H.A.G.S.!
(05/01/19 4:00am)
There are a couple of things I want to get off my chest in my last column of the year.
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There are a couple of things I want to get off my chest in my last column of the year.
It seems like the cherry blossoms are in bloom for good this time. For the past month, we have been getting glimpses at what spring looks like at Duke. In the past two weeks, we have seen spring in full bloom and there is no going back.
“Give them their roses while they can still smell them.” This phrase has been on my mind a lot this semester and I am only now starting to realize why. It’s almost as if the universe was sending me a sign that read, in big bold letters, “SIX AND A HALF WEEKS LEFT.”
Do you ever wonder if members of the Board of Trustees read the Chronicle?
This past Wednesday the Duke undergraduate community elected Trey Walk to be the next Young Trustee. When the Chronicle released election results, I couldn’t help but be happy for my friend, Trey. I have seen the hard work that he has put into making Duke a more aware and accepting campus and feel like he will bring a refreshing voice to Duke’s Board of Trustees.
Where do you go on campus when you want to disappear?
When I first read my fellow columnist and co-worker, Lizzie Bond’s, latest column, my gut reaction was to issue a quick fortification of my previous case for Selective Living Groups—”A greater defense for SLGs” if you will. After reading her column, and trying to see Duke social life through her lens, however, I can truly only say two words: “thank you.”
This time last year, the Chronicle published a column called “In defense of Greek life.” In it, the columnist attempts to dispel the commonly held beliefs that Greek life is nothing more than homogeneity and a good barn party. He does a convincing job describing why the Greek life may not deserve the stereotypically bad rap students are quick to give it.
Going home over Thanksgiving break has given me the clarity I need to finally write an open and honest column. Every article I have published this semester has been an exploration into my place here on campus; the focus of my writing for the past four months has been devoted to navigating the intricacies of Duke life in the hope that I would come out on the other end a more aware, well-rounded student. I have succeeded in that mission, just not in the way I thought I would.
Earlier this week my mother emailed me an article about the importance of sleep. After I got over the disbelief that she engaged in the archaic practice of sending emails even though we text 24/7, I slouched in a nice third floor-Perkins couch and opened the article. Essentially, the article reinforced what she’s been telling me ever since I told her I only get an average of five hours of sleep at Duke: college students do not nearly get as much rest as they need. It talks about college students needing long hours of deep rest in order to perform their best and combat unhealthy behaviors. The thing is, mom, I know all of this is true. Every day I tell myself that I’ll go to bed earlier and wake up later in the effort to establish a healthy sleep cycle. No matter what time I intend to crawl in bed or what time I set my alarm for in the morning, I always end up drifting off around 3 a.m. and waking up around 8 a.m. When that happens, I’m not being kept up by lingering work or attention-grabbing shows, I’m being held up by the process of making friends.
This year’s midterm elections are gearing up to be one of the most followed election cycles in modern history. The age of Donald Trump has inspired the most diverse set of candidates to run in the history of United States elections; over a fourth of them are women, over a fifth are people of color, and 26 openly identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. The rise in political participation is not only found in the candidates that run, it's been most recently exhibited in who’s voting. In states like Texas, Florida and Georgia, early voting numbers are breaking midterm cycle records. Across the US, over 24 million citizens have exercised their civic duty thus far. This surge in voting is due, in large part, to the prevalence of young and first-time voters casting ballots this election cycle.
Well, ladies and gentlemen. By the grace of the dark forces of the underworld, we have made it to the end of Spooky Season. If you, like me, read new Chronicle articles as soon as they come out, your eyes should be scanning these words mere hours from the darkest night of the year—Halloween.
A year ago, almost to the date, one of my O-week friends told me that I needed to worry less and have more spontaneous fun. At the time I laughed him off and gave some half-hearted excuse as to why I had to plan every second of my life. I was new to college, I had way too much on my plate, and the only way I knew I would develop friendships was if I managed to fit them into the 30-minute blocks I had between classes and extracurriculars.
Best Colleges has Duke ranked as their 10th happiest university, and with a simple stroll around campus, it’s easy to see why. Dukies live on a campus we refer to as a “gothic wonderland.” We’re surrounded by world-class professors and facilities. Our basketball team has won five national championships and our football team is on the rise. As I explained to my family when I decided on attending Duke, “you get everything out of Duke—academics and athletics.” But if Duke is this shining campus on a hill, why does the same college-happiness index list student satisfaction at 76 percent when peer institutions have satisfaction rates in the high 80s? It’s because Duke students love to share in the struggle.
Time: 1 a.m.
There is a difference in noticing that you are not like everyone around you and feeling like those differences ostracize you. Noticing my own Blackness comes when I recognize how little Black people there are in the social circles I find myself in. Whether it be my social group, my major, my extracurricular clubs and activities, or my work-study job, I am constantly noting the disproportionately low number of familiar faces in a concentrated environment. These moments, however, are not what concerns me about Duke’s commitment to Black students.
The end of my DukeEngage program is rapidly approaching. I have spent the past seven weeks in Boston, one of the most historically rich cities in the country. I’ve learned about the lives of the Founding Fathers, Boston’s controversial track record with segregation, and the cultural heritage that accompanies the Northeast all while working as a marketing intern at a mentoring-based nonprofit. Yet, as the program draws to a close, I have found myself reflecting more on the lessons I’ve learned at Duke and less on the experiences I’ve had over the past two months.
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