Your children will thrive here, but for them to get the good of their new life, you need to back off," commanded the newly-installed President Richard Brodhead during the 2004 Freshman Convocation. Although he was addressing the (at that time) very anxious and ambivalent parents of the Class of 2008, his message has resonated with me since I watched my own family depart after his address. That was the moment when it finally sank in-I am now an adult; I am now independent; I am now responsible for myself.
But alas, it was not to be. Brodhead's instruction to "back off" did not inaugurate my new life as a free and independent human being. While college has brought in many important ways my own independence and the need to assume more responsibility, there are other crucial ways in which Duke does not fully recognize or respect my status as an adult. Equally important, many of my own peers do not appreciate our status either.
Although the academic framework of the University fosters independence and responsibility, overall undergraduate life is replete with examples of overarching and inappropriate influence on "student affairs." Students are required to purchase meal plans to ensure that we actually eat and prevented from seeing nutritional data to ensure that we don't develop eating disorders. Student Affairs employees live in the dorms and inspect all social events. All posted messages on campus must be approved, and all parties must be registered.
Furthermore, there is not a single decision that can be made by Campus Council or the Duke Student Government (excepting the simple allocation of student funds) that cannot be vetoed or significantly influenced by some administrator. During last week's Campus Council meeting, students watered down a proposed resolution "because of trepidation about [Residence Life and Housing Services'] potential response," not only demonstrating RLHS's control over the matter but also general student reluctance to confront the administration. While DSG and CC may have influence, they have no real power over any University policies.
But perhaps the most egregious example is the fact that Duke, in many circumstances, refuses to let students live within the confines of American society and make our own decisions to break the law and then live with the consequences. Instead, we have an entire judicial affairs infrastructure that the Duke University Police Department often defers to and that has taken the place of law enforcement in many situations. Duke has some legal obligations under the Drug Free Schools and Communities Act of 1986, but it has far exceeded them in the years since the law was passed. Judicial Affairs even pursues institutional action on top of legal action, almost as a parent punishing his child for getting arrested.
Due to this paternalistic and insidious infrastructure, safe behavior on campus is often curtailed while dangerous behavior is often not adjudicated because it involves medical intervention. Even though RLHS is funded exclusively by the students, it is the one who dictates the rules.
The overall result, however, is not docile parties or safe behavior but lack of responsibility on the part of the students and lack of respect on the part of administrators. Many students do not act as adults because we are not treated as adults. Every year brings additional rules, and the emphasis on self-control is lost.
The visceral reactions of students when they are actually held responsible under the law are clear evidence of the lack of responsibility that pervades much of the student body. While complaints about Alcohol Law Enforcement's possible violations of student Constitutional rights are of grave concern, we should accept responsibility when we are caught and afforded due process under the law. But in our free society, it is only the government that enforces the law-not the Duke administration.
Both students and the administration must come to the conclusion that we are all better off with students being responsible without the intervention of the Office of Student Affairs, and both must act accordingly. That simply cannot happen, however, if the rules keep tightening. I had hoped the compulsory aspects of education would end with high school, but it doesn't look like Duke has any plans to "back off."
Elliott Wolf is a Trinity sophomore. His column runs every other Tuesday.
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