Letters to the Editor: Dialogue with off-campus students needed

I am writing in response to an e-mail I recieved from a Durham resident in reference to the contentious relationship between my fellow Duke students and others living off of East Campus.

Agitated members of the community, with the help of the police, are intensifying their efforts to end parties that they claim are rowdy and destructive. Stubborn exaggeration of the actual situation seems to be behind the creation of a new neighborhood watch specifically designed to crack down on students.

I am going to be up front; I am in an “unsanctioned” fraternity and on one of Duke’s “notorious” sports teams. However, I am also a Robertson Scholar and found the implication that my friends and I are unfit leaders, students, etc., exceptionally offensive. Although I agree that some of the behavior of my peers is completely unacceptable, I do not think that the current course of action is constructive.

If there is one thing that my education has taught me it is that successful resolution involves all parties to come to the table and devise a plan involving concessions on both sides (win-win). I suggest that Duke’s administration select a group of responsible students who live off campus (contrary to assumed beliefs, they do exist) to sit down with residents and have a frank conversation. This surreptitious attempt to “get the students” is only going to worsen an already volatile situation for everyone involved.

Randall Drain

Trinity ’05