Letter from the Duke Human Rights Coalition

We would like to clarify our position, and offer our viewpoint on several recent events regarding the Tibet vigil and the ensuing reaction.

Duke Human Rights Coalition sponsored the Tibet vigil in order to raise visibility for the issues involving Tibet. As a human rights group, our focus is not political and we condemn violence by both the Tibetan rioters and the Chinese government. For us, it is enough to bring attention to the significant concerns of human rights violations in the region. We had hoped to create a space in which both the anger and the suffering of the Tibetan people could be viewed and contemplated, as a prelude to increased awareness and consideration.

Unfortunately, it seems that significant polarization has resulted from the event. There has been both rhetoric and vitriol where there should have been discussion and open-mindedness. One example is the terrible threats made against Grace Wang, a Chinese Duke freshman who was perceived as being pro-Tibet (Wang did not advocate Tibetan independence at any point).

Duke Human Rights Coalition condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the threats made against Grace Wang and her family. As fellow Duke students, it is our responsibility to foster an atmosphere of tolerance, respect and academic freedom. The fact that a Duke student has been targeted for speaking her mind at the University is an incredible violation of that same freedom. We should not be bickering, or searching for someone to blame; we should be banding together as a community to protect a fellow student. It is not enough for us to merely distance ourselves from the vitriolic attacks of others; we must go further to show that such threats are not welcome here at Duke.

Regardless of our position on the issues, we all believe that attacks on any student are reprehensible and unjustifiable. We must stand as one community, united in our commitment to true academic freedom on campus.

Duke Human Rights Coalition will be present at Springternational this Friday, to raise awareness for the issues which have been brought to public attention by recent events, and to demonstrate our support of Grace's freedom of speech. We encourage Duke students and members of the surrounding community to come speak to us about these issues; we will bring an open mind if you do the same. We call on all students to demonstrate that Duke's belief in academic freedom is not just rhetoric by the administration, but an actual commitment held by the entire student body.

James Tager

Co-President, Duke Human Rights Coalition