigsbee estate for additional land.

When Rigsbee's heirs sold the property to Duke for $1,000 in 1925, West Campus was born. There was, however, one important condition-the quarter-acre family cemetery had to be preserved.

"The Rigsbee family shall have the right of ingress, egress and regress over such part of said land as may be reasonably necessary for burying their dead and for maintaining, repairing and otherwise providing for the up-keep of side burying ground," the deed reads.

To this day, the Rigsbees still visit the burial sites of their ancestors. Several of them have card access to the Blue Zone, said 78-year-old Jackie Smith, great-granddaughter of the cemetery's namesake.

Family members mow the lawn periodically, and they've even started a family fund to pay for maintaining the property.

"You just feel like you're absorbing a little history," Smith said. "We're happy with it just the way it is, as long as it doesn't bother Duke and Duke doesn't bother it."

Some, however, say that the graveyard does bother Duke. Sophomore Amaris Whitaker recalled reading in Carpe Noctem, Duke's humor magazine, that the graveyard's ghosts haunt Duke's unsuccessful football team.

For some, the graveyard is simply a quaint spot on campus on which time seems to have little effect.

For others, including Whitaker, it's spooky.

"I just hope they aren't building over it, cause it'd be kind of creepy to be walking over dead bodies," she said.

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Jersey-Tearing Man Defends Statues' Dignity

Appeared on Page 1B of the Aug. 1, 2006, edition of The News & Observer, the 180,000-circulation daily newspaper for Raleigh, N.C. Also picked up by the Associated Press.

Davis Jones had fire in his eyes Monday when he accused the N.C. Historical Commission of sitting back while sewn-on Carolina Hurricanes jerseys defiled state monuments.

Jones -- who broke the law by tearing jerseys down from Union Square statues dressed up for the Canes' playoff run -- blasted the Historical Commission for its silence about the jerseys during the 2002 playoffs and again this year.

"Do you think Andrew Jackson, sitting majestically on his horse while wearing a Hurricanes jersey was awe-inspiring and thought provoking?" Jones said to the commission. "No, it was a distraction and derailed the purpose of the monument to both educate and honor."

When Jones, 49, took the matter into his own hands on May 24, Capitol police stopped him and issued a citation for injuring the personal property of the state. The remaining jerseys were taken down soon afterward by Hurricanes staff.

The charges against Jones were dropped Friday after the Hurricanes, the actual owner of the jerseys, chose not to pursue the case, said State Capitol Police Chief Scott Hunter.

Canes spokesman Howard Sadel said the team would probably choose not to adorn the statues with jerseys in the future.

"For me, the bigger concern is someone on state property wielding a box cutter with an obvious hairline temper," Sadel said.

Jones, a Raleigh resident who said he likes the Hurricanes, made no apologies for his actions.

"I considered it not only a responsibility, but a duty to go down there and take those jerseys off."

Despite officials' statutory obligation to obtain approval from the Historical Commission before altering memorials owned by the state, the commission was not contacted in 2002 or this year, said Joe Newberry, public information officer for the Department of Cultural Resources.

Jones said N.C. Administration secretary Britt Cobb gave the Canes permission to put up the jerseys without getting authorization from the commission. He chalked it up to a "miscommunication" between between his agency and the Department of Cultural Resources, which oversees the Historical Commission. Cobb didn't return phone calls Monday.

Members of the commission wouldn't comment on their responsibility for the statues' regalia, but chairman Jerry Cashion said he was taking steps to ensure that it didn't happen again.

"I share the outrage over the desecration of the monuments," he said.

Not everyone took the jerseys so seriously.

"I thought it was a great way to enjoy the winning streak," said Terri Morris, 50, as she ate lunch on a bench next the statue of Charles Aycock. "I came up and took a picture."

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Now Showing at Forest Theatre: The Past

Appeared on Page 2B of the Aug. 1, 2006, edition of The News & Observer, the 180,000-circulation daily newspaper for Raleigh, N.C.; photo by Chris Seward.

CHAPEL HILL - You've seen the forest in the trees. Now see the theater in the forest.

Chapel Hill's Forest Theatre, tucked among the tall oaks of Battle Park on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus, offers theatergoers a peaceful stone sanctuary and a quaint reminder of the theatrical traditions of days gone by.

"Attending a show at the Forest Theatre, you feel the wind blowing, you look up and you see the sky -- it's like going back to the origins of all drama," said Scott Parker, director of the Institute of Outdoor Drama at UNC-CH.

The amphitheater hosts plays, concerts and even weddings throughout the year. It's also a hangout for guitar-strumming students and amateur climbers.

