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(04/09/14 9:26am)
This title gives me chills. As a senior, weeks away from graduation, the inclination to write a broad column summarizing my time here at Duke is hard to resist. I think most seniors have a desire to reflect on our four years here and spread their newfound wisdom. Much of what I could say about my experience has already been said so I’ll spare my readers this impulse. But, as long as I have the opportunity I would like to contribute one last suggestion directed at the University itself.
(03/26/14 5:12am)
The Crimea annexation matters because it establishes a dangerous precedent amongst nuclear states that foreign intervention is a legitimate response to disputes between neighbors. It encourages countries to view force as the final arbiter of difference when negotiation and rule of law should instead have the final say. How should China, India and Pakistan view the ongoing series of events in Crimea? China certainly could see justification for aggressively resolving the ongoing dispute over the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands with Japan. Likewise, India and Pakistan could well see a reason for finally resolving the crisis in the Kashmir through force. International law is far from perfect, but it stands as a bulwark against the aggressive fancy of potential warmongers. A referendum in Crimea could have been legitimate, but no vote is valid when it is coerced through the barrel of a gun. Russian troops initiated the vote’s occurrence and guaranteed its success, and this is where the trouble arises. Global acquiescence to Putin’s land grab threatens the stability of the world system and needs to be met with equal measure. The significance of Crimea comes not from the loss of the land itself, which, according to some commentators, actually costs the Ukraine money, but what the seizure of the terrain means for the global community. The United States and the European Union need to make their commitment to the territorial rights of the Ukraine clear by doing three things:
(02/26/14 9:08am)
Freshmen year, I took a post-colonial literature course that opened my eyes to a world of beautiful difference in fiction. The class focused on books that were produced by authors outside of the traditional English cannon that had dominated my high school curriculum. It looked at writers who hailed from states that were the products of colonialism and the impact that this experience had on their writing. Now that I’m a senior, I still consider it one of the best courses I’ve taken at Duke because of the way it forced me to confront different perspectives. We examined the impact of a post-Apartheid South Africa from the viewpoint of a white professor and fractious Nigeria from that of an expatriate. These novels gripped me and invited me to consider a world outside of the bounds I was comfortable with and understood. One of the most memorable moments came from viewing a video by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie titled “The Dangers of a Single Story.”
(02/12/14 11:50am)
The pageantry for the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics was an impressive sight. Fireworks lit the skyline of the sub-tropical Russian town of Sochi and inaugurated an event which is supposed to symbolize the unity and inherent dignity of the human race. Across cultures and ethnicities, the Olympics is supposed to glorify the common athletic struggle in all of humanity. It’s a beautiful idea that was superficially continued last week. The last time the Olympics were held on Russia soil, America boycotted them in response to the belligerent actions of the Soviet state in its invasion of Afghanistan. Thirty years later, and now we are the ones with a security commitment in central Asia. While much has changed in our relations with Moscow, disappointingly there is a lot that has remained the same too. The Russian state is still abusing the rights of its citizens and acting in an aggressive manner abroad. Constantly undercutting American policy and supporting our opponents when the mood strikes them, Russia is no ally of this country. While Putin is no Stalin, the former KGB agent has helped move relations between the two countries down an uncertain path. It’s certainly too late to discuss boycotting the games when they are almost over, but perhaps that would have been the right response to Russian behavior during the presidency of Vladimir Putin.
(01/29/14 8:42am)
I’m not a fan of student government. As someone who has always been interested in politics, I’ve looked into participating at various times since elementary school. I served on my third grade class council and really can’t recall doing much of anything. While there is certainly a large degree of difference between that and Duke Student Government, I don’t think much has changed. The idea of student government is nice but equates to nothing more than pats on the back in practice. Far from being representative of the interests of the students, DSG is a bastion of a select group of individuals that is able to convince a very small segment of the undergraduate population to vote for them. Sometimes they don’t even need to be elected. Appointed candidates are a common occurrence because not enough people even care to run. Last year, our big presidential DSG election had a paltry turnout of 33 percent. Not much of a mandate there. That’s even worse than the turnout for the 2012 presidential election, which sat at a meager 58 percent. I can excuse those figures, though. It’s hard to get excited about student government when what they do has so little of an impact on our lives. The tagline for The Chronicle’s DSG Series column is “we're relevant, we promise.” Most likely, if you’re trying to convince somebody that you are relevant, you probably aren’t.
(01/15/14 11:04am)
Like many others, this immigration story begins with a moment of chance. My grandfather came to this country at an early age and, upon disembarking from Ellis Island, found a nickel on the streets of New York City. It was a far cry from the promised pavements of gold hawked by the promotional sellers of tickets to America, but it was something. This poor Polish boy, whose family fled the discrimination and persecution of the pogroms of Europe, had much to look forward to in America. It was a land that afforded much more hope than the old one.
