Mi Gente y Moi

02 Oct 2011, Posted by Minshu Deng in Backpages, 0 Comments

Sophia Palenberg/The Chronicle

Amidst all of the stress and procrastination of studying for midterms, I am still trying to branch out and try new things, meet new people, attend more events than is wise or necessary—#Mylifeisinshambles—but it’s okay, it’s sort of school-related. For my cultural anthropology class, I am required to write an ethnography on a population with which I am a foreigner, and so I’ve settled on Mi Gente, Duke’s Latino Student Association, which I admit is because I am friends with a few of its members.

The first Mi Gente event I attended was a screening of También La Lluvia (Even the Rain) as part of their dinner and a movie series. Although I was the only Asian person there, I felt comfortable, chatting with the few people I know and inhaling platefuls of rice and fried plantains. Any self-consciousness of being an outsider quickly disappeared as I focused all of my attention on reading the movie’s subtitles.

“I’d really like for people to know that Mi Gente is not an exclusive group to Latinos, or even people that speak Spanish,” Sebastian Cifuentes, vice president of Mi Gente, wrote in an email.

My sense of being an outsider, however, was slightly more pronounced this past week when I attended Platanos y Collard Greens, the off-Broadway play co-sponsored by Mi Gente that tells the love story between two college students, one Latino and one black. Given my general unhipness, cultural references are already pretty beyond me, but with Latino and African American nuances, I often found myself looking for the reactions of others in the crowd, nervously laughing as everyone else rolled around laughing hysterically. Every time I actually understood a joke and laughed of my own accord with everyone else, I gave myself an imaginary pat on the back. I’m learning.

According to their website: “Mi Gente, Duke’s Hispanic Student organization, has two fundamental goals: to best serve the Hispanic population at Duke, and to bring the beauty of Hispanic culture to the larger Duke community.”

So while my relationship to Mi Gente doesn’t exactly fulfill the purpose of the first goal, I am certainly developing an appreciation for this other world I probably would never have entered if it weren’t for my cultural anthropology class.

“We welcome anybody who even has the slightest interest in the Latin culture, community, food, you name it!” Cifuentes said.

And let me tell you, if those fried plantains don’t interest you, (1. what is wrong with you?, and 2.) there is so much more to Mi Gente. And that is what is so great about being at Duke, and at college really—your education is never limited to the classroom walls.

Pop Culture Grid: Jeremy & Wells

30 Sep 2011, Posted by Minshu Deng in Backpages, Pop Culture Grid, 0 Comments

Every wonder what Dean of the Chapel Sam Wells wished he knew how to do? Could you guess who Jeremy Yoskowitz, assistant director for jewish life, would do anything to meet? Chronicle blogger Minshu Deng has the answers for you. After picking the minds of two of the most recognizable religious leaders on campus, she came up with several facts any student would love to know about these men.

Sophia Palenberg/The Chronicle

DukeEthicist: students, change-makers, visionaries

30 Sep 2011, Posted by Duke Ethicist in Backpages, DukeEthicist, 0 Comments

Do you have a responsibility as a student to bring about campus change, and do certain circumstances or contexts influence the extent of that responsibility?

There is a difference between responsibility and opportunity. As a student, you certainly have an opportunity to bring about campus change. If the nearly and seemingly infinite resources available at students’ fingertips are not evident, you’re missing something. That said, do you have a responsibility to utilize them? Probably not.

But here’s the question: as a Duke student, do you have a responsibility to bring about campus change? Here’s where it becomes more complex. And the complexity is not intended to yield a self-righteous conclusion, but rather to assert a significant distinction between our mission and that of other schools. Knowledge in the service of society, preached and practiced year after year at Duke, is the mission of the university. While our explicit responsibility is the pursuit of knowledge, we must consider the purpose of that goal. To that end, we certainly have the responsibility to assign a higher end to our intellectual or academic endeavors. The size of the impact does not matter—the impact itself is what counts. Campus change does not need to consist in vast systemic reform or a reversal of founding institutions; it could be as simple as the adoption of a different mindset. Perhaps the responsibility itself is to understand that you have one.

The Duke Ethicist is a project of the Honor Council which responds to ethical questions posed by the Duke community. Our purpose is to provide a medium through which students may anonymously seek advice or spark dialogue. Got a question? Send it to dukeethicist@gmail.com, and look out for a response on our blog.

A Devine night

29 Sep 2011, Posted by Dylan Peterson in Backpages, Digging into Durham, 0 Comments

Pete Kiehart/The Chronicle

This is the second post in our blog series called Digging into Durham, in which we highlight restaurants and stores restaurants that are popular among Duke students, and others we think Dukies should know about. This blog post features Devines, and the first featured Local Yogurt.

Devines is the only place in Durham that can claim it was founded as a place for Duke students.

I would describe Devines as a sports bar meets family restaurant all under the umbrella of a local watering hole.

Gene Devine, owner of Devines, played football at Duke, but when his plans to play pro ball did not come to fruition, he found another avenue.

