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(04/16/15 8:07am)
During convocation my freshman year, President Brodhead said, “If there’s one thing you can expect for certain, it’s uncertainty. Learn to love it.” I sat there and thought, “Wow, that’s so brilliant,” without fully soaking in that his advice would actually require some form of action from me. It’s one thing to say, “We must replace our fear of the unknown with a curiosity for it,” and nod our heads in agreement. It’s another thing entirely to actually bring ourselves to do it.
(04/02/15 8:13am)
Did you know that as recently as the 1960s Duke’s University Security was writing letters back and forth with the FBI in collaborative efforts to identify potential homosexual members of the Duke student population and expel them? A security activity report on campus crime in 1964 lists “homosexuals” along with “explosives”, “fires in dormitories”, “rapes”, “assaults”, and “intoxication”. At least 64 gay men (apparently gay women didn’t exist back then) were expelled for the “crime” of homosexuality during this time period. This is our history.
(03/19/15 12:40pm)
I am the type of person you would likely label an extrovert within the first few minutes of meeting. Most of my interactions involve lots of hand gesturing, talking far louder than I realize and an abundant energy stemming from a dork-like enthusiasm.
(03/05/15 12:02pm)
Would you believe me if I told you that the “hook-up” culture we all believe to be so present at Duke is actually a farce?
(02/24/15 10:00am)
If a dramatic decrease in reporting rates of sexual assault on college campuses was to occur within the next year, we would not be applauding—but before you tune us out as entirely insensitive, let us explain why.
(02/19/15 1:30pm)
Three years ago, I was fifteen pounds lighter than I am now. I was also considerably fatter back then.
(02/05/15 3:00pm)
Anyone who knows me will tell you I am more than a little obsessed with Me Too Monologues (MTM). So much of what the show aims to do is analogous to what I try to do with my columns—bring vulnerabilities out in the open, expose what is below the surface. MTM creates a safe space where the toxic effortless perfection myth that dominates Duke culture can be combated through an alternative, more realistic narrative— one that is able to be more honest and open under the protective guise of anonymity.
(01/22/15 10:19am)
Recruitment season on campus is about to come to a close for Greek life and SLGs, leaving many students with voices inaudible above a whisper and a deep desire for nothing but their pillows after a marathon of all-nighters having nothing to do with homework... Most articles with a leading sentence such as this one would normally begin giving the new incoming members advice right about now, but I am going to switch things up and give advice to those who have already had a year or more with their organization.
(01/08/15 1:17pm)
“I just wish someone would tell me like, ‘This is how the rest of your life should look.’” This line from the hit series “Girls” is a ridiculously relatable sentiment when you are a twenty-something trying to figure out exactly what it is you want to do post-graduation. There are the lucky few who knew that they wanted to be a veterinarian or a journalist since they were 10 years old. But for the rest of us… let’s just say to use the word “daunting” would be euphemistic. Particularly second semester when the job clock is ticking away and questions from relatives and family friends range from, “So what are you going to do with your fabulous educations?” and, uh well, that’s about it. It becomes even more frustrating when you understand how privileged you are for the opportunities Duke has opened up for you, while still not being able to figure out exactly what it is you intend to do with all that potential supposedly sitting in your back pocket.
(12/08/14 10:03am)
I remember thinking junior year of high school that if I could just get into Duke I would have proven to myself that I was enough. I would have made it. From discussions with friends, I know a lot of us thought that way. At least we did until realizing that a Duke acceptance letter affirms our sense of self worth for just long enough that we are completely blind-sided when the university turns and tramples us, particularly those of us who don’t know how to redefine our definition of “enough” once we have made it into such a highly prestigious environment.
(11/13/14 10:00am)
We must show enough of our own vulnerabilities that others don’t feel the need to hide their own. So here we go.
(10/30/14 9:52am)
“Women’s Studies? Why don’t we have Men’s Studies?”
(10/16/14 8:35am)
I’m going to let you in on a little secret—identity is a paradox (a statement that contradicts itself, yet somehow manages to be true). If you were to look it up in a psychology textbook, you would find the definition of identity is the interplay between two innate needs: 1.) the need to feel unique with one’s own sense of personal agency and value, and 2.) the need to feel belonging, connectedness and unity within a community. To be different, but the same.
(10/02/14 9:06am)
With the recent passing of two cherished Duke students, Kaila Brown and Alexander Rickabaugh, and the birthday of my dear friend and beloved Semester at Sea shipmate Casey Shulman, who passed away in 2012, this past week has been one of heartfelt loss mixed with bittersweet memories. Realizing that how much good someone brings to the world or how loved someone is does not tie them any tighter to life is devastating to grasp, particularly at an age when we feel invincible— like life is just getting started. My heart goes out to all those struggling with loss. I do not have much to offer, but I’d like to share what I do— the 3 life truths Casey Shulman instilled in me.
(09/18/14 1:16pm)
When I think back to myself as a first-year, taking my first steps on campus, I think of her as a completely different girl and yet the exact same one. She was enthralled with Duke, so set on trying to figure out the culture and how to fit herself into it that she didn’t even pause to ponder whether or not all of its standards and social expectations were something she actually wanted to conform to in the first place. That first semester I remember taking in what I saw immediately around me—the work hard, play harder personas being projected—and thinking that was college, that was Duke, and figuring out how to work within this one-dimensional environment would either make or break me.
(09/04/14 8:07am)
A: “How are you?”'
