On the first of the year, a policeman in Oakland, California shot a killed a 22-year-old man named Oscar Grant on at a BART (Oakland’s public transit authority) station. He was unarmed and lying on the floor, and by the looks of the videos that have surfaced online he was not in a position to fight back, though witnesses and videos have shown that he may have been resisting the officers.
These images are appalling, but not altogether unfamiliar. If you remember, last April the New York Supreme Court acquitted the three police officers who shot Sean Bell over 50 times, killing him outside of a club in Jamaica, Queens back in in 2006.
I won’t use this as a platform to drone on about the use of excessive force or to talk about how dirty cops should be locked up under the jail. Let’s be honest. It’s a dead horse, and people have already beaten the hell out of it. Besides there’s a bigger question to be answered: What is the role of the people in these situations?
After the Sean Bell verdict came down, people protested and marched with Al Sharpton and whatever other stock figures appear in these scenarios. In Oakland some have responded with rioting. But if we’re honest, I think we have to admit these are quaint relics of the 60s and 70s, and in the end I doubt that anyone in either situation will walk away with any true sense of safety and justice when it comes to dealing with the police. There will still be the sense, whether real or imagined, that the police can act to take lives with relative impunity, and that people are not safe in their own communities. (more…)
08 Jan 2009, Posted by Jordan Rice in Backpages, 0 Comments
I returned from four months both physically and mentally abroad during Duke in Madrid to find the world in ruins. My bank doesn’t exist anymore, my Lehman Brothers stock is down 99.7 percent, the job market is as fruitful as an apple orchard in the Kalahari Desert and a band of gypsies have taken residence in the abandoned condos across the street. Someone fell asleep at the wheel while I was gone.
I stepped off the plane at O’Hare Airport to find that during the past semester the grown version of Miss Teen South Carolina (of Youtube fame) nearly became vice president of the United States, more than one billion dollars of Duke’s endowment evaporated along with 50 billion dollars of investments with some guy named Madoff. And what’s this about my governor attempting to sell my state’s senate seat? And the University of Michigan’s football team won just three games? And Duke’s won four!? What is this post-apocalyptic nightmare I have fallen into?
I, and I imagine many of you, want no part of these cruel realities, but regrettably, it has proven quite difficult to escape the streaming updates of calamities on the Internet, the television and even in The Chronicle. (more…)
My family isn’t one too try new types of food. Strike that. My Mom and Dad aren’t so hip to trying “strange” cuisine. Although I wouldn’t classify French food as inherently “strange,” unless it’s a grilled chicken salad (my Mom), or is sausage-based (my Dad), my parents won’t touch it. I’m actually writing this as I’m in the car while traveling with them in France, and they aren’t too pleased after I just now read that sentence aloud. But for the most part, it’s pretty true. So before we began our trip to France, I knew we wouldn’t be eating too much authentic French food… little did I know just how bad we’d be. As the title suggests, I was in France for four whole days, and didn’t even have a bite of anything remotely French. As I though about it, I realized how sad that truly is. So now I will attempt to dissect and justify this lack of authentic food in order to make myself feel better:
Meal 1: McDonald’s. I can kind of defend this one. We had been driving for a long time as we went from Madrid up into France and it was late, so we just needed to get something quickly. My brother did try the “Le M,” a special French McDonalds hamburger, but it still doesn’t count. I wasn’t too discouraged after this one… (more…)
21 Dec 2008, Posted by Monday Monday in Backpages, 0 Comments
Dear Intrepid Duke Students,
I trust your holiday breaks have been restful so far. Normally, I don’t work during the holiday season, but the state of Illinois, Duke University and the nation need me.
Now that my true identity has been revealed, it has come to my attention that I can no longer serve in my duties as your Monday Monday. Because of this inconvenient truth, I have decided that I will sell the position to the highest bidder. My good friend Rahm Emanuel has already furnished me with a generous list of names of people who might serve quite well in this capacity and I am considering them all seriously and equally. Also, if forced, I will attempt to bend the rules a little and return to the position myself. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time, right?! Ha ha… ok, I apologize… that was out of line.
The bottom line is that I will be entertaining all options in this matter. I will work with our president-elect and my financial advisors to make the best decision in this matter and appoint someone in whose abilities I have full confidence. Please call me immediately if you are interested in making a bid. Or, if you prefer to use the “Internet,” please email me and put “Open Monday Monday Position—WILL PAY CASH” in the subject line.
I urge all of you to think about the great difference you can make for our nation if you purchase this position. Remember, the holiday season is a time for giving, so please, open up your hearts and your checkbooks in order to benefit yourself and others.
Yours Truly,
The Chairman
At midnight, 25 applicants were offered columns—21 of them biweekly and 4 of them weekly—and four applicants were offered blogs at The Chronicle. This means that roughly 42 percent of columnist applicants were offered positions. In addition, a waitlist was created to anticipate any vacated spots in the future. We will be posting a breakdown of these columnists later this week.
