The independent news organization of Duke University
Daniel’s soul was overflowing. Everywhere he went, he spilled joy from the seams of his floral shirt.
To work with my body, I can value its ability to love and care and provide life.
As I continued to expand my political understanding and envision a more just world, I found what I had taken for granted all along: the arts.
Honestly, we’re just sick of listing campus resources when students express concerns about their mental health.
In this world, we are taught, often violently, that some bodies have more value than others.
In June, President Vincent Price published a statement about anti-racist initiatives. In December, Duke's alumni magazine published a letter to the editor that gaslighted anti-Black oppression, shamed BIPOC for their marginalization and demonstrated overt racism.
Human bodies, like roots in the soil, are interconnected: we travel together, not one soul left behind.
Six sick students, Duke says to us. Six sick students and you all can stay.
So when I talk about lungs, I'm working to not automatically think of my own mortality and the crumbling of our organs into ash. Instead, I'm beginning to see the breath and life that I receive and circulate and give—the parts of humanity that are beautiful, immortal, timeless.
The past couple of days have been a master class in how to take action without actually listening.
