In Response to “Technicalities 101” and Pratt Bashing

I remember visiting Duke as high school junior for a tour of the campus. My tour guide joked about the giant staircase past Perkins and Bostock as the “great divide” between Trinity and Pratt.

Now I realize how serious the “joke” was.

I have read at least three columns (by Trinity students) during the past year that bash Pratt. Oddly enough, there haven’t been any engineer-penned columns against Trinity. Why is this? Are we too busy, nose-deep in engineering textbooks and problem sets, praying to some engineering god to provide us with the 28-hour day?

Or could it be that we just too happy and have no desire to complain? Then again, why would any engineer be happy?

I think I have the answer. You Trinity students are not envious of us Pratt students. Good for you. We have a bit of news: We are not envious of you, either.

However, I try to empathize with you. I couldn’t complete an English major and remain sane, but I’m glad there are English majors who can do what I can’t.

I love math, science, and engineering, as do most Pratt students. Sure, my elective this semester is Abstract Algebra, but this doesn’t mean I have no interest in the humanities. Oddly enough, I’m an avid Shakespeare enthusiast. I agree that the engineering curriculum isn’t liberal arts intensive; but we don’t neglect opportunities to take humanities courses that pique our interest. We may not be required to study a foreign language, but this doesn’t mean that none of us know another language (except MATLAB and 1337speak) or take foreign language courses as electives.

Above all, we are Duke students. Pratt is fully integrated into the Duke community, even if Trinity students deny it. Faculty and students thrive on interdisciplinary studies and discussions between Trinity, Pratt and graduate schools at Duke. Internal strife is unwarranted. We study what pertains to our passions - the same passions that brought us here in the first place.