Join the Editorial Board

Duke is a school that is always ready to try something new. There are several possible explanations for this distinctly Duke trait, like the University’s relatively short history, which might lend it a fresh, young attitude. Another reason could be Duke’s warm and southern locale, where business might run differently than at most of its colder, more northerly peer schools. We’d personally like to credit the entrepreneurial spirit of Duke students, who embrace change, especially when the change is the result of their own ingenuity, problem solving, and teamwork.

Change is coming to Duke in no small amount this year. Therefore, never has there been a more exciting time to serve on The Chronicle’s Editorial Board, the independent voice of the student newspaper. The role of the Editorial Board is to comment on matters important to Duke students. With West Union renovations, the house model, Duke Kunshan University, and the overall evolution of the undergraduate experience on people’s minds, there’s much discussion to be had about the future of this school.

The Editorial Board makes its small contribution to this discussion by debating the issues ourselves at meetings twice a week and publishing our daily opinion in this column space. In a typical meeting, we brainstorm the topics that matter most to students, argue about them, and finally determine by majority vote what our final stance will be. It’s an imperfect science—one that requires a surveyor’s knowledge about a myriad facets of university life—but a rewarding one. So for those opinionated students who also love to wrangle with the opinions of others, the lively and thought-provoking experience of serving on the editorial board may suit you.

Here’s the kind of person we are looking for.

Someone who speaks honestly. Someone with a finger on the pulse of student opinion. Someone who cares about but isn’t controlled by the same student opinion. Someone without a constituency to represent. Someone with a clear but distinctive writing voice. Someone unafraid of questioning administrators or, more often, their peers. Someone who understands Duke affairs in the broader context of higher education. Someone who comes to meetings prepared and on time. Someone who enjoys the company of other people who fit the description above.

President Richard Brodhead once said that he left his Yale gig for Duke partly because Duke was a school that was game for anything. Regardless of your opinion about Brodhead’s tenure—and ours, at times, has not been so splendid—the man is right about this defining Duke quality. Duke is a university that constantly imagines, welcomes, and is exhilarated by the future. Join the Editorial Board to be a strong student voice in the conversation about the future, a conversation that is louder and more exciting than ever before.

Email ktz@duke.edu for more information.