Special to The Chronicle

Junior biology major Lynn Theprungsirikul is a candidate for the Global Health certificate who researched the barriers to the uptake of cataract surgery faced by eye patients in Tamale, Ghana while working as a Unite For Sight Global Impact Fellow volunteer. Her project seeked to explain why patients who have been approved for free eye surgeries tend not to show up for their appointments.

“At first I thought it might be transportation. Some people have to walk miles to get to the health clinic, but actually, most were willing,” Theprungsirikul said. “The main reason was because they are afraid that once they go to the hospital, they won’t come back the same. It’s fear and false assumptions.”

Besides spreading awareness about the clinic to quell these fears and screening patients for eye diseases using visual acuity tests, Theprungsirikul spent time with patients, gathering data for her research. Despite the language and culture competency training provided by the program, there was a huge communication barrier, Theprungsirikul said. But she added that there were still plenty of personal moments.

“I spoke to a woman who told me she had to walk barefoot for three hours to reach the clinic and stay overnight to get post-op,” she said. “But since she couldn’t leave [her family] back at home, she couldn’t get the surgery.”

Aside from her volunteer work and research, Theprungsirikul noted that simply being in Ghana was a novel experience. Since the diet there did not include many vegetables, each volunteer was asked to bring fiber supplements, which they would eat each day.

Now, nearly two years after her overseas research experience, Theprungsirikul actually does work in a lab with pipettes and buffers, studying tissue signaling. The experience, however, is a bit different, she says. Whereas her tissue signaling research seeks to discover something new, Theprungsirikul’s project in Ghana was more descriptive, trying to identify an issue that already exists.

“The purpose of the research requirement [in Global Health] is to apply what we learn in our classes—like ethics—to fieldwork,” Theprungsirikul said. “I was able to do that through my project.”

The immigration reform battle has dominated the discussion policy circles over the last couple weeks and it provides an interesting look into what may be the future of the Republican Party. Of all of the items on President Obama’s 2nd term agenda, including gun control reform, climate change legislation, more taxes, and a higher minimum wage, an immigration overhaul probably has the best chance of gaining bipartisan support.

The Republican establishment, for the most part, has embraced the idea of bipartisan immigration reform that includes both higher security and a path for amnesty. Many see this as a cold and cynical calculation on their parts to earn more of the Latino vote after losing so much of it in the recent presidential election. This is likely to be true, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The Republican Party is shrinking. Simple truths such as the fact that less people are bringing their religion into politics, the voting population is becoming more diverse, and even that less people are getting married are signs that if the parties stick to their current platforms, the Democrats are going to win more and more elections. In fact, Democrats have already won 5 of the last 6 Presidential popular votes.

Even though the establishment recognizes this and is trying to react, the extreme wing of the Republican Party, which has arguably overshadowed the establishment since Obama’s election, is vehemently opposed to any form of amnesty and they have shown over the past couple years that they don’t believe in compromise. While I call them “extreme,” they make up a big enough chunk of the Party that they can’t be ignored.

This extreme wing is made up of dedicated conservatives, the kind that vote in primaries, volunteer for candidates, and spend what they can to fund campaigns. They have strong, ideologically-influenced opinions and they want candidates who share those opinions. They have a strong presence in Congress, especially in the House, and they won’t vote for something that they don’t 100% support (AKA anything that includes amnesty).

Immigration is a microcosm of the dilemma that the Republican Party faces. They need to extend their umbrella if they hope to win a future Presidential election and maintain their grasp on Congress slip, but only part of the party sees the need to do this. Establishment candidates can vote for something like an Immigration Reform bill that includes amnesty, but it means that a far-right primary challenger will have an even stronger chance of beating them come next election.

Although it isn’t happening in a rapid fashion, the Republican Party is splitting and Immigration Reform is maybe the best example of where the two sides stand. Over time, this extreme wing of the Party is either going to have to move left or be left behind and replaced by some other group of voters.

