As a freshman, I'm still recovering from those harrowing, soul-searching, life-determining months and years that went into my decision to come to Duke, and around the Marketplace and in Writing 20 classes, you can still hear the old "So why'd you come here?" being used to break the ice. Answers to that question can involve anything from research to location to the beauty of the campus, but overall one can sense that there's a lot of enthusiasm for Duke among its newest students.
I've started to notice, however, that as students get closer and closer to graduation they also get farther and farther away from the energy and enthusiasm that I presume they also shared on their arrival. One only has to look at extracurricular activities to see this trend at work: nearly every club or organization I have been a part of is overwhelmingly dominated by the Class of 2009.
And now, as we move steadily to the end of our first year here, I'm starting to notice negativity seeping into conversations with my fellow freshmen as well. Someone will mention that Princeton does this or that, or that such and such a program is so much better at MIT, and then we sit silently for a moment as the unspoken "but we're stuck at Duke" casts over the conversation.
Given this rather disturbing development, I was glad to read the report of President Brodhead's speech on Monday. Before an audience of students, he claimed Duke, in the future, would strive to create a "culture of initiative" in which students can take a lead role in determining the nature of their four years at Duke.
Brodhead's strategy is refreshingly reminiscent of my dearly loved free market capitalism, where new ideas and innovations have a chance to develop and entrepreneurs can take advantage of limitless opportunity. The difference is, instead of entrepreneurs, the driving force in the culture of initiative would be the students-you and me. And who better?
Duke's students are intimidatingly smart, endlessly creative and wildly diverse both in opinion and background, yet we constantly shortchange ourselves, second guess ourselves and shoot ourselves down. If a group with such concentrated talent were to truly involve itself with the school, who could rival it? The ever self-conscious Ivy Leaguers?
I think not.
To be sure, some students are already taking the initiative in improving the school. My favorite example here is the Duke Political Union, because they, like me, aim to encourage civil political discourse, which is why I am a member. Born out of the 2004 presidential election, this student group has worked tirelessly to raise political awareness through events like an affirmative action debate and by bringing in speakers, such as Terry Sullivan, formerly of the James Baker Institute, who will be on campus next Wednesday.
These students have applied their various talents to bring what they consider to be an important change to Duke's campus. President Brodhead's culture of initiative can only further the work of groups like DPU and inspire new ones, not just in the realm of politics but in all the myriad areas that interest and concern Duke students.
When other freshmen ask me why I came to Duke, my answer is simple: I believe that it is the best all-around university in the United States, if not the world.
Don't get me wrong-I know there are problems. I'm as annoyed as anyone with ARAMARK and the lack of parking spots. Duke, however, is not stagnated by tradition nor weighed down by history, and this is to its great advantage because the school has the potential to be constantly improving. If the driving force for that improvement comes from the students, so much the better.
Of course, the culture of initiative depends entirely on the students actually taking some, and some cynics will say that this will never be the case. I disagree.
Even if right now the student body is losing interest, even if it sometimes feels like the whole system is built to strangle the enthusiasm out of us, I still believe that we, the students of Duke University, have a lot to contribute to this institution before all is said and done. I still believe that, given the opportunity, we can do great things in our time here, but it is up to us to rise to the challenge and take the control offered to us.
President Brodhead, build your culture of initiative. We are ready.
Oliver Sherouse is a Trinity freshman. HIs column runs every other Friday.
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