As a Durham resident and student of the Schools of Medicine and Public Policy, I would like to call on the Duke administration to commit to supporting the Durham-Orange Light Rail. A few classmates and I wrote and delivered the following letter to President Vincent Price and Board Chair Jack Bovender of the Board of Trustees with over 200 signatures from Sanford and the School of Medicine.
Julian Xie is a Duke medical school student and a Sanford school masters' in public policy student.
Dear President Price and Chair Bovender,
We are writing to express our support for the Durham Orange Light Rail Transit (DOLRT) project, and to ask that you take steps for Duke University to donate the requested right-of-way to ensure its feasibility. Duke has a unique opportunity to support its mission “to contribute in diverse ways to the local community” and advance a regional vision grounded in connectivity, livability, and equity. This opportunity should not be allowed to pass us by.
As students of public policy, we strongly support the effective use of mass transit systems like DOLRT to serve the region’s current and future residents. DOLRT will improve connectivity throughout the region, including to top regional hospitals and partner universities at UNC-Chapel Hill and NC Central University. The project will enhance livability by reducing car dependency and vehicle emissions while improving access to health care and education, among many other opportunities that Durham and Chapel Hill offer. The project will also help bridge historical divides in the community by providing affordable regional transportation to underserved neighborhoods.
DOLRT is a long-term necessity for a growing region. Similar projects will become more expensive and complex as the region grows denser and continues to sprawl. By acting today, we can ensure that the region remains attractive for businesses and talent—and we can further solidify Duke's position as a hub for innovation.
UNC-Chapel Hill, NC Central, and the Durham VA have all made considerable donations to ensure the success of this project. We are encouraged by the broad community support and the robust government funding commitments. We would be regretful should Duke’s singular opposition prove fatal to the project. We ask that you endeavor at this week’s meeting of the Board of the Trustees to approve the donation of the necessary right-of-way parcels for the DOLRT, and support our region’s future.
Sincerely,
Andrew Trexler, MPP ’20
Julian Xie, MPP ’20, MD ’21
Matias Scholl, MPP ’20
Paelina DeStephano, MPP ’20
Ethan Rex, MPP ’20
Megan Yeh, MPP ’19
Joe Marshall, MPP ’19
Madeline Buczkowski, MPP ’19
Dan Stevenson, MPP ’20
Simon Warren, MPP ’21
Priya Shankar, MPP ’20
Meg Fee, MPP ’19
Rachel Salzberg, MPP ’20
Shivangi Jain, MPP ’20, MEM ’20
Rhian C. Carreker-Ford, MPP ’20
Allie Jaarsma, MPP ’20
Wes George, MPP ’19
Vivian Taylor, MPP ’20, MDiv ’20
Gabrielle Bonnet, MIDP ’19
Blake Rosser, MPP ’19
Hannah Loftus, MPP ’20
Caitlin Cronin, MPP ’20
Laura Schaaf, MPP ’20
Anna Broadwater, MPP ’20
Maria Nagawa, PhD ’23
Le’Andre Blakeney, MPP ’20
Afsana Oreen, MPP ’20
Colleen Muse, MPP ’20
Rob Fetter, PhD ’17
Brian Dalluge, MPP ’20
Leah Baldasare, MPP ’20
Janec Kohlshütter, MPP ’19
Jane Leer, PhD
Kaki Comer, MPP ’20
Seth Morgan, PhD ’2024
Monica Wang, MIDP ’2019
Eliza Salmon, MPP ’2019
Dan Adams, MPP ’21
Yash Bajaj, MPP ’20
Harlan Downs-Tepper, PhD
Louis Scola, MPP ’20
Shylah Duchicela, MPP ’20
Manal El Tayar, MIDP ’20
Maria Ramirez, MPP ’20
Matthew Calvert, MPP ’20, MBA ’20
Kelsey Gold, MPP ’19
Robert Harris, PhD
Andrew Arden, MPP ’20
Meril Pothen, MPP ’20
Jessica Wilkinson, MPP ’19
Rich Gittings, MPP ’20
Lee Foster, MPP ’20
