I didn’t expect to be in college during a pandemic, but I really didn’t expect to become a writer; after all, it was my older brother who had been the English major.
I lived a lot of my time at Duke wondering when and where the next thing would go wrong. But what if everything went right?
The most difficult part of being a Duke student for me isn’t the classic case of being afflicted with imposter syndrome—I have enough confidence in my abilities to know that I deserve to be here. Rather, it is the frustration of not being able to fully leverage the plethora of resources at my disposal, of being hamstrung from reaching my full potential by something as “trivial” as anxiety.
Additional pieces of information can help confirm a diagnosis or make us feel more confident about proceeding, but the question is—would you most likely behave the same way with or without that information?
The presence of Macs is not inherently bad; what’s bad is that it creates an unrealistic norm and adds pressure to students to buy expensive Apple products, regardless of whether they need them or can afford them.
Students are unaware of the administrators that have considerable influence on their daily lives, and as a result, workers are forced to face student concerns.
It is time for our student government to enact reasonable guidelines that establish sound definitions of free speech and outline appropriate funding standards for speakers.
Dr. King shows us that silence and speech are intertwined.
Before coming to Duke, I had only known one thing about North Carolina—that it was next to South Carolina. Do you want to know what I knew about South Carolina? That it was next to North Carolina! OK, clearly, I didn’t know a lot about Duke.
I wish I was so engrossed, so suffocatingly possessed by something, that if I was requested to conduct a twenty minute presentation on the spot, I could do it.
As Duke students, it’s incumbent on us to seek new ideas. To do that responsibly, first recognize that there’s nothing noble about compromise for its own sake.
I wonder at my worries over subconscious thoughts of Asian American authors as they write sex scenes.
Take time to find comfort in the communities that have been built and strengthened throughout the year.
It seems as though Duke is not made for anyone who is even slightly less than able-bodied.
We each need different things. We’re operating within different limits and circumstances. We have different values. Those very differences give rise to the immense diversity that has allowed humans to grow and thrive on an individual and collective level.
As it happens, it all worked out in the end in what I’d like to think is a way that was meant to be—and I’m thankful for the hindsight-aided clarity—but the process disillusioned me, early and thoroughly. This is by no means a hot take, but the college admissions process is deeply flawed.
Students come to Duke because of the peer connections, interdisciplinary studies and school culture, not only for the classes.
Even now, I can hear God speaking as a Great Gardener to us: “Give it one more year. I’m not giving up on you."
The Duke Administration already feels that we students are too unqualified and biased to select the next Young Trustee by coming together, so let’s prove them wrong by uniting against injustice and unfairness when we see it.
If educators are unsure about what lines they can’t cross regarding sexual identity and gender expression, then they’ll ultimately decide to not even try crossing over into that territory.
