Column: Excuses, excuses

If you have ever tried to obtain a Dean's Excuse, you probably know why I am frustrated. Trying to get a Dean's Excuse inevitably ends up in an ironic slew of excuses from the deans.

While the crisis currently underway in the Middle East may be filled with its own set of hypocrisies, I would like to focus our attention on the two-facedness of university policy here at home. Although a seemingly harmless policy at first glance, Duke University's stance on Dean's Excuses is subtly undermining the very ideals on which an institution of higher learning should be founded.

As posted on the official website of the Pre-Major Advising Center, a Dean's Excuse can only be issued for "medical excuses, official representation of the University, and emergency situations." While the first and last reasons are explained quite clearly on the website, "official representation of the University" is left somewhat vague. Further investigation via e-mail leads one to the conclusion that "official representation of the University"--as defined by Duke--constitutes being a varsity athlete, presenting a paper at a conference or serving on a panel. (The latter two cases were only added this academic year by the deans.)

Perusing the website was not sufficient for me to fully understand the logic behind this policy, however. So I sat down to talk with Normal Keul, Associate Dean of Trinity College and Director of the Pre-Major Advising Center at Duke. After discussing the policy in great depth with him, it became apparent that a vast number of dedicated, enthusiastic students were being denied the "official" ability to make up graded work at a later date for some other worthy educational endeavor.

What is so outrageous are the types of activities from which Duke students are restricted because of this short-sighted approach. In the past year, a student with an opportunity to play with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and another student with a chance to network with national policymakers at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government were denied Dean's Excuses; I am certain there are countless other worthy examples that Keul did not mention. When asked to explain the philosophy behind a policy that denied these students such phenomenal opportunities, Keul responded that it was customary policy "handed down from high up" on the university ladder, even from the Board of Trustees, to deny non-athletes these excuses because it would send a message to professors and students that these off-campus events were more valuable than their courses here at Duke.

A perfect administrative answer, but with one crucial, glaring flaw: What about all the varsity athletes who are missing their classes because of sporting events? Does a football game or a swim meet mean more to Duke University than an athlete's education (or the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, for that matter)? Obviously so. It is not as if any of us should be surprised: higher education is a big business, and varsity athletics are a high-stakes opportunity for Duke and all our peer institutions. When pressed further to explain this blatant contradiction, Keul could only mumble that "hypocrisy exists on a number of levels in university policy" and that the Board of Trustees is very supportive of varsity athletes.

This is not a diatribe against varsity athletes. These soldiers put in many hours beyond their studies that the average student can barely imagine, and so they justifiably get some perks. But one might hope that at Duke, in academia, the over-inflated value that society puts on sports would not override the highest value we should be putting on our educations. The Dean's Excuse policy, as it stands now, excludes countless students from pursuing educational opportunities that cannot be realized on this campus, and it stands counter to Duke's educational mission. It can send one, and only one, message to the entire community: While varsity athletics are always more valuable than courses taught at Duke, viable educational enrichment off campus is not.

I encourage students to write to the Deans of Trinity College to change this outmoded policy, and I implore the Deans of Trinity College to institute a more accommodating review process for students interested in exploring opportunities beyond Duke's classrooms. Failing to do so will compromise the basic educational integrity of this university and will continue to mire the deans in the hypocrisy of their own excuses.