But beneath the rows of terraced stone seats and their leafy surroundings lies a university institution with a prominent place in the history of American outdoor drama.

The Forest Theatre was merely a dream in 1916, when professors staging Shakespeare in the park longed for a permanent venue. William Coker -- a botanist for whom the Coker Arboretum was named -- picked a spot on Battle Park's sloping hillside, and the Forest Theatre was born.

Famed drama professor Frederick H. Koch arrived in 1918 and immediately brought the theater to life, adding a stage and directing annual performances there by the Carolina Playmakers, which he founded.

Koch encouraged students to write plays about their daily lives, sparking a national playwriting movement known as folk drama. The Forest Theatre was dedicated in Koch's memory in 1953.

The theater remained active through the mid-'70s, said Bobbi Owen, professor of dramatic art at UNC-CH.

As a student, Owen performed in the musical "Hair" to sold-out crowds at the 1,000-seat theater in 1974.

"And there were almost as many people just in the forest watching it for free," she said.

Not all performances went so smoothly. Owen said the following year's show was rained out for a whole week.

Performers frustrated by the theater's uncertainties migrated to the Paul Green Theatre when it opened in 1978, Owen said.

Since then, performances at the Forest Theatre have dwindled, and the theatre's condition has deteriorated. The technical booth isn't power equipped, nor does it have a roof, and the lighting towers don't work anymore.

In addition to these technical hurdles, headlights from cars on Boundary Street shine into the audience's eyes at night. Combined with the sound of traffic whooshing by, it can be very distracting for patrons, Owen said.

Some of that could soon change.

Jonah Garson, 19, a student at UNC-CH, said he is working with the N.C. Botanical Garden to form an oversight committee to restore the theater to its former glory.

Garson, who has performed there several times, is the managing director at the Single Shot Theatre Company, a Chapel Hill theater collective that's staging "Julius Caesar" there this weekend.

He'd like to see the theater "restored in the town's collective memory," he said.

"If there's a space that warrants Chapel Hill tradition, it's that space."

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Rescued Bird is Fit and Flying

Appeared on Page 1B of the July 22, 2006, edition of The News & Observer, the 180,000-circulation daily newspaper for Raleigh, N.C.; photos by Ethan Hyman.

Soaring over Jordan Lake on Friday was one bald eagle that couldn't wait to get back home.

After spending six weeks recovering from a foot injury at the Carolina Raptor Center, the bird was released back into the wild Friday morning.

From a field just off Jordan Lake, the eagle spread its wings and vaulted into the clear, blue sky as dozens of wide-eyed, camera-clad onlookers bade it farewell.

"Don't come back!" yelled handler Ron Clark with a smile after he propelled the bird into the air.

It sure didn't.

In seconds, the male eagle ascended, flirting with a nearby branch before coasting over the lake and disappearing behind a faraway line of trees.

"He was flying free, and it was just beautiful to see," said Gail Abrams, executive director of the Piedmont Wildlife Center, the Chapel Hill-based organization whose staff and volunteers rescued the eagle last month.

The bird -- officially known as Bald Eagle #11,600 -- might have been forever grounded if not for the keen eyes of a fisherman who spotted the raptor in a moment of need.

Jay Childress, 37, of Carthage said he saw a fish-hunting osprey diving into the water between Ebenezer Point and Vista Point at Jordan Lake on June 6. A closer look revealed a bald eagle in the water struggling with his claw hooked into a catfish, the osprey's apparent prey.

Childress pulled up close to scare off the osprey and stayed with the wounded bird for two hours until rescuers from the wildlife center arrived.

They took the terrified animal back to the wildlife center, where the puncture wound on the eagle's left foot was cleaned and bandaged, and the bird was treated for water in his lungs. The eagle then moved to the Carolina Raptor Center near Charlotte, where the rehabilitation staff gave him antibiotics and exercised him daily in cages large enough for short flight.

By Friday, the animal was ready to cruise the skies over Jordan Lake.

The site of his release is home base for flyers of different kind. Model airplane enthusiasts often gather at the same field to fly their radio-controlled craft. A sign there reads, "All flyers must have AMA insurance to fly at this site."

An exception was made -- just this once -- for Bald Eagle #11,600.

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Obituary: Ted Stone, 72, Evangelist

Appeared on Page 7B of the July 19, 2006, edition of The News & Observer, the 180,000-circulation daily newspaper for Raleigh, N.C.

DURHAM - Ted Stone, the recovered drug addict turned Baptist minister known for his cross-country walks to preach against drugs and promote the Gospel, died in the midst of another footsore crusade.

