OPINION
The more things change...
By Theodore D. Segal | July 8, 2020Over fifty years after the tumultuous events of 1969, one still must ask: Is change really coming?
Over fifty years after the tumultuous events of 1969, one still must ask: Is change really coming?
Considering the university’s long, profitable history of entanglement with the tobacco industry, why should we see Duke’s leaders as trustworthy defenders of public health?
As a second child of Chinese immigrants, I uniquely owe my birth to the Black efforts that pushed for non-discriminatory policies.
Not only do we as Black people carry the generational trauma of our ancestors, we also carry their generational blessings and gifts. Alive in each of us is strength, love and power that will alter our current reality.
For some of us, convincing those closest to us might be harder than donating money and protesting. But if we cannot convince our parents, no one can.
I am proud to have stood in solidarity with my comrades, many of whom I have never met. And yet, I now feel as if they are all my extended family. My family of peace. My family of Durham.
At times, I want to look away from the violence, the hatred, the darkness. But even having that choice is a testament to my privilege.
You are less likely to take beneficial economic risks; the kind meant for the secure. You just want to make sure your family has what they need. You are extra attentive to messages from your parents. Usually, it means something is wrong.
Being poor was part of my identity for most of my life, but it’s not anymore. It is the best, strangest, most isolating thing to have ever happened to me.
Especially at a time like this, as we witness marginalized populations suffering the most in times of crisis, we need to take action in our own community in a more informed way.
While these small businesses wait and ponder their next steps, we should all consider what flash of hope we might be able to provide to the people who run them.
In coming to terms with my own hypocrisy, I realized that I am a living, breathing example of why it is so difficult for Duke students to have vulnerable conversations about mental health.
We were all calling to demand respect and dignity for all of Duke’s workers, for everyone that the university relies on to function: including contract workers, adjunct faculty and graduate workers.
We owe our community so much more than 12 lighthearted photos—we need to take mental health more seriously than that.
Duke should encourage students to explore opportunities not provided by the university, and not go out of their way to isolate students who want to diversify their background.
All that I’m asking is for us as today’s voters and tomorrow’s leaders to help put the substance and the facts back into our political discussions.
I take solace in the knowledge that we're all sort of figuring it out together. The collective suffering through all we've lost is but another way that Duke has bonded us together.
Last week, for the first time in my life, my parents warned me that my identity might put me in danger and urged me to be careful in public.
Duke was a leader in making pass/fail grading widely available during this crisis. That should just be the start of reevaluating how we grade.
“I just think part-timers should get the same type of benefit(s) as full-timers since we do the same work as them, you know?” Angel said.