Dear Readers,
When this issue was nothing more than a handwritten list of stories that I was reading to a friend, he chuckled and said, "So this is the different minority group issue," with a raised eyebrow and a punctuating burst of condescending laughter.
I frowned, looking at my list again, and decided there was a certain truth in his statement. Stories on gay life at Duke, religious athletes and women's struggles with "effortless perfection" sat prominently on that list and in this issue. But I looked back at my friend, smiled and said quietly and confidently, "Yeah, I guess it is." Rather than be embarrassed, I was proud. Today, with the issue nearing completion, I still am.
The great majority of people take the path of least resistance for most aspects of life. They avoid people, ideas and situations that will challenge them and their previously held assumptions. It just makes my life easier; I'm more comfortable this way; my own situation is the most important and relevant to me. This shuttered perspective gives people a limited understanding of the world-especially when other views are not thrust upon them.
White, heterosexual men, a group of which I'm a member, have traditionally been the most privileged demographic in America and, in my opinion, remain so today. Therefore, we are able to move through life blithely oblivious to other groups' realities, whereas members of these other groups are not afforded such a luxury. Many straight white men believe the world is for everyone as they see it-I think that view is less common within other groups.
Committed to their absolutist belief that their own experiences and perspectives can be extrapolated across all segments of society, some of these men do monumentally stupid things. They laugh at an anonymous column about "effortless perfection" and suicide because they can't imagine having such problems themselves. They become upset when victimized minorities are offended by racial jokes because they are not shaken by Irish or Polish or Italian jokes. They make `diversity' a dirty word because it implies a threat to their world view.
`Diversity' in the institutional setting has taken on a further negative connotation because it is seen to imply a formulaic and superficial devotion to categorization. Forums for talking but not listening have damaged the word and made it uncool.
But I propose here to raise `diversity' from the ashes and embrace it. So this issue of the magazine takes on three important perspectives with which many Duke students are not inherently familiar. Kelly Rohrs explores the world of gay students at Duke, providing a glimpse of the community and its members that will be new to many. Liana Wyler returns to the term "effortless perfection" and feels out the Duke community about the buzzword's meaning and significance. Kiya Bajpai introduces the reader to a group of students meeting their obligations to the books, their athletic teams and their God.
Each of these stories cuts a slice of life that many readers have never sampled and serves it up to you. So enjoy them, learn from them and let your own understanding of the world stretch accordingly.
Of course, there is more than diversity of people and experiences to provide interesting new knowledge. There is also the chance to have your eyes opened by Andrew Gerst's frightening exploration of Duke's information technology, and its implications for security and privacy.
Lastly, this issue features the intriguing story of a Chapel Hill man's two enterprises-one a major seller of erotica and the other an international public health nonprofit-as told by Karen Hauptman.
I hope that you are entertained and are challenged by what you read. My view of the world has broadened with this issue and I wish the same for you as you read.
Have a safe and happy winter break,
Tyler Rosen
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