The tailgate in the afternoon was packed with Global Health and Public Policy majors, as well as juniors who were angry they weren’t at Oktoberfest with all of their real friends.
Far too often, auditions, try-outs, applications and interviews are viewed as gateways into an exclusive networks of high-achieving peers with concrete knowledge and expertise.
For the red-voters joining the traditionally blue anti-pipeline struggle, this violation of property rights is the central concern.
The current situation in Puerto Rico is the result of larger structural issues that go beyond the American territory. We need to acknowledge that systems of white supremacy allow for the disproportionate treatment against people of color pleading for their lives 1500 miles away from Washington. Just as in previous natural disasters, the long rebuilding process ahead in the aftermath of Maria’s wrath in Puerto Rico will largely be predicated on a unified political commitment by the federal government and local leaders.
By leveraging the isolation of the Duke bubble, the project has carved out an important space for self-reflection. While the world outside our walls may be pushing back against us (and while not all individuals among us may support this project), we wholeheartedly embrace it. It is time we push ourselves to challenge even the most uncomfortable notions here at Duke.
Nevertheless, I find it unsettling that we spend so much of our free time skimming through hundreds—if not thousands—of images and life updates from people with whom we’d never hold more than a five-minute conversation.
Black and Brown athletes, it seems, are to live and breathe their profession with no regard for the outside world. Only when an athlete steps out of the realm of a football field or basketball court and speaks the language of race and politics are they stopped in their tracks and sent back to their respective spaces.
My biggest takeaway from the gun show was that as much as I disagreed with these people’s politics or lifestyle choices, I can’t say that anyone I met was unkind or hostile in any way. In fact, everyone greeted us nicely with a smile.
Weiner’s downfall exemplifies the potential career-ending costs of violating the expectations of personal conduct that come with representing the people through an elected position, and will hopefully serve as a lesson that no politician should be immune from acting in such a reprehensible manner. Nonetheless, the Weiner case remains a relatively rare exception rather than the norm when it comes to these types of transgressions.
If someone who has given so much can being this work of reconciliation, how much farther can we just beginning carry it? We need only value people over party, and set principle above political gain. And I am hard-pressed to think why we would want things any other way
As much as we would all love to believe that we can accomplish as much as the next person, we cannot hold this belief without recognizing that some of us will struggle more and have to work harder than others because of who we are and where we come from.
Does inclusion mean spending time around people who are likely not going to be lifelong friends? Is it sticking with that group of o-week friends? Is there something wrong with choosing to spend more time with people with whom things simply "click" better? Or is inclusion only for specific times and places, within specific boundaries, or is it a constant goal to strive for?
Trump’s tweets dilute the integrity of his office, blurring the line between the unfiltered opinions of a reality tv star and what should be expected rhetoric from the leader of a politically powerful nation.
At its best, the media represents a critical aspect of any democracy by accurately reporting the news of the day to the public, but the media in its current form falls far short of that highest ideal.
Anyone with the ability to change the world for good has the responsibility to act, and the great ability of these athletes comes with the great responsibility to make the world a better place.
It is imperative to focus on the problem, not only as a matter of morality, but also because regions plagued by displacement and instability have become breeding grounds for the next generation of global terrorists.
For the majority of us (who do not believe God gets kickbacks from con artists in Italian suits), we ask, "How are these donations used?"
Insinuating that athletes simply “play the game” is not only a cop-out of a larger, more important discussion around agency, police brutality and how little the United States values black lives, but also inherently dehumanizing.
Duke students interact with dozens of peers each day, whether within their solidified friend groups, their same-as-freshman-year clubs, or that Greek crew they always darty with. But a recent investigation by the Department of Sociology unequivocally concluded that the person your friends dislike might seem rude or arrogant or facetious, but that attitude changes once you really get to know them.
In your life at Duke, you are surrounded by people who are motivated, skilled, ambitious and successful, and you can learn so much from them if you are willing to reach out. Most people won’t take that initiative, but learning this fundamental skill can be something that truly separates you from the crowd.
