Letter to the editor
By Dave Allen | August 19, 2017Late though it may be, the removal of this statue and the conversation that will follow is good news.
The independent news organization of Duke University
Late though it may be, the removal of this statue and the conversation that will follow is good news.
Surely the time has come to change the name of the university back to Trinity and remove all the statues of the Dukes.
Yes, history is nuanced. But being an influential historical figure does not automatically grant you a position of honor. There’s plenty of room for “remembering” in museums and textbooks that offer context, not glorification.
While I agree completely that the statue of Lee—and really all monuments honoring slavery and those who fought for it—should be removed, if we as a community choose to remove Lee, we must not stop there.
General Lee, it is said, should be removed from the Duke Chapel. I believe this movement is misguided and should stop.
In light of calls for the removal of the statue of Robert E Lee from Duke Chapel and the vandalism that occurred on the 16th, I’ve compiled a list of alternatives to the “___ of the South” statue series that adorns the chapel entrance.
It's unfortunate that your first public test as president of our University relates to the disposition of a seemingly silent stone artifact that is part of the magnificent cathedral that sits at the heart of our campus. But the statue of Robert E. Lee is not silent.
Charlottesville is a watershed moment for our country. It calls on all Americans, particularly white Americans like myself, to take a long, hard look at the beliefs we hold and the institutions we cherish.
He could walk into a room visibly dejected after a tough test or a hockey loss, and, as long as we got him to crack just a little bit of a smile, the mood of everybody else around him would improve.
Little things like that would just make you smile.
Michael Doherty was someone who had the ability to light up any room merely with his presence.
As Vice President for Student Affairs, I’m proud to work with many people who serve students in various ways. Our work covers health care needs, support for student programming, and response to a broad array of incidents and crisis.
We are working with Duke’s Center for Advanced Hindsight to develop interventions geared specifically to the first 90 days of school, when a disproportionate number of assaults occur.
As a 1967 Law School graduate, I was appalled at the ordeal Jane Doe was put through, so gratuitously and unnecessarily, by the Office of Student Conduct.
Every day as I pass the new Student Health Center, I stare at the beautiful Steinway and Sons grand piano in the atrium that costs at least $60,000. I see posters for making your own personal Aromatherapy. I walk through the stunning, yet over-the-top, West Union dining hall.
Such reckless and absolute claims insult not only athletes, but also anyone who does not specialize in one of your thirteen chosen fields.
You’ll still get into med school.
Dear Editor, The Duke LGBTQ Network, representing Duke's LGBTQ alumni, their families, and allies, read with dismay that President Brodhead was "pleased" by the so-called repeal of the harmful HB2 law.
Rejecting the natural gas plant is the right thing to do, and is best for Duke and its stakeholders.
It’s a fact I enjoy repeating that until the 20th century there were no universities in Venice.