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Don't forget to take a break from studying for finals! Here is your one-stop guide to study breaks around campus.

Midterms are alive and well. As students, we’ve all realized that the hard way, unfortunately. In an act of solidarity, I’m gonna share some wisdom from Jean Hanson and Jo Supernaw at the Wellness center. With these myths busted you’ll, in my opinion, be able to kick midterm’s a** better. (Hint: It involves more sleep.)

Myth #1: The effects of my all-nighter only impacts me.

You may be the only one who gets to sport the Dukie-meets-phantom-menace look, but your worsened mood? Lack of focus? Degree of inefficiency?  You can’t be as productive a teammate, as present a friend, nor as pleasant an acquaintance.

All-nighters don’t make you cool or more impressive. They make you tired. 

Myth #2: Staying up those extra few hours to cram will help my GPA.

Dear Duke Families,

As I look out my office window, I have the privilege of seeing our students walking (and rushing) by between classes, meals, meetings and study venues. So many things are apparent on the rare occasion that I get to just pause and admire the passersby. I notice that many seem either immune to the winter chill or in denial about the need to wear warmer clothes! I notice that rarely is anyone walking alone. Students travel in pairs, groups and masses! I notice that some kind of technological device is apparently welded to their ears or their palms (hopefully talking or texting with you). But, I also notice how remarkably different they are, reflecting the substantial and wonderful diversity within the Duke student body.

1.  Stick to a sleep schedule. Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. As creatures of habit, people have a hard time adjusting to changes in sleep patterns. Sleeping later on weekends won’t fully make up for a lack of sleep during the week and will make it harder to wake up early on Monday morning. 

Duke Students Create a New Communications Club in Italy
Duke students, Katherine Reed and Kali Shulklapper, help create a new academic club, The Umbra Voice, for journalism and communications studies at the Umbra Institute, in Italy.

First-year students joined in a panel style conversation last night with William Wright-Swadel, the Fannie Mitchell Executive Director of the Career Center and David Ong, the Senior Director of Corporate Recruiting for Maximus, and two undergraduate seniors Emma Welch and Zamantha Granados. The goal was to help first-year students maximize their four years at Duke and begin early preparation for the career searches that would come in their later years. The group discussed everything from how to write your first resume to how to begin networking as early as possible. Read more about the questions and answers below:

Jack D explains what happened:

As many of you know, early in the morning yesterday someone entered my dorm and sprawled on the wall of the first floor, “Death to all fags @ Jack.” In just five words and an ‘at’ symbol, my sense of security and safety on this campus was shattered. 

Efforts have been made to find the assailant but the likelihood of success seems minimal. However, the person who wrote on the wall is greatly unimportant.

I would like for people to understand who I am. I wish to be a peer and not a name. I grew up near Boston with a single mother and siblings. I played sports throughout school and spent summers volunteering. I am a freshman but have lived as a proudly out and visible gay man on Duke’s campus. I am Jack. I am the fag. I do not deserve this treatment. No one deserves this treatment.

Duke Dining has added three new additions to its program in their search for vendors that will continue to compliment and enhance the dining program. Tijuana Flats and Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins have partnered with the Merchants on Points (MOPS) program, off-campus vendors that deliver to campus and Belgian Waffle Crafters has joined the food truck lineup. 

Beginning next Monday, February 16th, Nutrition Services is partnering with many offices across campus to host a positive body image week.  In the past, we’ve celebrated National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, but found that students are already aware of eating disorders.  Renaming the week and focusing on learning to embrace our bodies can help students to move away from some of the behaviors that might increase risk of developing disordered eating and exercise patterns.

Here’s a breakdown of the events we have going on next week, all of which are free and do not require tickets.

Monday, February 16th:

Nominations are now being accepted for the Class of 2019 Duke Common Experience. As a piece of the coming changes to Orientation this summer, we have decided to enhance our Summer Reading program. While we will still have a book the incoming class will read, there will be a variety of programs connected to the book both during the summer and over the course of the fall semester. These will include:

• ​Virtual content sharing of key themes and ideas over the summer months
• Connection with Alumni Affairs in reading the selection
• Speakers and programs during the year connected to the selection
• One over-arching theme that connects the selection to programs here at Duke during the year

However, the biggest change is the format for hosting the author and discussion about the book and what we seek to do over the summer.