Letter to TTH Members from Our President
Regarding the UPB's Decision

March 2, 2006

Dear TTH Team,

I have some unfortunate news. However, before we all start lamenting please read the entire email.

Two days ago, the Undergraduate Publications Board came to a decision to deny status for The Triple Helix as a publication on campus. Their reasons in shortwere: Our layout is handled at Cornell, we have content overlap with Vertices,that we do not have anything unique to contribute to the Duke Community, and that articles submitted by students of other schools in the journal will not be subject to review by Duke personnel.

I'm sure it has not escaped your attention, that some of the claims made against us are based on weak grounds, if any.

I apologize for not having informed everyone immediately after the notice, but I required some time to make calls, gather information, and attempt to setup a meeting with our Supervisor and Editor in Chief.

At this point, however, I would like to postpone all of our deadlines. No writing will be due until further deadlines are informed. This does not mean you cannot get published. Because of this special circumstance (unique to Duke
alone), TTH is considering letting our writers who have worked hard, and still want to, the opportunity to get their work published. You may continue to hand in work at the original deadlines set by Amy, but you are not obligated to. There are no repercussions of any kind.

Currently, we are looking to appeal, and to address the concerns raised by UPB in an appropriate manner. Numerous other universities, both across the nation and in the world (new members include Oxford and Cambridge) see value in TTH. I am committed to giving a good response to UPB in hopes to have them reconsider. This will require support and patience from everybody.

Amy and I will meet this Friday with the TTH supervisor at 5 PM at Bostock. Anyone and everyone is welcome to come.

Further notice will be given after Friday's meeting. Do not be dismayed. With or without UPB, you can still write. Thank you for your patience.

Sincerely,
Paul Zhao
President TTH, Duke