Students can wake Duke up from its cognitive slumber
By: Elizabeth Ayer
Last update: 1/18/06 at 11:36 AM EST
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Indeed it is true that many of us never even gave the decision of whether to go to college or not much thought--the question was simply where. In that sense, it certainly was the case that we were led to college, perhaps by the expectations of our parents.
It is also true that many people do not think. The bulk of our "education" is not necessarily memorization, but is fairly formulaic and learning does not extend very far beyond the classroom. Duke maybe ranked very well, but constantly analyzing and weighing the significance of every aspect of the world around us--this is not a feature normally ascribed to Duke students.
It is all very well for people to lament the lack of intellectualism or multi-culturalism on campus. President Keohane's recent column is a sterling example of yet another persuasive person inciting the student body embrace diversity, to educate himself.
This leaves Duke, however, with a very interesting paradox. The student body is not intellectually active, which implies that students, though they may be dissatisfied, do not have the inclination to take a more active role in their own educations for whatever reasons--be it comfort with the status quo, lack of time or courage. Faculty, the administration and frustrated students have tried all manner of methods to motivate the student body. Mostly, they either provide opportunities for students who want to diversify their experiences or remove restrictions which may be damping academic enthusiasm.
Neither of these methods can work without a student body that is already fired up about learning. Either approach will simply augment the intellectual lethargy of the campus. You can add water to or dry out a damp rag, but neither will make the rag jump up and jig.
This is not to say that there is no hope for our campus. Any student earnestly interested in pursuing further knowledge can find an accessible library and available faculty to help aid and direct study. Moreover, those who recruit for the school certainly have the ability to bring in students who care more about thinking than about grades. Once students get here, the school ought to take care not to sway their priorities so that honors become more important than learning. Any school at which 600 students pay money to join an honor society they have never even heard of has clearly failed at this goal.
The fact is that most students at Duke, while very bright, are not outgoing in the realm of ideas. This is not said in disgust or derision, but stated as a simple truth. Many people are not satisfied with the social and academic scenes, but never find a way to change them. What students do not seem to realize is that unlike voting, the little changes people make in their daily lives will indeed make a difference in the intellectual climate around us. Interest in and outside of class is infectious. Once a few people begin to blur the line between class and the rest of life, regaining their intellectual enthusiasm, interest can spread like wild fire, even in an environment as "anti-intellectual" as Duke.
Moreover, every one of us could do with a daily dose of the fact that we students are not at Duke as a pre-medical, pre-graduate job training. In getting into this school, we have won ourselves the time and place to free our minds to soar with intellectual passion. The ability is all here among even the most reserved Duke students to seek, to discover and to express. All it takes is the alertness and freedom of mind that active learning and discussion can bring.
Duke is a university bursting with untapped talent. Every student who gained admission did so on the basis of his or her own potential to draw from and add to a rapidly growing pool of knowledge. Each student brings to the University a set of unique experiences, skills and viewpoints that can add to the true value of a Duke education. Vigorous learning, though, demands that introspection be abandoned in favor of communication, particularly in the exchange of ideas with peers. The goal should not be faculty-student interaction, but rather student-student interaction, for the majority of the wealth from diversity lies in the student body.
Active learning, however, is not something that can be mandated into our lives; I can make suggestions, but you yourself must weigh the issues and, if you choose, add a spark to the intellectual life at Duke. It only takes a few bus-stop or U-Room conversations and a personal decision to consider the world around us to change the climate of the Duke academic life. If you are dissatisfied, consider it: Make some new observations, make some radical suggestions or even challenge someone even on an unimportant point. Intellectual enthusiasm comes from inside. Discussion gives rise to intellectual fervor. Let excitement grow and the climate will become ripe for learning.
Elizabeth Ayer is a Trinity junior.
