OPINION | CAMPUS VOICES
Want to be an opinion columnist? Apply here!
By Leah Abrams | December 9, 2019Have something to say? Want to share it with the world?
Have something to say? Want to share it with the world?
The CE shareholders of today are the billionaires of tomorrow, the ones convinced they are good people because they participate in “corporate social responsibility.”
You can imagine, therefore, how nice it is to write an anonymous column where no one will look at my face and pass a judgement.
"'Growing up and driving past that wall with my family made the university seem like this magical but inaccessible place...'"
We can easily draw connections between neoliberalism’s obsession with the expansion of market activity and the way Duke repackages and emblemates that mania, just on a smaller scale.
It is strange and fascinating to be in a place that positively reinforces just showing up and being myself.
Although we’ve finished our 2019 Thanksgiving dinners, let’s give thanks as Blue Devils as we continue on our journeys at Duke.
At the cusp of every final’s season—including this current one included—there is a heightened sense of anxiety in the people around me.
As soon as I come home, for better or for worse, I feel myself conforming into the usual comfortable habits of mine.
Thanksgiving conversations made me more aware of the uncomfortable fact that safe spaces like Duke and our own family structures blind us to larger societal inequities.
This world is hard, and doesn’t make sense, but I have never had a bad day that wasn’t alleviated by watching these kind, brilliant people cook and laugh together.
In the end, the ethics of taking a public good is a matter of common sense and decency. Sometimes things just feel wrong. If you feel the need to be furtive, don’t do it. Let your conscience be your guide.
We must demand that the University cut ties with this power-hungry company. If we fail to do so, then we are complicit in Duke Energy's continued havoc on both our environment and our democracy.
We need our future teachers, doctors, and politicians to understand the necessity of accessibility and to practice it in their own careers.
My call to action is finding the balance between taking time to introspect and taking action to make positive change in our community.
Am I qualified? Am I that good? When will people find out that I'm a farce? Why am I applying to all these jobs?
How can Duke reconcile its mission of preparing students for the future with investment strategies that indicate tacit approval for an industry whose practices directly threaten that future?
And I'll never forget those words you said next: "They did surgery on a grape." It was cold that night. But you were so warm.
Music does not cure chronic pain; nothing does. But it certainly helps.