Four weeks after the Durham preacher started his fourth long trek to tell his story of overcoming drug addiction through the power of faith, Stone died Sunday in Nashville on his way to a speaking engagement. He was 72.

Stone achieved fame for his highly publicized walks, which began in 1996. But behind this prominence was a deeply generous man who was driven to share his story and his faith with others.

Philip Barber, a protege who became one of Stone's closest friends, said his mentor gave him hope when Barber's drug addiction made life unbearable. He said he remembers Stone canceling his speaking engagements to come to his rescue as Barber lay on the floor of his east Dallas apartment, overdosed on drugs. Stone sat beside him, crying out for the Lord to save the boy. Barber is now a student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.

As a former addict who spent four years in jail on attempted murder charges after shooting a convenience store clerk during a robbery, Stone was driven to save people still living the life he left behind, Barber said.

"He had a passion for reaching out to people that the world had given up on," Barber said.

Relatives say Stone's zeal for spreading the Gospel made it hard for him to stay in one place for an extended period. While they say they missed him while he was criss-crossing the nation, they admired and respected his dedication to his cause.

Noted generosity

A graduate of Wake Forest University and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Stone was a loving father who was generous to everyone, said daughter Carole Doll, 44. When she was a child, he once got on his hands and knees to feed a hamburger to a stray cat, she said.

"He was just a giant of a man," she said.

In addition to his preaching tours, Stone also wrote four books and made several runs for Congress. He was also active in the Southern Baptist community, sitting on the board of trustees at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

"Ted was the type of guy that when he decided to do something, he did it with his might," said the Rev. Frank Zedick, Stone's former pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Durham.

When Stone wrote Philip Barber a letter asking him to join the preacher on his second cross-country trek, he said, "If we make it, praise God. If we don't, at least we died trying."

Stone is survived by his wife, Anne Fuller Stone, three daughters and five grandchildren.

The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Clements Funeral Home in Durham. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Grace Baptist Church, and burial will follow at Woodlawn Memorial Park.

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Bill is Safeguard to Some, Straitjacket to Others

Appeared on Page 1B of the June 26, 2006, edition of The News & Observer, the 180,000-circulation daily newspaper for Raleigh, N.C.

Michael Davis doesn't like it when the government messes with his affairs.

So when Davis, a 43-year-old radio producer from Willow Spring, heard about legislation that would require adults in the back seat of a car to wear seat belts, he chalked it up to more government interference in people's lives.

"I think it should be their decision, not the government's," he said. "I'm tired of a maternalistic government trying to tell people what to do."

But what Davis calls too much government involvement, safety advocates call necessary, life-saving legislation.

The state House is expected to take up the issue Tuesday, when a committee considers a bill that would require all motor vehicle occupants to use seat belts or face a $25 fine.

In North Carolina, only drivers, front-seat passengers and children younger than 16 are required by law to wear seat belts. Adults in the back seat aren't obliged to buckle up.

Safety advocates, such as Tom Vitaglione, co-chairman of the N.C. Child Fatality Task Force, say that, in an accident, unbelted rear passengers can fly forward to kill or injure drivers. The advocates also point to rear-seat passenger deaths -- 364 over the past three years in North Carolina, with almost 70 percent unbelted -- as evidence that the law needs to change.

The provision would not only give passengers a reason to buckle up; it also would educate people about the danger of riding belt-free in the back of the car, Vitaglione said.

Statistics show that only 38 percent of passengers nationally say they consistently use safety belts when riding in the rear seat of a car, according to a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

That pales in comparison to studies of seat belt use in the front seat. North Carolina has an 87 percent rate of seat belt use in the front seat, one of the highest in the nation.

"The inadvertent message of our current law is that the back seat is safe," he said.

New safety research

When North Carolina's current seat belt law was enacted in 1985, it didn't pertain to adults in the back seat because such a provision might have hurt its chances of passage, said Bill Hall, a manager at the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center.

New research on the dangers of beltless back-seat passengers helped fuel the recent push for more comprehensive legislation. Although several attempts were made in recent years, the measure wasn't seriously considered until last summer, when the Senate passed the bill.

It met some opposition in the House, and legislators adjourned for the summer before it could reach the House floor.

Rep. Ronnie Sutton, a Robeson County Democrat, said he will vote against the bill if it reaches the House floor.

"I think we're going a little too far when we're requiring adults to wear seat belts in the back seat," Sutton said. "Most of my constituents like to have the option of not wearing seat belts in the back."

Weighing the risks

Rep. Jennifer Weiss, a Cary Democrat, said evidence shows that drivers have five times the risk of dying in a crash if passengers in the back don't buckle up.

