Two days ago, I wrote a controversial letter to the editor about the problems of the Marketplace and the buses. I have gained a lot of insight from the reactions.
First of all, I would like to apologize for the tone of this article. It came off as somewhat immature and harsh. To be honest, I am deeply regretful that it came off as a piece about privilege.
It was not my intention at all to attack the workers or focus on their mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. I just wanted to point out the lack of respect or service that we sometimes receive. That is a valid problem and that shouldn’t happen as much as it currently does. As Jake Bullock wrote in a Dec. 4 letter to the editor, “Union workers are burden to Duke dining:” “It seems that every Duke student has a dining ‘horror story’ from one of [Bon Appetit’s] establishments.” Conversely, we take a lot of things for granted as well, and every Duke employee probably has horror stories about us.
I am no journalist or writer. I wrote what I felt that morning. Although the issue is out there, I felt that few were voicing it publicly. I know I didn’t research or come up with solutions, but I thought a letter was just an outlet where to express your opinion.
However, the way I expressed my opinion was wrong. A lot was lost when I had to cut the article, and the final version was not how I wanted to convey my thoughts.
Yasong Wang
Trinity ’13
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.