Sometimes, The Chronicle just makes me laugh. And I don't mean the comics.
On Oct. 30, the unsigned editorial (or the "edit," in Chroniclespeak), called for the elimination of all select houses, both greek and non-greek. The reasoning behind this was to create a "more diverse" campus. The edit went on to suggest assigning blocks of 10 self-selected students to live alongside other blocks of 10 for the entire three years as upperclassmen.
I am amazed that a staff of reasonable and capable people could come up with such an uninformed, unenlightened and utterly ridiculous set of ideas.
The Chronicle did not separate greek from non-greek select groups. This is their first oversight. In general, the two groups are very different. The greek houses here are homogenous; they all live essentially similar lifestyles. Let's face it, even behind all the Abercrombie and Fitch gear, I would bet their own mothers could not tell them apart.
Non-greek groups are a whole different animal. Every one has its own character, its own unique feel. There are not just two categories of living, but many.
The edit asserts that the University is contradicting itself by spending money on minority recruitment yet continuing to allow a residential system that works against minorities. The Chronicle feels that the University should work for a more "diverse" campus.
The Chronicle, in a common sentiment these days, equates skin color to "diversity". This concept is, simply, silly. A diverse campus in not one whose racial breakdown matches the "magic" one Christoph Guttentag dreams about. The quality and variety of students' ideas should measure diversity on a college campus, not some factor as arbitrary as skin color. This is a position I have always held-see my columns from this past summer.
The Chronicle was not looking at the whole story when it examined recently-released housing data that revealed what any half-blind, half-demented quad squirrel already knows: that is, "The Big White West," has that name for a reason. The black/white numbers mean nothing. They do not tell us anything about the kinds of people who live on West. Those numbers tell nothing about their thoughts, feelings or personal characteristics.
The most laughable part of the edit was the suggestion that students be must live in blocks of 10 people for multiple years at Duke. There is nothing like a big, "down with the establishment" edit that, as an alternative to the status quo, suggests... keeping the status quo. The edit's proposal of the "block" system of living is essentially the same living option that we live with now-the only difference is that blocks must be 10 students in size as opposed to the current size limit of 8.
The edit asserts that this, "breaks down comfort zones, teaches students about one another and especially about how to live together fairly." Those words give me that warm and fuzzy feeling, but they don't fool me into thinking that block living will make us a collegiate utopia. Isn't a block of 10 people a comfort zone? How will this encourage students to meet new people if their friends inhabit their entire hallway? Students will continue to live with those whose lifestyles are similar to their own in exactly the same way they do now.
Under the current system, selective houses cater to many lifestyles that allow students to choose how they want to spend their three upperclass years. If students want to abuse drugs, be destructive and practice misogyny, we have more than enough living groups to accommodate them. If their interests overlap with one of the selective houses, they are free to join one. If those options still are not acceptable, students are free to block with their own group of friends (the same idea put forth by the edit) and live on West, Edens, Central (where living accommodations are far superior to those on the other campuses) or off campus. Either way, students' intelligence and freedoms are protected.
Moving greeks to one area of the campus so as to contain their disruption to other students is a good idea. Rather than eliminating these living options, the University should simply group them together somewhere so that they can pursue their chosen lifestyles without disruption to others.
The Chronicle should rethink its recent edit. The solution to our greek-dominated social life is not to reduce students' residential options but to retain the current system of living choice. We are all adults, capable of making these lifestyle decisions for ourselves.
Dave Nigro is a Trinity senior.
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