Since Duke students became aware of the Jena Six case, most have expressed one of two reactions: Either students feel the charges brought against the Jena Six were unjust and racially biased or they find that the justice system should be allowed to work without being swayed by the court of public opinion. But a more intriguing opinion has also surfaced among the Duke population. Some students say that segregation in Jena is not unlike racial segregation here at Duke. Some have even questioned whether or not the "white tree" at Jena High School is analogous to the "black bench" here at Duke.
Conversations about racial segregation and self-segregation have a long history at Duke. Discussions about the so-called "black bench" are always inserted into the larger concept of self-segregation. Self-segregation first surfaced at Duke in 1993 when Duke's undergraduate student government president had this to say in a commentary published in The Chronicle: "I've watched us segregate ourselves in the dining halls. I've watched the majority of my African-American peers move to Central Campus. I've watched two social systems thrive."
The fact that the majority of students at Duke live mostly segregated lives is undeniable. The Campus Culture Initiative Steering Committee Report states, "Across different racial and ethnic groups, student networks during the first two years, at best, remain as racially or ethnically homogenous as they were during high school. At worst, they have become even less racially or ethnically diverse."
Some might say, "OK, who cares? Duke students are just like the rest of college students in America."
But the report continues, "Duke Caucasian students and fraternity and sorority members are less likely than their peers at comparable institutions to engage in interactions with diverse peers."
This, my friends, is a problem.
I don't think we can attribute this problem to the existence of the "black bench" or any other symbol of the racial divide on campus. Every bench on campus besides the "black bench," which has been known to attract its share of white students, is a "white bench." Until the day when white students congregate around the "black bench," and they find a knife planted inside a bucket of chicken the next day, I refuse to compare the "black bench" here to the "white tree" in Jena. The black bench is not a symbol of self-segregation by the black community at Duke. The truth is, white students also self-segregate all the time.
Neither can we accept racial segregation on campus as a natural phenomenon. We can no longer argue that "this is just the way things are" and that this racial divide on campus has nothing to do with race and everything to do with choice. Race is a socially constructed concept and therefore there's hardly anything natural about race-related matters.
Each year, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions reports that our campus is becoming more and more racially and ethnically diverse. But do we care? As the character Ron says in the movie "Anchorman," has diversity on our campus become nothing more than an "old, old wooden ship used during the Civil War period?"
If it has, it's our job to fix it. As members of the Duke community, we can influence how much our campus culture embraces diversity and integration. The CCI report completed the first step in the process of turning around Duke's racial history. We now have information and a documented investigation that should help us reverse the segregation on campus. The two ideas I'll put forth in this column are not new and not originally mine, but they do stand a chance at making Duke a more racially integrated place for all of us.
First, freshmen should take a "diversity" class that would open their eyes to the histories and present-day plights of all of the different races and ethnicities that freshmen will undoubtedly encounter at Duke. A diversity class would target students when they have not yet gotten accustomed to the segregated nature of Duke culture. It would also force students who would otherwise graduate from Duke without taking a liberal arts class to do so.
The second suggestion would take more effort but would alter the racial makeup of students living on West Campus. Black fraternities should be given sections similar to those of their white counterparts. This would give black students an alternative to the unsafe habit of attending parties off campus and would increase the black presence on West Campus.
I hope that the small section of the CCI report that does address race and ethnicity will not go unnoticed. Last spring's dialogue about the CCI should never have ended; new bikes and a dinner in the Faculty Commons just won't be enough.
Aria Branch is a Trinity junior. Her column runs every other Tuesday.
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