What's white, wears a collared shirt with khaki's and seeks to offend? Give up? It's a Duke Conservative Union member.
HAHAHA. Now that it's Tuesday and you've chortled for days, keep reading. No other campus group generates as much controversy as these right-wing rapscalians, save Duke University Marching Band led by Matt Dolan. Those rowdy instrumentalists, however, operate rarely and don't publish bonfire kindling or bring protest fodder to campus. The letters "DCU" inspire angst, ire, aggression, pain and even hatred amongst many Duke students, who imagine a heartless student group bent on oppressing the masses and promoting their self-interests.
Not completely understanding (though I had an inkling) how innocent letters evoked such emotions, I reacquainted myself with DCU and its publication, "New Sense." After successfully typing "www.dukeconservativeunion.org," Ronald Reagan began writing across the screen to Copland's "Appalachian Spring." Apparently, they couldn't be all bad if the DCU featured a homosexual, communist-sympathizing populist's composer on their website. Then I realized the man typing misused "Born in the USA" as a patriotic campaign anthem.
After this brief populism promotion, things took a right turn, but only a short one. The website provided a short statement of principles committing the organization to private property, the free market, a liberal arts education and lonely nights giggling over P.J. O'Rourke.
The weblog was down, so I couldn't enjoy "A forum for the purpose of discussing liberal travesties perpetrated by the ever-growing Post-Modernist cadre of Duke professors, the liberal student groups at Duke University and the left-wing Duke administration and institutions." Disappointed, but still committing liberal travesties, I sought an interview. They sent me their secretary, John Korman.
He was not the morally righteous egoist I half expected; rather, a pleasant guy who provided me with all I needed to know about the Duke Conservative Union. He didn't fit my imagined descriptions, except for the well-groomed aspects and seemed a good fellow, providing heaps of information.
This loosely organized conservative group dedicated to providing a right-wing forum to uphold conservative principles such as democracy does not, for instance, hold elections for their officers (at least he didn't know how he became secretary). They do have strong leaders to hold the ship together. What dictatorship doesn't though?
Korman, while not secretarying, moonlights as an editor of sort for New Sense, the DCU's publication and has problems eating a turkey sandwich while giving an interview. While the articles do not officially represent DCU's viewpoints, rather conservative views representative of the DCU, the liberty-crusading authors manage to argue their viewpoints vehemently, inflammatorily and sometimes moronically throughout the pages.
For the latter description, read Jim Thompson's "The Danger of Blind Opposition: Why You Shouldn't Hop on the Antiwar Bandwagon." He claims that certain anti-war slogans shouldn't be at Duke, but rather a Grateful Dead Concert. But, as Korman said, they do not shy away from controversy, and many issues they tackle provoke opponents.
Such was the case last year during the debate over the Iraqi invasion. New Sense derided anti-war protestors as mindlessly opposing the war while supporting Saddam. The war would spread peace, democracy and New Sense ideology around the world. Unfortunately, the latter could not occur since Duke Conservative Union members stayed at Duke. They rallied for war, but when the 3rd and 4th divisions rolled into Iraq for a long stay, the war's champions remained at Duke, leaving others to fight for their beliefs. Ironically, the Ronald Reagan quote accompanied by Copland mentioned that things are precious enough to die for: They will let others die.
Tim O'Brien, Vietnam vet and author of "The Things They Carried," has an idea:"There should be a law, I thought. If you support a war, if you think it's worth that price, that's fine, but you have to put your own precious fluids on the line. You have to head for the front and hook up with an infantry unit and help spill the blood."
Their writings on the war further emphasized their unofficial mission to offend, rather than persuade or even debate. The New Sense crede professes a desire "to provide a balanced argument in politics on campus." Their arguments usually digress into name-calling and ad hominem attacks. In the past several years, New Sense has charged Duke with McCarthyism, bashed The Chronicle as a "pernicious bastion of politically correct palaver," while DCU brought David Horowitz to campus using University funds (they receive support from SOFC), then attacked the use of funds to bring Laura Whitehorn. Both speakers inflamed each side of the political spectrum.
These few of many questionable attacks send the DCU to the outskirts of debate and relegate them to campus stereotyping. They're not the awful people many imagine, but they seek controversy rather than debate. Korman admitted that some members do that and further stated, "You can convert someone without being insulting." Some New Sense articles and DCU guest speakers have put together well-reasoned arguments, and conduct themselves with civility; this however, cannot be said for the majority of the publication.
When the DCU begins to act consistently upon their beliefs by serving in the military they love to dispatch and expressing their viewpoints in non-inflammatory ways, then they will gain more respect. When they stop referring to campus figures as conspirators and their actions as travesties, they will gain respect. Until they curb their childish attacks they will be perceived simply as kids who've been adversely affected by too much hair spray and starched collars. There's a New Sense hitting the stands in a month, look for it, read it and hope they're ready to join the debate, just forgive them their business casual dress.
Kevin Ogorzalek is a Trinity senior. His column appears every other Tuesday.
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