Radical's claims about Duke unfounded, false

Jessica Rutter's cliche-filled attempt to demonstrate "how racist this university is" only demonstrates her ignorance and self-righteousness. Her criticism of Duke's academics leads one to wonder if she's ever registered for class. Contrary to her assertions, ethnic studies are present on campus. African and African American Studies and Latin American Studies are only the obvious examples; most humanities and social science departments also offer courses dealing with ethnicity. Perhaps Rutter could explain how "the philosophy department, [which] only consider[s] European and American writers as philosophers" managed to teach Chinese Philosophy last fall. Or how the economics department fails to address "alternatives to global capitalism," while regularly offering a course on Comparative Economic Systems.

Rutter is determined to ignore anything "that absolves white people" of the guilt she hopes to foist on them, but she does make one keen observation: Social studies and humanities departments are not objective. In fact, Duke has a wide range of opinionated faculty members from across the spectrum.

Professors with views very similar to Rutter's dominate women's studies, literature and cultural anthropology departments and are gaining ground in most of the humanities and social sciences.

Rutter's teachers are not the defenders of "a white patriarchal tradition that values numbers and facts." They are careerists who disregard truth in pursuit of a chic adversarial pose.

If she sincerely values "discussion, experience and change," then Rutter should venture outside her narrow circle of like-minded radicals and try thinking critically and substantially, instead of parroting unthinking criticism.