John T. Pratson, MPP ’20
Emma Frantz, MPP ’20
Tess Koenigsmark, MPP ’20
Imali Bandara, MPP ‘20
Marc Jeuland, Associate Professor
Ken Rogerson, Professor of the Practice
Giovanni Merli, Professor
Jackson Ewing, Senior Fellow
Support from the Duke School of Medicine:
Alan Zambeli-Ljepovic, MD ‘20
Alexander Gunn, MD ‘22
Alexis Musick, MD ‘22
Alice Yu, MD ‘22
Allison Reinhardt, MD ‘22
Alyssa Habermann, MD ‘21
Aman Bali, MD ‘20
Anand Shah, MD ‘20
Andre Agassi, MD ‘20
Andreas Seas, MD/PhD ‘25
Arakua Welbeck, MD ‘20
Ariana Paniagua, MD ‘22
Ariana Stewart, MD ‘20
Ashley Adams, MD ‘19
Best Uchehara, MD ‘22
Brad Kawano, MD ‘22
Camilo Toro, MD ‘22
Carmen Kloer, MD ‘22
Cason Robbins, MD ‘21
Charlotte Gerrity, MD ‘21
Chelsea Handfield, MD ‘20
Chizoba Nwankwo, MD ‘21
Chloe Peters, MD ‘19
Christelle Tan, MD ‘20
Christine Ha, MD ‘21
Christopher Behrer, MD/PhD ‘25
Claire Edelman, MD ‘19
Colleen Wixted, MD ‘22
Daniel Evans, MD ‘22
Delaram Mirzania, MD ‘21
Diana Waters, MD ‘20
Diego Galan Donlo, MD ‘20
Drake Sanders, MD ‘22
E. Hope Cain Glowacki, MD ‘19
Elana Horwitz, MD ‘22
Elena Drews, MD ‘21
Elisabeth Seyferth, MD ‘20
Elizabeth Kobe, MD ‘21
Elliot Le, MD ‘20
Emily Chen, MD ‘22
Emily Goins, MD ‘22
Emma Ryan, MD ‘21
Ethan Borre, MD/PhD ‘24
Franz Belz, MD ‘22
Fred Heller, MD ‘22
Gemini Janas, Lab Manager
Gireesh Reddy, MD ‘19
Grant Cabell, MD ‘22
Hadley Reid, MD ‘21
Hannah Cunningham, MD ‘21
Hannah Martin, MD ‘21
Hannah Stallkamp,PA ‘19
Heather Frank, MD ‘20
Hope Knochenhauer, MD ‘22
Hunter Warwick, MD ‘19
Irene Song, MD ‘22
Isabelle Byers, MD ‘22
Jackée Okoli, MD ‘20
Jacquelyn Dillon, MD ‘22
Jahrane Dale, MD ‘22
James Giarraputo, MD ‘21
James Williams, MD ‘19
Jania Arcia Ramos, MD ‘19
Janice Hu, MD ‘20
Jasmine McNeill, MD ‘20
Jay Lusk, MD ‘22
Jeff Ord, MD ‘22
Jeffery Kwock, MD ‘19
Jenna Frush, MD ‘20
Jennifer Chang, MD ‘22
Jennifer Tu, MD ‘21
Jonathan Chang, MD ‘19
Joshua Hayden, MD ‘21
Joshua Helmkamp, MD ‘20
Joshua Rivenbark, MD/PhD ‘20
Julia Isaacson, MD ‘22
Julia Salinaro, MD ‘19
Justin Ma, MD ‘22
Kareem Alexis, MD ‘19
Karen Lin, MD ‘21
Kelby Brown, MD ‘21
Kelly Buchanan, MD ‘20
Kelsey Corrigan, MD ‘19
Kirsten Simmons, MD ‘20
Kristen Buehne, MD ‘22
Krunal Amin, MD ‘22
Kunal Goel, MD ‘22
Laura Stilwell, MD ‘21
Lauren Sweet, MD ‘20
Lee Schmidt, MD ‘22
Leila Adell, PA ‘20
Lindsey A. Chew, MD/PhD ‘22
Lucas Wachsmuth, MD/PhD ‘25
Lyra Olson, MD/PhD ‘24
Madison Krischak, MD ‘22
Maggie Coates, MD ‘20
Maggie Morash, MD ‘22
Margaret Bost, MD ‘22
Matthew Gold, MD ‘19
Matthew Lyes, MD ‘19
Megan Smith, MD ‘20
Megha Gupta, MD ‘22
Meghan Price, MD ‘21
Michael Kaplan, MD ‘20
Michael Lebhar, MD ‘21
Mike Wang, MD ‘22
Milton Pratt, MD ‘20
Monica Alvarez, MD ‘22
Morgan Belina, MD ‘22
Morgan Simons, MD ‘20
Nali Gillespie, MD ‘21
Nathaniel Neptune, MBA ’20, MD ‘21
Nicky Chung, MD ‘22
Olayode Babatunde, MD ‘19
Olivia Lin, MD ‘21
Pali Singh, MD ‘21
Peter Callejo-Black, MD ‘20
Peter Weng, MD/PhD ‘24
Rebecca Fabbro, MD ‘21
Reilly Dever, MD ‘22
Rheaya Willis, MD ‘20
Rosa Yang, MD ‘22
Safa Kaleem, MD ‘21
Samantha Wong, MD ‘22
Samuel Hofacker, MD ‘20
Sara Grundy, MD ‘22
Sarah Freeman, MD ‘22
Shannon Coats, MD ‘22
Shauntell Luke, MD ‘22
Shay Behrens, MD ‘19
Sierra Camille Mims, MD ‘22
Sneha Rao, MD ‘19
Spencer Chang, MD ‘20
Sroda Agudogo, MD ‘22
Stephanie Hsu, MD ‘19
Stephen Kirchner, MD/PhD ‘24
Steven Doerstling, MD ‘22
Susan A. Rogers, MDiv '79, Member of Medical Education Staff
Taylor Hughes, MD ‘21
Thao Nguyen, MD ‘21
Theresa Rizk, MD ‘22
Thomas Neufeld, MD ‘20
Tichelle Porch, MD ‘22
Tiffany Dong, MD ‘20
Tressa Ellett, MD ‘22
Tulsi Patel, MD ‘22
Will Pohlman, MD ‘22
William A. L. Sperduto, MD ‘22
Willis Wong, MD ‘22
Zohaib Shaikh, MD ‘21
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