Duke students to protest fraternity’s ‘racist rager’

[beyphy]

<p>I don’t normally post in this forum but felt a response was apt:</p>

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Duke is a university that most love to hate, and whereas incidents at other colleges like those I outlined above are dismissed as aberrations, incidents at Duke are eagerly snatched up and cackled over, as people rejoice in confirmation that Duke students are indeed the arrogant miscreants they’ve always believed them to be

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<p>The same could be said about USC or a number of other universities in this forum. I (personally) haven’t seen enough Duke hate to say that it’s the university that people ‘love to hate.’</p>

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In truth, Duke is much like most any other top university. It’s a diverse university of 6500 people, each of whom brings different backgrounds, interests, and talents to the table. The Asian population at Duke has traditionally hovered around 1/4 of the student body and is steadily creeping toward the 1/3 mark (the current freshman class is 28% Asian-American). There is not a single student at Duke who hasn’t had Asian roommates, friends, romantic partners, teammates, classmates…students mix and interact at all levels, and I think it’s one of the very best places to do so. While at Duke I interacted with people of all kinds - male, female, black, white, Latino/a, gay, straight, Christian, atheist, poor, wealthy…it was a wonderfully accepting place, and I grew and was challenged in ways I never would’ve thought possible. Arrogance? Far from it. There is nothing like being surrounded by 6500 other people every bit as smart as you, if not smarter, to crush any sense of arrogance, and there are few students indeed with intact arrogance after their first semester. </p>

<p>Yes, Duke has some bad apples, but they are far from the norm. For every KSig, you have several dozen Paul Farmers - talented, intelligent, caring individuals working to make the world a better place. Even if you rounded up all of Duke’s controversial individuals, they are a drop in the bucket relative to the student body. While I am both embarrassed and disgusted by the party invitation and the people behind it, I remain immensely proud of my alma mater.

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<p>As usual warblersrule, you hit the nail on the head. Duke, like many others, is an undoubtedly excellent university that is very diverse, and it’s certainly a university you should be proud of attending.</p>

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One can only turn the other cheek so many times, and I have thought quite strongly about quitting CC over the issue. It would not be a huge loss - I receive nothing of value from this site and stick around only to pass on what I’ve managed to learn.

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<p>Perhaps i’m wrong here, but I think you’re exaggerating a bit. Does Duke really receive that much flack on CC compared to other elite universities?</p>

<p>all of our universities receive flak on CC warblersrule, including many, who like to note that my alma mater isn’t ‘a flagship’ or the Cal boosters who like to cal it ‘southern branch’ or ‘baby Cal.’ Yes, this analogy isn’t exactly comparable to your situation, but I feel that integrating yourself into a community (including an online one) has to do with finding a place you fit in, and enjoying the company of others who frequent that community or forum. I’ve liked the vast majority of your posts I read, although you do remain more objective and impartial than others on the forum. That, like anything else, has its benefits and its downsides.</p>

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As with every stereotype, there is a kernel of truth behind it

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<p>So you make decisions, after thinking about them ‘long and hard,’ based on kernel’s of truth? gimme a break :rolleyes:</p>