Come together for diversity

With every new school year, Duke welcomes a diverse class of first-years, and this year is no exception. The Class of 2019 topped last year’s international representation of 47 states with an astounding 79 countries. The class also includes 49 percent students of color with 11 and 28 percent African-American and Asian students respectively as well as a record number of 10 percent Latino students. But today we want to bring a different number to the fore. Understanding one class’s diversity requires more than seeing how many students come from different geographical and racial backgrounds. It requires recognizing the diversity of the 100 percent of all Duke students who bring their whole lives to campus.

Our community is replete with experiences waiting to be shared. We ask first how students understand diversity and identity and then explore how they can go beyond noting diversity at Duke to truly engaging with and learning from it. The contrast between the two is as profound as the difference between a photo of a mountain range and the actual view from one of its peaks. This discussion of ways to embrace diversity is understatedly important to our entire community but particularly for first-years who are continuing to meet each other and form their first impressions of Duke as Orientation Week comes to a close.

In Baldwin Auditorium on Monday, Dean Nowicki and President Brodhead addressed Resident Assistants and First-Year Advisory Counselors on the duties and excitement that awaited them on freshman move-in day. Nowicki posited that we need inclusivity more than we realize. In his words, “Inclusion can’t be mistaken for conformity. New students need to be included on their own terms.” Part of his meaning was that an inclusive community amplifies rather than mutes its members’ differences. We learn some things best from those who are different from us, and those with these more varied interactions have more to draw from in their approaches to problems and novel situations. Nowicki reminds us that inclusivity is not just some feel-good metric to assess Duke but a vital part of what we need as a university to attract the very best people in the world.

We therefore must be very self-aware of what we each bring to Duke. Our skills and abilities can largely be described objectively, but rounding them out are the experiences that form their basis. As the Orientation Week diversity statement reminds us, every person carries with them complicated paradigms of race, religion, sexuality, gender, class and other facets of diversity. We can easily describe ourselves using these categories, but we really exist at their intersection. To expand our views of others we have to understand each other through describing family histories, explaining cultural backgrounds, recalling home stories and sharing other personal narratives. That understanding precipitates appreciation, and that development lays the foundation for respect and community at Duke.

As Vice President of Student Affairs Larry Monetta expressed in his segment on Monday, “Everything you do sends a message. Put a smile on your face because that is how you change people.” The conclusion here is not some lofty ideal or esoteric philosophy of relationships. It is a reminder that not all conversations from move-in day to graduation have to start or stop with somebody’s name and major. Center your interactions on walking together with somebody and evolve past co-existence.

Editor’s Note: This editorial was written by members of staff rather than The Chronicle’s independent editorial board.