Column: Individuality in a cloned world

I agree with Ralph Waldo Emerson: To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. Conformity towers in every corner, threatening to push me into a sea of sameness, yet I cannot submit. College is an environment that tests one's ability to remain steadfastly independent at the expense of being labeled weird or, God forbid, different. Admittedly, I often find myself thinking, talking and walking with the masses, unable to escape from the materialistic and self absorbed culture so pervasive at Duke.

Monotonous phrases, words and sentences are regurgitated daily by my peers, ultimately creating a culture in which we all speak the same. I had never incorporated hook-up into my vocabulary until I came here and understood that this phrase embodies one or all of the following: sexual intercourse, foreplay, kissing, fondling or everything in between. Oh, and I cannot ignore those marvelous Burberry Boucle Scarves with the matching mini Umbrellas; anyone who is anyone is rocking Burberry.

Some believe that uniqueness is inevitably sacrificed when one becomes a member of a sorority or fraternity. I strongly disagree. It is up to the person who enters into such an organization, whether he is going to allow his brethren to influence him in such a way that his own identity is lost. Each sorority/fraternity effectively differentiates itself from the next. One sorority for example promotes sisterhood, community service and academic excellence; another sorority touts basically the same principles with the addition of finer womanhood. These organizations are rather noble in their quests to unite a broad range of potential leaders in a community.

Within these sororities, however, one must be able to uphold her voice, her own actions and her own style. I notice that some, not all, become engulfed in their greek letters, walking haughtily across campus as though they are impervious to anything that does not involve their colors. This problem is particularly present among sororities, as women tend to be less cordial to one another than men are to one another. The all too forgotten individual loses her eccentricity to a Greek title, walking stone-faced across campus, mechanically acting out a part that she's been conditioned to play. Alternatively, there are those who would rather maintain their uniqueness, flashing their colors proudly while at the same time staying true to themselves.

As always, some of you will read my column and totally misinterpret every word. Sometimes I wonder about the reading comprehension capabilities of Duke students. Some will erroneously label me an independent that doesn't believe in greek life. You are wrong.

I believe that greek life fosters leadership, ambition, sister/brotherhood and much more. However, one must also be fully aware of one's character. Without unique thought and action, all creativity would be lost, consequently creating a dull and fruitless atmosphere. The boredom that results from sameness ultimately kills the soul. Apathy is the child spawned from monotony. When we become overly comfortable in monotony, the busy and chaotic world, which exists outside of our narcissistic bubbles, becomes insignificant.

To my contemporaries, I can straightforwardly say that ours is a generation unconcerned with overseas affairs or even national affairs for that matter. Did you know that a woman in Nigeria is sentanced to death by stoning for having sex outside of her marriage, or that in Bogota one of Latin America's leading bishops was kidnapped as he went to hold a religious service in central Colombia? Individuality is by definition a separate existence, outside and above the uniformity that society crams down our soft and vulnerable throats. Conclusively, I will tell you why alcoholics exist--to make the overwhelming number of mindless clones that much more interesting.