Elect Yourself

Funny thing about politics-there's not much new you can ever say.

A year after the nation's most divisive election in decades, a lot has changed, and plenty more has stayed the same. We've dealt with the worst natural disaster any of us has ever witnessed, the devolution of "facebook" from new to nuisance, the death of the Chief Justice and the retirement of an associate. But there's still the same president, still the same war in Iraq-and around Duke, still the same numb feeling that, somehow, it's all going to be OK. (When all else goes wrong, there's always tailgate.)

"Activism" and "student" used to go hand-in-hand. Once upon a time, thirty years ago, students took to the streets, held sit-ins and "teach-ins," spoke their minds. Education was important, but there could be no prioritization of the academic over the practical. Today we're more content to stay on the beaten path, justifying our attention to studies with a belief that education itself will create a greater social good-and salving our consciences with the occasional community service. There are plenty of arguments for both sides.

President Brodhead walked a thin line between the two camps at his Founders' Day address in late September. He praised professors who used the Katrina relief effort to put their research into practice-engineers, doctors, physicists-but, in the same speech, Brodhead hinted that a commitment to the classroom makes in some ways an even bigger difference.

We wanted this month to offer our own take. The enigmatic Bill Bell offered TV some explanation as to the torn loyalties of so many students between theory and politics. The platform of Mr. Bell-incumbent mayor and, with 88 percent of the Durham municipal primary vote, overwhelmingly likely to take the reins of Bull City again-places Duke at a healthy distance. "I look at Duke just as I look at any other corporation or business in this community," Bell told Adam Eaglin this month. Bell has better things to worry about-and instantly one realizes why so many Duke students feel the same way about Durham.

Jimmy Soni has another perspective: It's politics when your side dissents, and it's freedom when it's my side. Reflecting on two campus counter-protests-one against remarks by former education secretary William Bennett and one against Christian evangelicals who came to preach-Soni argues that we're too often ready to put our emotions before the First Amendment.

With all the opportunities Duke offers, making a choice between spending time in the library or out on the streets can be frustrating. We hope that this issue will leave you a little more able to decide.