Column: Great events unite campus

On March 19, George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic will be playing on Duke's Campus. For more than two decades, George Clinton has been the pioneer of the funk movement, and his music has influenced artists in such diverse areas as R&B, alternative and electronic music. His stage act is one that many of today's performers strive to emulate. His music has brought thousands of people from different backgrounds together over the years. And, unfortunately, less than a quarter of Duke's undergraduate student population will be able to see him.

Over the past few years, "diversity" has been a go-to word by those in charge of our student life here at Duke. When all sophomores were made to live on West Campus, it was with the hope of increasing "diversity." The new plans for a Duke "village" most certainly ring of hopes of increasing interaction between people of different backgrounds. And the administration loves to talk of how the student body is among the most "diverse" of all major universities. This may all be true, but statistics and forced housing do not make up for real life experiences.

There is only one true way for people to share the multitude of backgrounds, cultures and traditions that these statistics supposedly represent. People don't learn about their differences through living in the same dorm or by sitting next to someone in stats. These things must be learned through experiences. Whether it's talking over a beer (or five) at this weekend's off-campus party, rocking out to the latest Jurassic 5 album or just sitting in your dorm doing bad Tony Montana impressions to your favorite scene from Scarface, it is interactions, finding those common bonds, that allow for the transfer of culture from one person to the next. And George Clinton would be the perfect example of a common bond that brings together people from all different backgrounds. I can only imagine how "diverse" his audience will be, and to have him playing in front of less than 1,200 people is throwing away an unbelievable opportunity.

Duke University has a name that should not only be used for fund-raising and high seeds in the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Whether it's our high academic standards or the great successes of our student-athletes, our school should be able to attract some of the great artists, speakers and performers of our time. I asked a few people who attended graduation two years ago who was the guest speaker, and no one could remember. At the time, there was a bit of a controversy over the prominence of the speaker, and this year, only two years later, we have Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of the United Nations, speaking at graduation. It is this type of attitude that should be used in attracting other individuals whose music or speech or performance would be the connection for those real life experiences I speak of, especially at a time when on-campus happenings are lacking .

I'm not saying that it takes famous people for our student body to talk to each other. It definitely shouldn't be the rank of a performer that determines the amount of support they get. But we pay enough tuition, and places such as Cameron have been used in the past to draw the biggest crowds at our school. Look at the last few performers at Last Day of Classes, compare them to the acts playing at other schools at our level and you expect better. I love the Roots, and Run D.M.C. are classics, but at the time they both played our campus, neither was promoting something new, nor were they amongst the hottest acts of the time.

I'm not saying we don't get any high profile acts either. Spike Lee spoke here two years ago, and Maceo Parker played here just a few weeks ago. But even when we do, the turnout isn't what it should be, due either to student apathy or lack of word around the University. Either way, we as a school aren't taking advantage of these opportunities to bond as a campus. A good friend of mine Paul is planning a campaign to increase awareness of the happenings on campus. Maybe increased promotion along with student support can help make Duke University truly diverse.

Music, movies, important issues: These are the things that will bring a campus together. It's not an easy way out, and it's certainly not superficial. It's simply realistic-the more we know we have in common, the more we are willing to accept our differences. But when only 1,000 people can share in a unique experience like George Clinton, maybe we aren't being given the opportunity to truly diversify.

Tal Hirshberg is a Trinity junior. His column appears every third Wednesday.