Special to The Chronicle

The Female Orgasm talk had the laughs coming from start to finish, leaving the audience satisfied.

Wednesday, students packed into White Lecture hall to see sex educators Kate Weinberg and Marshall Miller give a lecture on “the big O” as part of Duke Sex Week. The two have talked to over 100,000 students in 37 states.

The lecture included anecdotes, scientific facts, questions and answers and movie clips. The night started when Weinberg and Miller showed a famous scene from When Harry Met Sally. As the crowd erupted in laughter, Weinberg attempted to keep the humor flowing. Her and Miller continuously used sexual puns from start to finish.

Special to The Chronicle

“We know that most of the time when speakers come to your school they probably ask you to turn your cell phones off,” Weinberg said. “But we just ask you to turn them to vibrate.”

Weinberg was not shy about relaying her history with the female orgasm. She said most people experience their first orgasm as a teenager, but that for some it happened much earlier. She said she herself had her first experience with an orgasm as a preschooler rubbing her body parts against the floor. When her parents realized what she was doing, they explained to her that it was inappropriate.

It was not until after college that Weinberg had her first orgasm with a sexual partner. She was able to do so because of long talks about what she liked with her boyfriend. Her and Miller used this experience to talk about the importance of transparency when trying to achieve the female orgasm.

“After my first orgasm during sex, I was like, so this is why people freaking love having sex with each other,” Weinberg said.

Though the lecture advertised teaching how to have your first and better orgasms, the two did not mention specific methods until the last 10 minutes. Even then, instead of giving detailed tips, they were fairly vague saying a woman’s needs vary from person to person.

After the lecture, some of the audience was disappointed at the lack of explicit guidelines. A few female students left the talk saying, “there is much more to be said” and “I thought I was going to learn how to have an orgasm.”

But junior Sam Kebede loved the talk.

“I thought it was really engaging,” he said. “I learned a lot not only about my girlfriend’s body but also about my own.”

Though the entire room was laughing constantly, it seemed as though the students had mixed feelings about the lecture as a whole. Some were pleased and found it to be informative, while others who were looking for more detailed tips were unhappy.

Chris Dieckhaus/Chronicle File Photo

Tenting for the Duke-UNC game is a Cameron Crazies tradition. Some of the challenges that come along with tenting, however, can often leave you tired, cold and sick. Especially during the last week of unpredictable weather, it’s incredibly important to keep a tent warm and cozy for its bold residents. Duke health gives some helpful pointers on keeping yourself comfortable during nights in K-Ville:

1. Change your clothes. Before going to bed, make sure you get out of the clothes you’ve been wearing, which may have accumulated moisture throughout the day. Fabrics besides cotton are best (wool, fleece) as cotton traps moisture and perspiration and can cause body heat loss over night.
2. Insulate. Sleeping directly on the ground – no, the thin tent layer doesn’t count – causes you to lose body heat through conduction (heat travels to the colder object). To prevent this, sleep on a foam pad or other surface. As an added bonus, its probably more comfortable.
3. Eat! Digestion produces warmth – make sure you’re eating every couple of hours.
4. Stay hydrated. Water helps your body temperature in check as well as delivers oxygen to cells, which prevents hypothermia.
5. Avoid excessive alcohol. The “beer blanket” is, sadly, a myth. Alcohol causes “vasodilation” or expansion of blood vessels, which increases blood flow and gives you a sensation of warmth. However, though you may feel warmer, you are actually losing more body heat, as more blood is flowing to the skin and getting cooled by the outside air. If you choose to drink, make sure you wear an extra layer.

