Tulane student speaks out

Hurricane Katrina has cut off all power and all Internet capabilities within the city. My friends and I, feeling helpless after evacuation, have started a non-profit for the recovery efforts within New Orleans (www.nolahurricanefund.org). The support has been tremendous as citizens around the country are rallying to support students who want to take action. Our donations are designed to help Tulane University students complete community rebuilding projects within the city. As members of the community who have volunteered in the past and will volunteer in the future, we feel particularly affected by the devastation as we have met amazing people whose lives have been changed forever. Unfortunately, all I can think about these days are the kids that I mentor every week at Lafayette Elementary in New Orleans. I have no way of knowing whether they made it out safely and it tears me up every time I see a body bag on a TV special.

Saturday the university cancelled our classes for the semester, and there are many concerned Tulane students who are going to volunteer full-time to help the cause. Currently we are helping to fund the Tulane Emergency Medical Service which is a group of volunteer students who are transporting victims within the disaster area and are running low on medical materials.

Please consult our website for more information: www.nolahurricanefund.org

Kevin Lander

Tulane University Student

 

Conservative rant unfounded

Stephen Miller’s column “Welcome to Leftist University” (Sept. 3, 2005) is a perfect case study in the factual distortion favored by conservatives. He claims, as do many conservatives on campus, that there is “underrepresentation” of conservatives at Duke. The Duke Conservative Union study he refers to points out that in the literature, sociology and philosophy departments, there are no conservative faculty members. What’s that you say—the liberal arts have liberal faculty? Funny how that works out.

The DCU study, as well as Miller’s column, neglect to mention the Duke departments where conservatives are found, areas like political science, economics and business that are generally more associated with conservatism. Political science Chair Michael Munger, for example, served on the FTC under President Reagan. Another political science professor recently took time off to work for President George W. Bush. These are not the activities of “leftists.” There are many more examples within the departments traditionally associated with conservatives.

Miller also claims that Maya Angelou’s speech is invalid simply because she’s a liberal. Last time I checked, you’re still allowed to talk if you disagree with the Republican party. For the record, Duke does have conservative speakers, such as Ben Stein and Dinesh D’Souza.

Study Miller’s article carefully and you’ll find many similarities to the factual distortions used by Fox News and the White House press secretary. It never ceases to amaze me how such rabid opponents of gay rights, aid to the poor and affirmative action can be so quick to cry “discrimination.” (I don’t know Miller’s views on these issues, but everyone knows the mainstream Republican views.) Take everything said by politicians, “leftist” or conservative, with a grain of salt because they often care more about their agendas than they care about the truth.

David Shiffman

Trinity ’07

 

Niche for religious academia

I am writing in response to “Amending Article I” (Sept. 2, 2005). I was disturbed by the ideas that were used to support the claim.

The term Christianity literally refers to the religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, teachings of love and service. One cannot stereotype the personality of a “Christian” because Christians are a diverse myriad of people who think about scripture in different ways. The article stated that Christianity clashed with scientific research. Some Christians’ interpretations of Scripture may lead them to disagree with scientific methods and that is completely acceptable. To suggest, however, that the whole of Christianity thinks or feels a certain way is flawed.

The generalization that Christianity maintains “anti-academic sentiment” is also incorrect. Duke University’s own Duke Divinity School is living evidence against this idea. The integration of knowledge and faith, spoken of in Duke University’s motto, is a reality that influences our very campus in positive and momentous ways. Christianity was slandered in “Amending Article I” and this is paradoxical, because the diversity of which the article speaks is only found in a place where ideas about faith are valued.

The article proposed that the Bible did “not pass the rigor of academic analysis.” The academic discipline of Biblical Studies is pursued in academia around the world, including our own University. The profound work of thinkers such as Soren Kierkegaard and Karl Barth attests to both the spiritual and academic nature of the study of scripture.

Finally, changing the by-laws of Duke University to remove mention of Christianity is unwise. The importance and meaning of identity is often misunderstood and disregarded. As suggested by Rollo May, identity is inextricably connected to dignity. The founders of Duke University had a strong belief in the teachings of Christ and they founded this University with their faith in mind. Article I of the by-laws represents an integral part of Duke’s goals and identity and therefore must remain. If we don’t know where we’ve come from, we cannot know who we are.

Christian Peele

Divinity ’08

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