OPINION
Ushering in the 93rd
By Editorial Board | August 28, 2017President Price will have to confront many other future campus controversies in a similarly decisive, effective manner.
President Price will have to confront many other future campus controversies in a similarly decisive, effective manner.
The message that towns have been sending for the last century is one that upholds a dated racial caste system and demeans the experience of Black Americans.
I encourage the entire Duke community to seek ways of renewing the spirit and renewing the mind, and especially of reckoning with our racial histories and identities.
Can you imagine, years from now, another group of ideologues carry the Stars and Stripes while doing their evil, that people would rise up and call for the removal of our flag?
It is this support, the strength derived from community, that I consider most beneficial to those facing pressure to conform.
Last Saturday morning, the Duke community awoke to find out about President Price’s decision to remove General Robert E.
By hiding our history you have joined a much larger and much more frightening movement than one that merely wants to remove so-called offensive objects.
But in trying to stifle national conversations, Jackson has affirmed the permeability of our stories and the potency of our voices. We can take action by doing the very thing she fears: speaking out.
In the past week, the news cycle has been jam-packed with a stream of controversial proclamations courtesy of President Trump’s Twitter account and heated debates over hot button topics.
I would simply ask that those arguing against removing Lee's statue use the critical thinking skills that Duke instills in its students to make an argument that has some semblance of logical basis.
Lee was an honorable American just as much as Union generals.
Dear President Price, Thank you for making the effort to reach out to the broader Duke community.
The new President of Duke University sent out an email notifying the greater Duke community of his decision to remove the vandalized statue of Robert E.
Late though it may be, the removal of this statue and the conversation that will follow is good news.
Surely the time has come to change the name of the university back to Trinity and remove all the statues of the Dukes.
Yes, history is nuanced. But being an influential historical figure does not automatically grant you a position of honor. There’s plenty of room for “remembering” in museums and textbooks that offer context, not glorification.
While I agree completely that the statue of Lee—and really all monuments honoring slavery and those who fought for it—should be removed, if we as a community choose to remove Lee, we must not stop there.
General Lee, it is said, should be removed from the Duke Chapel. I believe this movement is misguided and should stop.
In light of calls for the removal of the statue of Robert E Lee from Duke Chapel and the vandalism that occurred on the 16th, I’ve compiled a list of alternatives to the “___ of the South” statue series that adorns the chapel entrance.
It's unfortunate that your first public test as president of our University relates to the disposition of a seemingly silent stone artifact that is part of the magnificent cathedral that sits at the heart of our campus. But the statue of Robert E. Lee is not silent.