Campus culture in 2012

The term “campus culture” was discussed heavily last semester by students and administrators, at public forums and in The Chronicle’s opinion pages. But what does Duke have to show for it today? After a flurry of debate and discourse, no truly phenomenal changes have occurred. Negotiations over Tailgate and the house model have grown frustratingly stale. In the meantime, Duke was struck again by old demons in the form of the racially insensitive Pi Kappa Phi party last November.

As we usher in 2012 and the Spring semester, let us commit to this New Year’s resolution: to prioritize truly important campus issues and dedicate ourselves to changing them in a courageous and unselfish fashion.

First, we must leave behind the petty concerns of last year. While establishing a safe and fun pregame event for the football season is a priority, haggling endlessly over whether to stage that event in the Card Lot or the Blue Zone is not. While improving equity and fairness in the new house model is a priority, securing prime real estate for your own selective living group is not.

Channeling our energies into these small-minded conflicts distracts Duke students from more important issues. It also fractures and weakens the power of our collective voice. Some members of the Duke community, however, have chosen to focus on more significant and far-reaching problems. The Duke Partnership for Service has launched a campaign advocating conflict-free technologies and other socially responsible practices. Meanwhile, a group of students has begun lobbying against the proposed Amendment One to the N.C. constitution, which, among its other provisions, limits marriage to a union between a man and a woman. These student endeavors aim to fundamentally improve the University by cultivating a more ethical and tolerant environment—not dragging it back into the mire of trivial student politics. This strategy actually works: Late last year, under heavy student pressure, Yale followed Brown University in announcing that it would cease investments in HEI Hotels and Resorts, a hotel corporation with a bad record on workers’ rights.

Of course, the day-to-day activities of students are still crucial to the Duke experience—and they are worth fighting over. But let us reframe the “campus culture” wars differently by asking the following questions: What kind of institution do we envision Duke being in five, 10 or 50 years? How can we push the University to the next level in terms of civic engagement, undergraduate life and a life-altering education? What values do we want to define the Duke experience?

We will find the answers to these questions when we leave behind old battlegrounds for new ones and pinpoint the issues that will make Duke a better university in the long term. And when we return to old turf—such as Tailgate, the house model and Duke’s alcohol policy—let us approach it with maturity and vision. So stop poring over last semester’s housing lottery and start deliberating about what a fresh, fair and dynamic house model will look like for next year. Responsibility is key. Duke is our school, and it is ultimately we students—not the administrators or Trustees—who have the power to transform it for the better.