As I sit here burning the midnight oil, I try to define exactly why I feel antagonistic towards the attitudes of certain Duke students, and for separate but related reasons, the Duke administration. As a Mexican, I felt ashamed at the exaggerations of certain students when they denounced fraternity members as racist.
I did not find the clichés presented at the Sigma Chi party to be especially offensive. While stereotypes can at times be harmful, most of the Mexican Americans I know (including my own family) are illegal immigrants, and many of them love Tequila. More power to those who promote a broader understanding of Mexican culture, but these students committed no crime except to throw a party that was merely a reflection of American cultural perception and the amplification of these perceptions by the media.
Ironically, this level of political correctness and sensitivity has never and will probably never exist in Mexico. The educated people of my homeland would scoff at the idea of "South of the Border" being an offensive party name, or the portrayal of Mexicans as partygoers and immigrants as destructively shallow. In fact, most Mexicans are aware of the fact that such unnecessary and politicized confrontation only creates a rift between already isolated cliques.
I don't believe in race, and as a Mexican don't consider myself as belonging to any separate race than those which supposedly make up institutions like Sigma Chi. Every one of us humans, us Americans, us Mexicans, is an individual conglomeration of centuries of mating between people of many cultures and colors. The Mexican community is correct in stating that Hispanics in America are marginalized daily and on a widespread level. But why not avoid officially and publicly branding students as "racist," a word that I think should be reserved to describe a much more piercing hatred and lack of respect.
Duke is experiencing a systematical segregation of different interest groups (a frighteningly realistic incarnation of that college comedy PCU), and the negative ramifications that affect all the parties involved.
Which brings us to the administration. There exists an ideological cancer that threatens to convert Duke into a landmark of America's most disturbing and repressive attributes. This disease became apparent to me my third day of freshman orientation, when I was forced into a Durham police car for being in the backseat of a vehicle that contained alcoholic beverages. The officer later informed me that Durham police had been encouraged to seek out offending Duke students, and that, "Duke was cracking down on underage offenders."
Now I'd been living under the heavy wings of American law enforcement for some time, but somehow I'd been almost unaware of my status as "underage" until I arrived at Duke. Of course the occasional high school party would be broken up, but the consequences were never more than a friendly, if self-righteous, slap on the wrist by the local boys in blue. We reveled in the freedom of weekend socializing, and were trusted to make decisions about what entered our own bodies. Our superiors simply gave encouraging advice on staying healthy and avoiding legal troubles.
Enter Duke University. Never have I been more aware that American society is increasingly being defined by self-interest and mutual distrust. Last week I was forced to watch as Durham policemen ended a gathering of no more than 20 senior students at my own house. I can assure you that we are on very cordial terms with all of our neighbors, and that some of these have thrown block parties loud enough to rival almost any student event.
Nevertheless, the police informed us that because of their new relationship with the University, they are required to enter any student house and arrest the residents upon the reception of a single noise complaint. The cops further stated that they didn't want to be busting students, since they once loved partying themselves, and they joked about being the party killing patrol in a town full of more disturbing crime. These statements made it even more apparent that Duke views the hundreds of students who socialize over beers as "offenders," and that all possible measures will be taken to put these miscreants in their place.
Furthermore, the administration has accentuated if not created the actual divide between Duke students and the Durham community and created an exaggerated rift. This rift, showcased by the local media, serves as an excuse for Duke to control social gatherings. Isn't it depressing to go to a University (historically the birthplaces of insightful thought and social revolution) that has become more obsessed with promoting puritanical regulations than the government employees who promote and enforce these hypocritical laws?
The motivations are even more distressing. Perhaps Duke should print the following slogan in their enrollment pamphlet: "Come give us your money, but if you do anything that will make us lose ours, we'll put the 5-0 on you." I'm only seeing more and more freshmen admitted who have the same social habits and partying traditions as I do, and I'm sure these students would rather attend a school where personal responsibility is treasured above the demands of America's sometimes greedy, liability obsessed culture. Why not at least attempt to find more intelligent and peaceful solutions than jailing and evicting students who simply possess the habits of any average outgoing American youth.
Christian Berman is a Trinity senior. He is a guest columnist.
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