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What should Asian “Americans” do at this moment? The answer is not to reassert our “Americanness” or how much we deserve to have a slice of a bloody pie.
In coming to terms with my own hypocrisy, I realized that I am a living, breathing example of why it is so difficult for Duke students to have vulnerable conversations about mental health.
What I want you to know, loves, is that when things are really bad–and sometimes they’re really bad–people can still make things. Things can still grow.
What will ultimately be an economic and public health disaster for many is merely an unanticipated bull market for investing and extended vacation for others.
Many—if not most—sexually active students have lost access to their usual partners and sexual networks during this time, meaning that the number of horny Duke students has increased exponentially, especially if the posts on the Gothicc Duke Confessions page are any indication.
The past couple of days have been a master class in how to take action without actually listening.
We were all calling to demand respect and dignity for all of Duke’s workers, for everyone that the university relies on to function: including contract workers, adjunct faculty and graduate workers.
Postmodern and poststructuralist thinkers had a lot to say about education and how it should change, and I can’t stop thinking about how urgent their sometimes vicious critiques have become.
We owe our community so much more than 12 lighthearted photos—we need to take mental health more seriously than that.
I don’t know about you, but sneaking peeks of my colleagues’ kids and my students’ cats has helped me to realize that we are all real people, all dealing with various challenges in various ways and are worthy of so much grace.
Duke should encourage students to explore opportunities not provided by the university, and not go out of their way to isolate students who want to diversify their background.
In the last hand-written letter you wrote me, you said, “The highs showed me what life can be, and the lows showed me that I was alive.”
It makes sense for you to have felt like you did not fit in, because you did not—you were extraordinary.
All that I’m asking is for us as today’s voters and tomorrow’s leaders to help put the substance and the facts back into our political discussions.
I would give so much to be able to share one more brownie sundae, to steal one more handful of French fries from someone else’s plate, to split one more chocolate chip cookie in half.
Each and every witty joke, eye-opening conversation and beautiful sentiment that could only come from our very own Greyson Spector. I’m just sorry we couldn’t have a lifetime of you.
We don’t need business-as-usual Duke—we need more flexibility, more grace, more reminders that our academic productivity isn’t more important than our ability to survive.
I fear that Zoom will be added to the list of problems historically caused by overzealous administrative reform. I may as well attempt to send a signal of resistance now, rather than after the changes become part of some plan.
However, I am challenging myself to be a mental health advocate every day, whether it is for my personal mental health or that of others.
Memories provide great comfort in moments like these. Because when we remember the times we had, it helps us remember the time we have. Here and now. Together and forever. Always in our hearts.
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