I have seen the "dark side," and now it's time to come home. Don't get me wrong, my semester "abroad" at Carolina has been a valuable experience, if only to compare--as a diligent observer--the hook-up cultures between these two prestigious oases of higher learning. There are the obvious comparisons--Carolina is more than twice as large, 80 percent of the students are from North Carolina, there are a lot more (Southern) blondes, etc. etc. Critics of Duke's generally wealthy, collar-popping stiletto heel-laden, and "pearl-wearing" student population will quickly point upwards toward that school on the Hill as though it were a sanctuary of ethnic and ideological diversity, free from the pretenses of a commercially-obsessed, success-driven society represented at Duke.
Well, it's time to call these sweeping generalizations what they really are. Believe it or not, there are just as many students strutting around UNC with polo shirts--only they're light blue paired with pink shorts. How does a little put-put on the green sound, mate? Frat parties are generally packed, though the eagerness and anticipation of attending them trumps that at Duke since you have to actually walk off campus to find any of them--that goes for non-frat parties, as well. Jocks? Carolina's got those, too. And yes, if they're male, chances are they're in a frat. Even if most students are not on a recognized sports team, all one has to do is peak into the Student Recreation Center (granted, a far cry from Wilson) to see how much direct body-to-body sweat students are willing to endure in the hopes of getting a set in on the lats machine.
Carolina has the other side of the pendulum, as well--the radical liberals who always have something to protest somewhere, and their frankly entertaining rivals, the Evangelicals holding signs that condemn anyone to Hell who talks to their pets more than to God--along with the Jews, "homosexual child-molesters," "dykes on bikes" and people who watch TV more than they read the Bible. Yes, these people are for real folks.
Duke's critics may be stating an empirical truth when they say that there are more economics majors at Duke than at Carolina, more wealthy students and more people who want to end up on Wall Street. But it is a dangerous non sequitor to conclude from these data that Duke is consumed with power-hungry socialites living in an ethnically segregated, intellectually apathetic environment, as so many columnists have done.
Nowhere is the attack on Duke social life more pronounced than with the greek/selective house system. Columnists have consistently derided these organizations as the worst exemplifications of an ethnically segregated, intellectually apathetic student body. In his April 12 op-ed, Philip Kurian charged that the system is an "administratively encouraged method of marginalization that can severely prescribe social norms for women, homosexuals and ethnic minorities." I challenge Kurian to take a few daring steps into Mirecourt one weeknight, the social community I am a member of and pull up a chair in the Commons Room or hang out in any hall. He will likely find himself conversing with an Indian, a homosexual, an African American and even some women; and not marginalized women laced with pearls, at that. Believe it or not, we welcome loud, opinionated women, too--even feminists!
What struck me most about Kurian's argument was his insistence that we shake Duke up a bit by forcing students to make relationships "outside the comfort zone." It's a nice thought, but the suggestion rests on a false assumption--that fraternities and selective houses are not diverse in the first place. Too often I hear the naïve argument that contrived discussions on "uncomfortable" issues, such as race relations, gay rights and cultural differences, are the only way to achieve diversity. But true integration occurs when one can have those discussions as a normal interaction and not as a scheduled meeting. What is so amazing about a community like Mirecourt is the natural and mutual curiosity and respect each of us has for each other. We have these discussions precisely because we feel comfortable having them.
Kurian's endorsement of Yale's college system for Duke has the potential to destroy these voluntary interactions because it would force us to live with people (note the term "people" vs. blacks, Asians, gays, etc.) that we simply do not want to associate with. It is a dangerous stereotype to brand any reluctance to associate with certain people as having more to do with their race than their character.
Among other things, Mirecourt is a major reason why I am looking forward to returning to Duke. UNC might have a few more people who share my views on the world, but what good is that if I live in an anti-social dorm and my friends live halfway across campus or miles away off-campus? If Duke continues its route toward breaking up the greek/selective house system, it will be in for a shock when roughly 2,400 students stand up in revolt.
Oh, and by the way, my friends in Mirecourt happen to be a lot more ethnically diverse than my "independent" friends at UNC.
Jared Fish is a Trinity sophomore. His column appears every other Friday.
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