For the Greeks

I have wasted some time the last few months wondering whether I should have spent this semester abroad. I arrived in August confident in my decision to stay here, even though many of my friends are abroad, but for the longest time, every conversation I had eventually led to the same question: "So why didn't you go abroad?"

Had I not stayed this fall, I wouldn't have learned from my political analysis class that this query is a "leading question." It is biased toward an assumption, the implication being that going abroad is the right thing to do-that there must be some reason why I chose to pass up such an opportunity.

Durham seems far less appealing than London, Paris or Sydney, but it does have its unique benefits. For one thing, Duke University is in Durham. No other city anywhere in the world can claim this. I enrolled here because almost everything about life at Duke appealed to me. Nowhere in the application did I read, "You will spend seven semesters in Durham, but you must spend the first semester of your junior year abroad."

I am often made to feel that this is implied and that I made the wrong decision by remaining here. As people questioned why I stayed, I began to question myself, and to avoid this, I countered their implications with jokes. I have told people that I did not go abroad because I am afraid of long plane flights or because I am expecting and I want the baby to be born an American citizen. Or to the particular questioner, I'll say, "I stayed because I couldn't stand being apart from you for a whole semester."

Finally, I realized that the question itself is a joke. To some, my answer may be adequate, but to most, my answer would pale in comparison to the rewards of studying abroad. Regardless, I feel compelled to defend my choice to stay here, whether or not my reasoning is the same or different from others who chose as I did.

My fraternity and my bank account were two big influences. At this point in my life, I don't have the resources that would allow me to get the most out of studying or traveling abroad. When I graduate, assuming the millennium does not bring the apocalypse, most foreign countries will still exist and I won't have to sacrifice a semester at Duke to enjoy them. And if I fail financially after graduation, I can fund my travels by winning millions on television using only my acute knowledge of cartoons and breakfast cereals.

Under Duke's greek system, a male student spends nearly all of his freshman year first rushing and then pledging a fraternity. He returns to school the next fall to begin what could possibly be his only full year to enjoy the rewards and benefits of fraternity life. My sophomore year was quite possibly the best of my life. I lived with my pledge class, 21 of my best friends, and I would love to repeat the scenario for all three years of active fraternity membership. But due to space constraints in the section and the notorious Housing Survey Shaft of 1999, only one or two of my 11 returning brothers will be able to once again enjoy section life.

A major gripe of Duke fraternity members is the disengagement of juniors and seniors. A fraternity member's choice to study abroad is in no way a reflection of his devotion to the fraternity, but it is nearly impossible to reintroduce oneself to fraternity living after studying abroad. The fraternity is a living group, although its benefits and positive contributions greatly exceed this. By staying here this semester, I have been able not only to stay engaged, but also to take a much more active role in fraternity life.

Colin Garry is a Trinity junior.