ST 2 Lettaz – R.E.B.E.L.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with ST 2 Lettaz, which I assume is most, if not all of you, he is an Alabama rapper that has made a lot more high quality Southern rap music than one might have guessed. Until earlier this year, ST 2 Lettaz made up one half of prolific rap duo G-Side, who consistently made some of the most inspired and authentic Southern rap music in recent memory. The comparisons to OutKast are unavoidable and arguably justified. Regardless, the two memebers of G-Side went their separate ways earlier this year and shortly after, ST 2 Lettaz released the first solo effort to come from the duo following the break-up. It is a short but sweet collection of songs that, if nothing else, confirm that the members of G-Side are capable of finding success on their own. The mixtape is only seven tracks, one of which is the intro entitled “Alabama,” so it is an brief listen and the visceral, easy-going sound of ST’s Southern style makes it an incredibly easy listen. Fans of Southern rap (OutKast, Big K.R.I.T., UGK, ect.) should be quick to hop on this mixtape. Download here.

Jay Ant & Iamsu! – Stoopid

It’s been a very good year for California rap. Despite losing Snoop Dogg Lion to Reggae, Kendrick Lamar released arguably the best rap album of the year and a host of other rappers put forward good releases. One of those releases is a collaboration between two Bay Area rappers, Jay Ant and Iamsu!. There are a few exceptional tracks on this tape but what is so amazing about it is how their sound holds up over the course of an hour-long mixtape. The duo, who not only take turns rapping but also producing, have a chemistry that can only be described as impressive. The California influence is apparent but isn’t as quite obvious as on fellow Golden State rapper Kendrick Lamar’s touted debut album.  Not that that’s a bad thing. This tape sounds refreshingly new if anything and you can download it here.

Iamsu! – $uzy 6 $peed and Kilt

Iamsu! has been a very busy man this year. First, he dropped a solo mixtape entitled Kilt. Then, a month or so later, he dropped his Stoopid tape with Jay Ant, and finally, a few months later, he dropped another solo-tape entitled $uzy 6 $peed. In a genre that has a unique focus on producing singles, Iamsu!’s mixtape stands out as suprisingly cohesive and well-made. It is hard to single out individual tracks in his tapes, which I certainly couldn’t say for all of the mixtapes on this list. Iamsu!’s sound is incredibly likable and accessible, which is great because he has made so much music this year for you to enjoy. Download $uzy 6 $peed here and Kilt here.

Dominic Lord – Fashion Show

Somehow, in this era of rap, Dominic Lord has managed to stand out as a fresh and unique presence. His fashion-orientated rap has an aura of epicness that is rather impressive in a genre that is always aiming for epic. This is a short and focused tape that has some hits and some misses.  Songs like “Pierce,” “Mozart, Go” and “Color Me Red” stand out as overly-dramatic but surprisingly-resonant tracks that can’t help but make one think that Dominic has a bright future ahead of him. I would argue that a mixtape isn’t the best medium for his music, but while listening to this impressive tape, I can’t help but feeling that Dominic has a strong vision that may turn into an impressive album one day. Download here.

Gunplay – 601 & Snort

Gunplay is one of the most exciting upcoming rappers in the industry currently. Functioning under Rick Ross’s Maybach Music Group collective, Gunplay mixes his drug-inspired lyrics and stimulating flow to make some of the most exhilarating rap music around. While 601 & Snort isn’t necessarily the most coherent listen (it isn’t a mixtape that I would listen from beginning to end and feel fulfilled), it has a handful of great tracks. If you listen to one Gunplay track, make it “Bible on the Dash.” “Bible on the Dash” is a track that uses brutally honest and vaguely nostalgic lyrics to paint a perfect picture of how Gunplay has gotten to this point in his career. “Real Niggas” and the remix for “So Sophisticated” are representative of much of the music that Rick Ross and others in the MMG crew have been successfully releasing over the past year or so. Though, perhaps my favorite track is Gunplay’s remake of the Trick Daddy classic “Nann Nigga,” which Gunplay entitles “Na Nigga.” Trina, who appeared on Trick’s original, also appears in Gunplay’s remake. Gunplay also adds another female rapper Tip Drill, who, apart from rapping, is known as one of Miami’s most famous strippers. Along with everyone else on the track, she holds her own lyrically and the product is an interesting listen to say the least. Download here and for those interested his other mixtape from this year, Bogota Rich, can be found here.

