An insidious idea has taken root at Duke. It was not created but was certainly spurred on by the lacrosse case. Even after the belated exonerations, it sticks to us like acne on prom night.
It is the idea that there is something wrong with Duke, something wrong with us. And the question we keep asking ourselves both silently and aloud is, "What-what is wrong with us?"
Panels have been held. Presidential committees have been commissioned. Eighty-eight faculty members took out an ad in this paper labeling Duke a "social disaster." Column after column after column has been written exploring, anecdotally documenting and prescribing solutions to what one writer called our "culture of crassness."
And you know what? I'm sick of it.
I'm sick of being lumped in with sexists and racists. I'm sick of seeing my fellow students ashamed at my school. I'm sick of sacrificing my individualism to fit what some self-styled analyst wants to call Duke's culture.
Margaret Thatcher once brilliantly noted, "There is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women." To deny the existence of society seems nonsensical, of course, until you consider how we so often personify it, as though the myriad wills and interests contained within it somehow equate to one will and one interest. It is the idea of corporate identity, not the necessary result of humans in contact with one another, that Thatcher decried.
And it is that same fallacy that lies at the bottom of the culture craze. It is the idea that somehow, because we all chose to come to Duke, the actions, or alleged actions, or anecdotal actions of some among us reflect something about all of us. That we are all, in some vague and untraceable sense, responsible for any unpleasantness or ignorance or "crassness" on campus. And when you see it written out like that, it's a whole lot more apparent how ridiculous the whole idea really is, isn't it?
It gets even more ridiculous when you consider the source of the culture myth. Think about those 88 professors. Think about the organizations that hold the panels and discussions and debates, and the students who participate in them. Think about those among us who have condemned us to collective guilt. Think about all of them and ask yourself, "Aren't they part of Duke's culture?"
I knew that racism, sexism and rape were bad before the lacrosse scandal, and somehow I don't think it was news to most of the student body either. Don't those of us who act like civilized human beings and always have get any consideration when people determine what the picture of Duke's culture looks like? Don't all of those who seem to be crawling out of the Gothic stonework to condemn our culture play just as much a role in it as anybody else?
The answer is of course, no-at least to many people. That wouldn't fit with the predetermined conclusion. A full and nuanced look at our student body would produce a picture too complex to pontificate about or to describe in a simple and snappy three-word phrase. Those of us, and I dare say the majority of us, to whom the labels do not apply simply have to fall in line. After all, if you disagree, you're probably a racist, sexist, classist, elitist, misogynist, rapist and fascist.
At the end of the day, there is no problem with Duke's culture because there is no such thing as Duke's culture. There are individual men and women. There is you, and there is me, and each one of us has to make decisions for ourselves and shoulder responsibility for those decisions.
Which is not to say that we should ignore reprehensible behavior from others. To see and do nothing is complicity. Each of us must decide to fight ignorance, intolerance and hatred wherever and whenever we see it. This, too, is part of personal responsibility, and it is in direct opposition to the myth of culture.
We are not a mindless herd whose actions are determined by sociological forces. You and I have the ability to effect whatever changes we desire in our surroundings. And so the real question is not, "What is wrong with Duke," but rather, "What shall we do to make Duke better?"
Oliver Sherouse is a Trinity junior. His column runs every other Wednesday.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.