Commentary: Outside their comfort zones

The constant claims by Duke students that we segregate ourselves based upon racial, ethnic, sexual and religious lines has fallen upon deaf ears, mostly because Duke students easily assess the obvious problem, but refuse to accept or provide answers to this apparent social dilemma.

Hard-line representatives of these groups demand their own facilities, more recognition and better treatment, which they deserve and the University should grant. While these cultural amenities are necessary to help provide a commonplace and give access to diversity, they unfortunately do not solve the self-segregation predicament.

Further, it seems that the people who get left out the most in these discussions are those few Duke students who are not asked to serve as the campus voice on racial and ethnic issues for their respective groups. These Dukies may be some of the few minorities in fraternities or sororities; the small number of students who major in an area listed under AALL who are not of African, Arabic or Asian heritage; a member of the college Republican group on-campus who is not a WASP; and many others who just happen to chill with their friends or date without regard to their differences from his/her own. Often labeled as "sell-outs," these Dukies may serve as the only link another student has to a different culture throughout his or her entire Duke experience.

My undergrad days at Duke left me with a close group of friends who will always be my family. One of these individuals happens to be both African-American and Jewish. We jokingly called him "Sammy Davis, Jr.," but the humor often ended when he was shunned by other African-American students because of his fraternal affiliation, or when he went to High-Holiday services and became a spectacle for the Freeman Center frequenters to stare at and comment about. Presently, a good friend of mine belongs to a predominantly white sorority, and while she lightheartedly refers to herself as the "token Asian," she finds herself sometimes treated as an outsider when she attends an ASA event.

After inviting me to the birthday party of one of her friends, I felt as if the record shrieked and the music stopped as we entered the apartment and one of the party goers yelled out "we have just increased the white population by 100 percent!" as the room full of Asian-American students looked upon us with a curious, yet suspicious gaze. The anxiety to cling to one's own may come from the parentals, peers and even societal pressure. My parents stress the importance of marrying someone Jewish, and considering the fact they were married when they were my age, right now every time I mention a girl I may be seeing their first question always happens to be "Is she Jewish?"

Despite this attitude taken by my folks, Duke gives students such as me the ideal opportunity to get know people of many different cultures. Whether or not we choose to take advantage of this depends upon our willingness to leave our inhibitions at the door and make concerted efforts to get to know not just one "token" individual of a group, but attempt to find similarities in and understand the differences of those not like ourselves.

As interracial marriages increase and the "Melting Pot" referred to as America continues to progress, so too will these changes be reflected at Duke. Just as hyphenated Americans of European ancestry soon became categorized as "Whites," Southeast Asians and Pacific Islanders were lumped together as "Asians," those from the Middle East as "Arabs," and Latin, Central and South Americans became "Hispanics," eventually these designations may dissolve to some degree.

In the meantime, those Duke students who associate, hang-out and date outside of their supposed comfort zones may find themselves receiving a cold reception from their fellow students of similar backgrounds and not invited to that all important University table where racial, ethnic, sexual and religious conversations take place with administrators.