(11/13/13 11:37am)
The last two weeks have seen a public uproar over the “discovery” of American spying on close allies and friends. Chief among the targets was Angela Merkel, the longtime Chancellor of Germany, whose friendly demeanor has earned her the nickname “mum.” The audacity of American spooks in choosing to tap the line of motherly Merkel has angered wide segments of the population abroad and at home. American eavesdropping is being blamed for damaging progress on a transatlantic trade deal and civil liberties at home. Yet much of this foreign criticism is disingenuous as our allies also engage in espionage operations targeting the United States. Despite these mounting issues, I find myself increasingly ambivalent over the domestic and foreign workings of our intelligence apparatus, and this bothers me.
(10/30/13 8:26am)
On a bus in Copenhagen traveling from the suburbs into the city center, I overhead the phrase “government shutdown” laughingly blurted amid a flurry of Danish. This was days before the Senate leadership had agreed on a deal that ended our government’s man-made crisis, and I had a good guess that this was what they were laughing about. I’ve never felt ashamed to be an American, but hearing this exchange was the closest I have ever come to feeling embarrassment over our form of government. Nationalism or pride for one’s country has become passé or associated with conservatism on our college campuses, but I don’t subscribe to that stereotype. I don’t believe that, to be proud of this country, one also has to be against gay marriage and in favor of limited restrictions on the sale of automatic weapons. We live in an exceptional country that recently has been behaving rather unexceptionally. It’s necessary to remember our history and the accomplishments of compromise that have preceded us in order to put today’s depressing events in perspective.
(10/16/13 8:00am)
Last Spring, I was assaulted while walking from Erwin Terrace. It was early in the evening, and I was on Circuit Drive. Four men approached me from behind. One punched me in the head as the others shouted, “Get that n*gger.” I’ve never run faster in my life as I yelled for help.
(10/02/13 8:00am)
Two weeks ago, I attended the Petraeus lecture with open ears and a desire to hear from a distinguished public servant about his experience in government. Our generation can’t help but have certain misgivings about anything related to the war in Iraq, but there is always value in hearing about history from those who have lived through it. General Petraeus has, for the entirety of his professional career, put life and limb at risk in the service of this country and for the people who live within it. Regardless of political orientation or ideology, that deserves a measure of respect. Respect doesn’t require acquiescence or dismissal of personal past mistakes, but it does implore an understanding of the environment and the process by which decisions that we disagree with are made. The military life is not an easy one, and the men and woman who serve in uniform are continually expected at a moment’s notice to put their safety and well-being in danger for the service of our democracy, partially so that dissenting voices can be heard.
(09/18/13 9:30am)
I run to relieve stress. I’ve been going outside periodically since high school to burn steam and forget about whatever it is that’s been bothering me. There’s something about the feeling of sweat on my skin and the total exhaustion that comes from finishing a long run that clears my mind like nothing else. The first semester of my sophomore year at Duke was a particularly stressful time for me. One day in October, I was running up Erwin Road near the hospital, and I felt myself nearing the end of my endurance. I decided to stop. It’s never a great feeling to cut a workout short, but every runner has those days. Yet, just as I was stopping, an elderly man, who was walking in the opposite direction, quipped at me, “Keep going young man!” It was as if my own grandfather was encouraging me onwards. I couldn’t bear the thought of stopping in front of this man who could barely walk, so I kept going. I ran to Flowers Drive and then kept running until I was back at my dorm. Now, whenever things get tough, I can’t help but think of that moment.
(09/04/13 9:42am)
Last spring, I wrote a column calling for American intervention in Syria. The need has only become more urgent in the intervening months. In recent weeks, definitive evidence has come forth that Bashar Assad utilized toxic Sarin nerve gas on his own people, killing as many as 1,200. This represents the use of chemical weapons in a magnitude that has not been seen since Saddam Hussein gassed the Kurds in 1988. The precedent set by enabling Assad to remain in power unchallenged, after all that he has done to his people, is a horrid one. What happens over there matters here for a number of reasons, and I wish to lay out the case for definitive intervention that would result in regime change.
