Rob Goodman's treatment of the recent Sigma Chi debacle in his column yesterday is distasteful and seems to be representative of many of the problems on this campus revolving around race issues.
While I agree that the response by several students to the party is a bit overzealous and misguided, the ideas at the heart of this debate are not ones to be joked about and passed over.
The current state of race on this campus is a tragedy. Duke is looked upon as one of the best universities in the world. Yet, due to the rampant self-segregation of race, culture and class on campus, many students are graduating with an incomplete education.
The bulk of Duke's students come from very similar backgrounds. The majority are middle-to-upper class. They are "protected" and unaware of many of the realisms that exist in this and other countries, such as racism, sexism, class bias and a host of others. Once at Duke, these students refuse to put their social egos and sense of reality on the line, and do not explore the experiences and viewpoints available to them through their fellow students. They can spend four years here and not learn a damn thing outside of their courses.
So, was the Sigma Chi party a "Very Good Thing"? In a sense, yes. There are many on this campus that before the uproar, would never have thought the party's jokes to be offensive. These people are unaware and blind to the fact that what may not offend them could still upset another group with different backgrounds and viewpoints.
One can only hope that the result of all of this mess is a genuine desire on the part of the student body to explore the unknown in the people around them, and a realization in all of us that we still have a lot to learn.
Paul Novick
Trinity'05
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