"That personal autonomy argument is a hard argument to make when you could be killing the person in the front seat," said Weiss, who is pushing the bill in the House. "So much of this is an education campaign, anyway."

North Carolina established itself as a leader in seat belt awareness and enforcement in 1993 by starting the "Click It or Ticket" program, in which police set up checkpoints to enforce seat belt laws. The program has become a model for similar programs across the nation, Hall said.

North Carolina has averaged about 140,000 seat belt violations a year over the past five years, despite a high seat belt compliance rate. Fatal and serious injuries for restrained automobile passengers, though, are on the decline.

Robin Jernigan, a 41-year-old nurse from Garner, said she has seen the often tragic results of not wearing a seat belt. That's why she would support further restrictions.

"It's aggravating, but I'm sure it's the safer way to go," she said.

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Triangle Still Has a Drought

Appeared on Page 1B of the June 13, 2006, edition of The News & Observer, the 180,000-circulation daily newspaper for Raleigh, N.C.

Drought? What drought?

After thunderstorms ripped through the Triangle over the weekend, residents may be wondering what has become of the oft-mentioned drought that led Raleigh and other cities to impose mandatory water use restrictions in November.

Don't get your hopes up, meteorologists say. The drought hasn't gone away -- for now at least.

The Triangle lucked out with the recent wave of thunderstorms, which have provided some relief from a long dry spell, said Jonathan Blaes, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Raleigh.

In fact, rainfall totals for June have been nearly double the average amount so far.

The drought, however, is the result of a shift in the jet stream that has been sending storms north of the state since last year, Blaes said.

"We're still not out of the woods," he said. Rainfall totals for the year are still 5.4 inches below normal, a significant deficit.

The drought originated from a ridge of high pressure sitting over the southeastern United States. It diverted the main storm track away from North Carolina, Blaes said. As a result, areas such as New England have been hit hard with precipitation over the past few months, while North Carolina remained relatively dry.

Recent storms have been a big help, said Terry Brown, Water Control Manager at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The levels of water flowing from streams into Falls Lake -- Raleigh's biggest water supplier -- are above average for the month of June, following five months of below average inflows. According to the Corps of Engineers, water levels at the lake have been more or less average since the end of April.

The most recent weather system, however, was an isolated front that should finish passing through the area tonight. Meteorologists say they don't expect the recent flux of precipitation to last.

Summer storms tend to be sporadic, dumping large amounts of rain on small areas for a short time, Blaes said.

Although Tropical Storm Alberto is on a path to move up the eastern coastline toward North Carolina, its effect on the Triangle should be limited to wind and scattered thunderstorms late Wednesday and early Thursday, with more severe weather toward the coast.

"I would be surprised if we keep up this level of rainfall through the month," Blaes said.

This could mean a return to mandatory water restrictions this summer, said Robert Massengill, Raleigh's assistant public utilities director.

Restrictions were lifted in May as reservoirs returned to normal levels.

"If we have a dry summer, we could be in a similar situation where mandatory restrictions are needed," Massengill said.

"People need to be cognizant that water is a precious resource, and we can't take that for granted," Massengill said.

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Graves Hopes to Consolidate Cameras

Appeared in the March 3, 2006, edition of The Chronicle, Duke University's independent daily newspaper; photos by Leah Bueso.

Duke's system of video surveillance cameras may be in for a facelift.

University officials are currently discussing ways to integrate campus-wide security cameras into one cohesive system, which could involve placing cameras at the entrances to residence halls.

Aaron Graves, associate vice president for campus safety and security, said he wants to re-examine the University's current use of security cameras and develop a more centralized, focused system.

Right now, security cameras are scattered throughout the campus under the direction of various organizations, such as Parking and Transportation Services and the Duke University Medical Center.

"We don't want a hodgepodge of different systems that in some cases are not able to talk to one another," Graves said. "We know that [Duke University Police Department] will be the ones that will have to respond when things go wrong, so we want to have some input into how those systems are designed and implemented."

Graves said he will look at the technology currently being used and assess where certain areas need improvement. He hopes to create a more consistent scheme across campus.

Another improvement under consideration is installing additional surveillance cameras outside of dorms to aid criminal investigations and deter crime, he said. He is currently discussing options with University officials.

Security cameras of this kind have been proposed by administrators but never were implemented, except for two pilot cameras outside Randolph Residence Hall that were installed in 2002.

Cameras at the entrances to residential areas would provide an additional layer of security to the existing DukeCard readers, which keep track of who enters the buildings at what time, Graves said. Video surveillance would enable DUPD to verify that the name on the card matches the person in the video recording.