“I got involved with businesses and at this place down the street I knew someone there—they said come on down,” Devine said. “They asked me to be a partner, and I bought them out.”

When he saw students going to Chapel Hill, which (unfortunately) was the party locale in the 70s and early 80s, he said to himself, “Let’s see if we can keep the students around Durham,” and so began Devine’s, Devine said.

“We host a lot of parties, and if you want to have a band or karaoke or classical music, just come on down and we’ll host the party and you can enjoy yourselves,” Devine said.

That said, there is one huge caveat: when the Duke students come out to play, there are no guarantees. I have personally seen a belligerently drunk person rip the hat off another person’s head, glare at him—instigating a punch to the face. Needless to say there weren’t any infants around in booster seats about to witness this smackdown while their horrified mothers attempt to shield their eyes on this particular Saturday night.

On the plus side, if you ever are in a similar situation, take comfort in the fact that the security guards promptly broke up the altercation and kicked the aggressor out before anything happened. This is not to say that you are guaranteed a fight every Saturday, but it does hint at the not-so-subtle crowd shifts that happen between weekdays and weekends, and early evenings and late nights.

On any given night and at any given time, the culture and atmosphere can vary significantly. The general trend is: many fraternity-hosted parties on Thursdays, Duke students and frequenting locals on Fridays and Saturdays, typical sports bar on Sundays and a family dinner restaurant on all other nights, along with the few “I’m going to get wasted on a random weekday” people go out to enjoy the college life.

As for its future, Devine hinted at possible changes and expansions.

“I have looked at different places,” Devine said. “I think what’s difficult is finding the necessary people that will take ownership and want to do a great job.”

He also mentioned that Devines is currently underway changing its menu and will offer more catering and customized orders in the near future.

Regardless of possible changes, Devine’s blood runs Duke blue and is an excellent spot to watch sports, enjoy a meal or have a classic night on the town with your fellow Dukies.

Duke Mythbusters

28 Sep 2011, Posted by Andrew Karim in Backpages, 0 Comments

Sophia Palenberg/The Chronicle

Prior to coming to Duke, you may or may not have scoured through college review websites, YouTube videos, blogs and so on to get the most questionable information on your soon-to-be alma mater. After sifting through the Internet and listening to what all your friends had to say about the Gothic Wonderland, you were probably left with a skewed vision of this place. I’m here to un-skew it.

Myth 1: Duke is extremely Southern

Yes, sweet tea is served at almost every reception—but other than that, Duke might as well be in New England. Saying y’all will often result in stares; no one owns a shotgun; and everyone and their mother is from New York, Florida or California. Our notions of “the South” include Tribeca, Los Angeles and Miami.

Myth 2: Most Duke kids are athletes

Duke has a strong sports program. Many of us, however, don’t know how to throw a ball.

Myth 3: Fraternities and sororities own the social scene

Only if you want them to. Some kids will have attended hundreds of frat parties after four years here, but others will have never made it to one. With SLGs, 9th street bars and random parties your friends throw (make friends on Central), navigating the scene can easily be done—sans Greek letters. At the end of the night, we’ll always have Shooters, which leads me to my next myth.

Myth 4: Shooters is awesome

No. If by  “awesome”, you mean getting harassed at the door by creepy men with missing teeth, awkwardly dancing with that girl from your lecture who always ignores you when she’s sober and absorbing your weight in sweat (not your sweat, that fat guy’s whose trying to freak to Nicki Minaj), then yes, it’s awesome.

Myth 5: Everyone is a prodigy

False. Just because Duke is selective doesn’t mean some airheads don’t slip in. So, there’s this thing called legacy—it happens. There’s this other thing called donations—it also happens. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of smart folk; they’re just not as prevalent as you would think.

Myth 6: Duke is super conservative

See: Duke is extremely Southern.

Myth 7: Duke is a party school

Tell that to the people camped out in the Carpenter Reading Room in Bostock. Dukies know how to have a good time, but when it comes to studying, there is little room for screwing around. We take our academics seriously and have the Red Bull—and eyes—to prove it.

Myth 8: Durham is scary and dangerous

Have you ever taken a walk down 9th Street? Notice anything interesting about the types of people you saw? I’m going to let you in on a little secret: there are three kinds of people who live in Durham (or at least the parts that surround campus): hipsters, Duke students and more hipsters. The scariest thing that can happen around these parts is a skinny jean shortage or the realization that Parliaments are essentially Marlboros in a blue box.

Myth 9: Everyone’s rich

A lot of Duke students come from money, but it wouldn’t be accurate to apply this to everyone. Many of Dukies are on financial aid, hold merit scholarships, have work-study jobs or take out loans to pay for their education. Money is one of the more taboo issues on campus, but not all of us are swimming in it by any means.

Myth 10: Sorrorities don’t have sectioned housing due to N.C. brothel laws

Lies. Ever been to UNC? Sorority row is right on Franklin Street.