(04/15/13 7:28am)
The pariah state of North Korea has been on the minds of many international observers for the last couple weeks. Kim Jong Un’s increased belligerency and threats have become more and more difficult to ignore. The North Korean Central News Agency has threatened “an all-out [nuclear] war” and has warned South Korea that the peninsula is entering a state of conflict. The New York Times recently reported, “North Korea warned foreigners on Tuesday that they might want to leave South Korea because the peninsula was on the brink of nuclear war.” On April 9, former Vice President Dick Cheney warned House Republicans, “We’re in deep doo doo” over North Korea. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel stated that North Korea is “skating very close to a dangerous line.” Defense officials, according to NBC, are “‘highly confident’ that North Korea is planning the imminent launch of a medium-range missile.” Tensions seem to be at an all-time high, and the threat of armed conflict seems very likely, if not imminent. In response to these threats America has moved some its missile defense systems toward the West Coast, and Japan has deployed similar units in Tokyo. As dangerous as this situation seems, we have been here before with North Korea and likely will be again before this decrepit state breathes its last threat.
(04/01/13 8:20am)
My home state of California is responsible for the hearings last week in the Supreme Court surrounding Proposition 8, which prohibits homosexual couples from marrying. This violation of human rights has sparked outcries in all corners of this country and has contributed to an ongoing and important dialogue on the rights we human beings innately possess. The rising tide of progressivism has seen important advances in the ability of homosexual couples to adopt and enjoy equal privileges within our society. These advances are necessary if we are to fully live out the promise of our Constitution and the vision of freedom our country represents. There is, however, a deeper issue at play within the Supreme Court case that needs to be addressed: We need to decide what role the government should have in legitimating marriages at all.
(03/18/13 9:13am)
Last week I was lucky enough to travel through the ancient city of Athens. The birthplace of democracy and Western philosophical thought is going through a period of tremendous upheaval. The Euro crisis that precipitated in Greece has shocked financial markets around the world. It has also led to some serious governance changes within this Mediterranean nation. Austerity measures imposed by the IMF and EU have resulted in anger and riots across the country. As I was traveling with my father through the city we became accustomed to the metal plated vans of the riot police and their modern day armor. The austerity measures are widely despised, and increased taxation by the coalition government has resulted in a number of strikes and protests. During our stay, the workers from archaeological sites and museums organized a 24-hour strike, and another group incited a riot near the Parliamentary building.
(03/04/13 11:07am)
Now is the time to act. Now is the time to provide diplomatic legitimacy to the Syrian opposition council and military support to the Free Syrian Army. It is estimated that over 70,000 people have died in the Syrian Civil War, which has engulfed the country for almost two years and has caused more than one million people to flee their homes in terror. The conflict being perpetrated by Bashar Al-Assad on his own country defies the imagination and demands international response. American efforts so far have been lackluster, and the Obama administration has repeatedly refused calls by senior officials to arm the Syrian rebels. Instead the White House has committed to providing nonlethal aid that, according to The New York Times, could include “communications training and equipment.” More needs to be done. More has to be done if a semblance of a functioning state is to emerge from what has become one of the deadliest conflicts the region has seen in recent memory. And that’s saying a lot. The United States should provide military support in the form of a no-fly zone and weapons for properly vetted units within the Free Syrian Army for the following reasons:
(02/18/13 9:16am)
A dangerous new precedent is being set in modern warfare. The use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, has reached dizzying new heights, threatening the integrity of our foreign policy and the safety of our constitutional rights. The New America Foundation, a non-partisan think-tank based in D.C., estimates that between 261 and 305 civilians have been killed in targeted drone strikes since 2004. These strikes cross borders and span several combat zones from the wilds of the Pakistani tribal region to the shores of Yemen. American officials have remarked on the usefulness of Predator drones in the war on terror, yet their legality remains opaque. In May of last year, The New York Times reported, “Mr. Obama has placed himself at the helm of a top secret ‘nominations’ process to designate terrorists for kill or capture, of which the capture part has become largely theoretical.” In 2011, the process killed Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen turned radical Islamic terrorist in Yemen. In effect, our president ordered the assassination of an American citizen. He ignored due process and the tenants of our constitution. Anwar al-Awlaki was a dangerous man whose teachings have been connected to several terrorist plots, including the shooting at Ford Hood in Texas and an attempted explosion in Times Square. But he was still an American citizen, with all the rights that entails.
(02/04/13 12:02pm)
What do we do with history? I’ve been toying with this question over the past two weeks after seeing “Django Unchained.” It’s an important idea to consider. Quentin Tarantino’s latest film explores the past brutality of the South in a particularly heart-wrenching manner that calls out for justice. Yet justice is impossible as the movie is set over 150 years ago and deals with imaginary characters. The fictional nature of the story, however, does not take away from the sense of accuracy surrounding some of the more vicious scenes. Seemingly there is little one can do now to correct for our country’s darker history as it is presented in the film. What are we to do with this modern retelling of history? What role should the past play in the future and in our daily lives?
