White, Male, and Minority

Nondescript (non-di-skript')

Adj.

Undistinguished or uninteresting; dull or insipid.

Noun

1. A person or a thing of no particular or notable type or kind.

2. Me

You've probably seen me on campus.

I am five-foot-eight with dark blonde hair, and I can generally be spotted wearing a polo shirt, maybe a track jacket, oftentimes with jeans and flip-flops. I am white, and I emigrated from one of those wealthy counties in New Jersey that voted Sen. John McCain because we're scared of President-elect Barack Obama's tax cuts. I am also an Independent-that insidiously loaded term we use for the unaffiliated.

There are a lot of me's on this campus.

Duke prides itself on its diversity. Just check out diversity.duke.edu, where President Richard Brodhead speaks of "an ideal university, a place where students, employees and scholars come together from different continents and states, different religions and political viewpoints, different races and classes. In this place, these differences are the source of curiosity and robust, respectful debate, not of division and alienation."

It certainly is a noble goal, one it looks like Duke is achieving with its strides toward globalization and policies such as the Financial Aid Initiative and DukeEngage.

In everyday life on campus, however, among the Gothic stones, oak trees and wild cats of West Campus, there seems to exist a bit of a contradiction in the way things are organized.

We're so worried about engaging with Duke's grand ideals that we've forgotten how to engage with one another within the campus walls, almost as if the University can't see the trees but for the forest.

It may not be a social disaster, but it seems safe to say that Duke is far from socially ideal. Think of the word we used to defend Tailgate during its brief time on the endangered list: egalitarianism. For a few Fall Saturdays, the campus comes together in one giant miasma of beer, neon accessories and arcane sports jerseys where anyone you know elicits the kind of greeting usually reserved for prodigal sons.

(And if you don't like drinking, don't worry, there's plenty of other options for fun on a Saturday afternoon, beginning with inflatable games on the quad. What? You're not seven years old?)

But calling Tailgate "egalitarian" carries with it the bold implication that most other things at Duke are not.

Enter housing.

Look around West and all you see are categorizations and affiliations and what could otherwise be collective space cordoned off no less glaringly than if it were done so by LeChase Construction's yellow tape.

There are 23 sections on West for fraternities and selective living groups, and that doesn't include the many sorority girls who block together. Sure, the groups can be diverse, but they're still distinct groups living in distinct sections. Since the process of renovating West's quadrangles is likely-and thankfully-to continue over the next several years, independents will largely be relegated to Central Campus.

And let us, right now, put an end to the myth that Central is a deceptively enjoyable place to live. Students tolerate living on Central; it's not that bad.

But no one-no one-wakes up in the morning, opens up their window to look down on a parking lot packed with speed bumps and thinks: "Just another beautiful day on Central! I love Duke!"

The independents who do get to stay on West are spliced between sections and in blocks that aren't necessarily together. As Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education Steve Nowicki put it to The Chronicle in October, they are treated like "hermits" and "nomads."

"Hermits in that they are placed in any space, and nomads in that they are forced to move," he said.

The infamous Campus Culture Initiative's suggested addition of "themed living groups"-a difference from selectives in semantics only-simply highlights the dissonance between theory and practice. Themed living groups? Since when did common extracurricular activities become a prerequisite for friendship?

Contrary to popular belief, the staff of Towerview would probably not prefer to live in a TLG dedicated to, ahem, "journalism."

Grouping students together in like-minded sections doesn't exactly fit the concept of the ideal university laid out by Brodhead. The greatest enemy to intellectual curiosity is placid agreement. Having themed living groups is kind of like a conservative watching Fox News: There may be discussion, but it won't necessarily be worthwhile.

It's unfortunate that West exists as this fragmented entity because, on East Campus, Duke gets it right.

The first-year experience is largely defined by the people you meet via arbitrary circumstances. Our dorm mates and roommates don't share our opinions and world views, and for a lot of us, it's the first time we're confronted with such discordance. And that's what "engagement" is all about. For if the German philosopher Hegel teaches us anything, it's that we can't reach enlightenment without facing our antithesis-that is, if Hegel teaches us anything.

I'm not saying Duke should eliminate sections. I just want "independent" to mean what it really does-being an autonomous individual-instead of being a "hermit" or "nomad."

---

Tim Britton is a Trinity

senior.