"If vandalism occurred in a residential hall, and we were pretty sure it was not residents of that building, having the ability to see who entered the building at a particular time might be helpful for holding the right people accountable," said Eddie Hull, dean of residence life and executive director of housing services, in light of the Feb. 4 vandalism of the Giles Dormitory.

He stressed, however, that the addition of cameras should not lead to unnecessary policing of students' behavior.

In addition, Graves said, cameras would allow officers to anticipate potential threats before investigating doors that have been propped open.

"My personal belief is that privacy trumps security in issues like this, but we'll need to get more info from the student body," said Campus Council President Jay Ganatra, a junior. "I hope that the administration will take [students'] opinions into consideration."

Student opposition to dorm security cameras may have played a role in administrators' previous hesitation to install the devices. "Personally, I know the students here well enough to believe that their impression of a security camera would be to catch them doing something wrong," Hull said. "That would not be a reason why I would support cameras at all. I would only support them to provide another layer of protection for the community."

Sophomore Paul Slattery said he might back a decision to add security cameras, but only if the decision reflects the will of the student body. "I wouldn't be comfortable having cameras in my common room or hallway, though," he added.

Graves stressed that DUPD will not place security cameras inside residential communities. He also said the potential surveillance would be only one component of improving overall security systems at Duke, which will also involve increasing student awareness and responsibility.

"No matter what system we have, if you leave windows open and if you don't lock doors, you could be victimized by a crime," Graves said.

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Hammond Offers Duke Daily Carol of the Bells

Appeared in the March 3, 2006, edition of The Chronicle, Duke University's independent daily newspaper; photos by Quinzheng Tien.

Every day at 5 p.m. the man upstairs serenades Duke University.

This man, J. Samuel Hammond, sits high above campus as the University carillonneur, sending down daily bell-clinking melodies from the Duke Chapel in one of the University's oldest traditions.

"Sam is a very remarkable man," said Samuel Wells, dean of the Chapel. "He has a wonderful gift for stating musically where the imagination of the University happens to lie."

Hammond began playing the unusual bell instrument, called a carillon, in 1965 as a sophomore at Duke. Despite some limited instruction, he essentially taught himself to play.

"I thought it was something I'd learn to do and probably keep doing for three more years while I was in school," Hammond said.

"I did that. I just never left," he added with a chuckle.

Since his college days, Hammond has held a number of jobs with the University, and he is currently an associate librarian in the Rare Book, Manuscript and Special Collections Library.

During his reign as carillonneur, Hammond has added his own personal touches to the daily bell tradition, which began when the carillon was installed in 1932.

He begins ringing the bells at exactly 5 p.m. to accommodate later class times-as opposed to ending at 5 p.m. like his predecessors.

"Amidst the chaos of Duke life, it's nice to have that regular, dependable tradition of bells to mark the end of the day," senior Molly Fulweiler said.

Hammond marks the end of each week by playing Duke's alma mater, "Dear Old Duke," to satisfy the sentimental wishes of former President Terry Sanford.

Hammond's musical catalogue also includes folk songs, hymns, and seasonal arrangements.

"Because the carillon is such a public instrument, it seems reasonable to me to try to respond to what might be in the mind of the public," he said. "At Fourth of July I play patriotic things, for example. At Christmas time I play Christmas carols."

In past weeks, students might have heard his rendition of the Olympic theme song, in honor of the Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy.

"He's so experienced and imaginative that he's able to capture these things without making a big statement about it," Wells said, adding that he is impressed by Hammond's ability to play with such flexibility and skill on an instrument known for its massive size.

The carillon consists of 50 bells that range over four chromatic octaves, the largest weighing more than five tons.

Hammond plays the carillon's keyboard in a small room directly beneath the bells, pushing the keyboard of 50 oak batons with his fists and working the 26 pedals with his feet.

"In many ways, the carillon is closer to a percussion instrument than a keyboard instrument," Hammond said. "It's a very gratifying musical instrument because there's nothing between you and the making of the sound. You really are moving the clapper and striking the bells."

In the past, the carillon's vast sound range has been known to draw an audience.

During the 1930s and 1940s, former carillonneur Anton Brees' performances used to pack the Chapel Quadrangle with crowds of up to 10,000 people.

But Hammond is happy to remain in the background of campus life.

"I hope it's a pleasant experience for people, even if not that many people actually stop and listen," he said.

Fulweiler said she takes notice of the sound of the bells with relief, as they mark the end of each day.

For students who want to see the action up close, Hammond said he is happy to have visitors.

Interested students should e-mail him to set up a visit to the Chapel tower, Hammond said, adding that he takes individual requests.

When asked to play "Devil With a Blue Dress On" for a big basketball victory, Hammond just said, "Get me the sheet music."

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