Curren$y – Priest Andretti

Ever since Curren$y released his superb Pilot Talk albums, his collaboration with producer Ski Beatz, it seems as if Curren$y has been releasing an album or tape every two weeks. All in all he has released four mixtapes and three albums since the release of the second Pilot Talk LP, which came out Nov. 2010. While he has been maybe the most prolific rapper around in the last couple years, he hasn’t been able to match the caliber of his Pilot Talk albums. His music hasn’t been bad, it just hasn’t stood out and there has been so much of it that it is hard to value any of it. That is why Priest Andretti is such a breath of fresh air. The tape features him rapping is his patented laid back flow over a handful jazz-heavy beats. It’s not complicated but Curren$y doesn’t need complicated. Download here.

Mouse On Tha Track – Millionaire Dreamzzz

Did you like Louisiana rapper Lil Boosie before he landed himself in the LA State Pen for 8 years on drug charges (he has since beaten murder charges so it’s not all bad)? Cause if you did, then you will love this. If you didn’t like Boosie, then you won’t like this. If you don’t know who he is, listen to this and decide.

You how people sometimes say that when they get rich that they want to have a flock of doves released every time they enter a room? Well, instead of a flock of doves, I want a huge black guy (think Big from Rob & Big) to hold an even huger boom box blasting the opening track to this album. Download here.

Shy Glizzy – Fxck Rap

If there is one thing you should take away from Washington D.C.-rapper Shy Glizzy’s Fxck Rap, it is that he is from the streets and therefore doesn’t care about rap music. In the song that shares a title with the mixtape, Glizzy exclaims in the chorus, “I know how to hustle, so fuck rap.” Despite his disdain for rap, he has made some very good rap music on this tape and it is his anti-rap sentiment that really resonates. Also, he says this in the intro track “Tru Story”:

I got kicked out high school,
then I got kicked out another one,
then I got kicked out another one,
then I got kicked out another one.
Man, fuck D.C. schools.
I’m taking my ass out in Maryland.
Then Maryland kicked my ass out,
you fuckin’ Terrapins.

If those lyrics don’t make you want to download this mixtape, then nothing will. Download here and for interested parties, Shy had another mixtape in 2012 called Law, which can be found here.

Here are a few more tapes worth mentioning:

Captain Murphy – Duality

This is Flying Lotus’s first excursion into rap and it comes with a bizarre video. Download the album and video here.

King L(ouie) – Drilliminati

King L, the Chicago-native, was forced to change his name earlier this year after Disney made a fuss over the name King Louie. Fortunately, his music hasn’t suffered and this might just be his best mixtape yet. Download here.

Flatbush ZOMBiES – D.R.U.G.S.

Flatbush ZOMBiES emerged earlier this year after releasing a couple fantastic videos for singles that ended up on this tape. Their light-hearted, drug-inspired music has waves throughout the rap community since then. Download here.

Meyhem Lauren – Respect the Fly Shit and Mandatory Brunch Meetings

Meyhem Lauren was one of a handful of rappers who released two tapes this year. The music has a Wu-Tang feel to it although that might be all the Action Bronson features (that guy couldn’t sound more like Ghostface Killah).  Download Respect here and Mandatory here.

Lil Ugly Mane – Mista Thug Isolation

Weird beats with weird lyrics make for weird music and I like it. There is a song on this tape entitled “BITCH I’M LUGUBRIOUS.” Need I say more? Download here.

Gucci Mane – Trap Back and Trap God

At this point, you probably already know who Gucci Mane is. Of all the artists in this article, he is by far and away the most recognizable name. That doesn’t detract from the fact that he released two great mixtapes this year. Download Trap Back here and Trap God here.

I think the one thing I learned in compiling this list is that there is way too much good rap music out there for me to claim that this list has any sort of completeness. I tried to listen to everything but that is simply impossible. Throw a comment down below if you think I made a glaring exclusions. Otherwise, enjoy the free music.