Stanberry misses point of housing debate

Parker Stanberry is being foolish. Of course there is no "racist, sexist conspiracy" about the Duke housing scheme. No one is pushing levers, muttering darkly about "undesirables" and segregating the campus with sweeps of their pen. There are no individuals seriously making this claim anywhere in the debate.

There is, however, a situation that exists at the University that Stanberry acknowledges. It is not the result of any individual's machination, but is rather the product of the existing University housing regulations. These regulations themselves have arisen over the years and have no express motivation themselves, necessarily. What they have produced, however, is apparent to students on all sides of this debate-a racially segmented campus.

Stanberry's mistake is to equate every statement concerning race with an accusation against the white majority. There are a host of factors involved in the stratification and iniquities of our society. However, when these iniquities quite clearly cleave along racial lines, what are we supposed to say? "Race is not a factor, let's look at everything else and studiously ignore the colors of our skin?" It is precisely this sort of attitude that has prevented so much potentially fruitful discussion on campus. Stanberry displays the same sort of immature attitude toward race matters as a pimply, socially-recalcitrant middle school boy might display toward women-"Let's not talk about it, it makes me nervous." It is the same problem throughout the University community.

Housing policy on this campus is not an unassailable natural processes, as Stanberry seems to suggest. It is a shifting, ever-changing interaction of regulations and individual choices in a variety of contexts. Students could have a direct voice in shaping this interaction as they see fit, if they so desired. Attempts like Stanberry's to brush off criticisms of the existing system as hokey fringe lunacy only places the brakes on any hopes of such a thoughtful dialogue and mass action.

Stanberry says, "The system is not perfect, and I encourage anyone to express possible improvements." He is dead right. We need to stop taking the existing status quo for granted and look critically at all aspects of the current housing policy and proposed changes. Through this sort of campus-wide dialogue we can shatter the myth of the "apathetic" Duke student and exhibit how easy it really is to have an influence on your community in a meaningful way.

Raja Raghunath

Trinity '98

The writer is a member of the Desegregate Duke Campaign.