Editorial: Rebuilding Duke and Iraq

As the 21st century continues to dawn, America and Duke face great challenges. A slow economy is hurting their abilities to make ends meet, security has become an ever-present concern, and, on the worst of days, the Subway lines are so long that it's not even worth it. But beyond these relatively minor concerns are two issues that promise to hound the United States and the University for years to come, intertwining the two institutions' histories in a delicate ballet of renewal and redemption: the simultaneous rebuilding of Iraq and building of the West Campus student village.

Two towering figures are overseeing these massive projects, retired Gen. Jay Garner and Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta. Garner previously served in northern Iraq, protecting the Kurds from Saddam Hussein's evil. Moneta previously served at the University of Pennsylvania, protecting Penn students from the evils of not enough seamlessness.

To be successful, the efforts in Iraq and on West Campus will require enormous sums. But thankfully, both the Bush administration's fundraisers and the University's development officers have extensive experience in raising money. Garner and Moneta might even consider joining forces in this effort, for the same wealthy corporations that will buy, or rather, fund the rebuilding of Iraq are likely headed by the wealthy chief executives whom Duke mechanically churns out every year.

If the rebuildings work, they will not only alter the physical landscape of Baghdad and the Bryan Center, but they will forever change the social and economic lives of the individuals who inhabit these two stricken locations. Iraqis can already interact, trade and loot more freely than they ever could under Saddam, and new roads, bridges and communications infrastructure will hopefully allow Iraq's several ethnic groups to live and work together more peacefully. On West Campus, Duke's various cliques struggle to interact on any meaningful level, something that expanded office space and a bar could foster, even if everyone has to be drunk while it happens.

But perhaps the most important piece of these projects is not physical change or even knitting together dueling factions. It will hopefully be the restoration of democracy to peoples who have previously lived under the backward leadership of, respectively, Saddam and Duke Student Government. Regime change has brought freedom and a sense of hope that the Iraqi people will soon participate in an effective, responsive government of the people. One can only hope that the effort behind the student village will be a catalyst for similar change.

These projects will not be without sacrifice, but, with some hard work and a lot of help from whichever divine entity one believes in, America and Duke will pull through together.

If it wasn't painfully obvious already, the above was a joke. Good luck on finals and have a great summer.