Stop banning reporters from covering campus protests
By Robin Kirk | 2 days agoDuke should allow outside press to cover authorized protests. This is not only the right thing to do. This communicates our values at a crucial moment in our history.
Duke should allow outside press to cover authorized protests. This is not only the right thing to do. This communicates our values at a crucial moment in our history.
The traditional playbook of encouraging speech for the sake of speech, as fast and as much as possible, may no longer be good enough.
With my height now sharpied on the door frame of the editor’s office and a note scribbled on the wall for the future editors to come, I — with bags under my eyes — look back on the past year proud of all we have accomplished and ready to pass on this paper to the next 120 lucky editors-in-chief to come.
Journalism isn’t fulfilling its purpose when our audience doesn’t trust us; why bother writing if no one’s going to read it? It’s clear the industry needs to change.
As I’m getting ready to graduate, I’m thinking about art and why we talk about it.
This job has taken me to many places. Literally — from Durham to Clemson to New York and beyond — but more than that, it’s taken me into moments of raw, fleeting emotion that I never would’ve witnessed otherwise.
What I am most proud of this volume is how many brilliant minds contributed to our coverage. It is fully a team effort.
This year, every time I walked into 301 Flowers and inevitably found our reporters, columnists and photographers chiseling away at their Pacemaker-award winning masterpieces, the norm did not apply. Every day challenged me and each person inspired me. The Chronicle made Duke exactly what I had hoped for.
At the ripe age of 26, however, I realize there’s a lot I haven’t learned since getting to Duke’s campus in 2016.
Hear from Volume 120's leadership and graduating Chronicle staff about their reflections on their time at the paper and Duke.
When I arrived at Duke, I knew I would get involved in sports. I could never have predicted the opportunities and community that this paper would give me.
I came to Duke knowing almost nothing about myself, and left with a community I value and a clear sense of purpose. That’s no accident. But it only happened because I made myself embrace the unknown.
By allowing myself to use only my eyes, to quiet my brain, and to observe, I discovered the corners of Duke that often go undiscovered.
The Chronicle made me feel seen in so many different ways. Every compliment I got about my ideas, every time I was shouted out in our weekly sports meetings — I always felt listened to. Nothing else I did or experienced at Duke was as unconditionally supportive as the halls of 301 Flowers.
I know now that belonging to a group is not just about sharing a common skill, ability or interest. Learning new photography techniques did not help me feel like I belonged to The Chronicle’s photo department. Creating deep relationships with those in it did.
While working as a Duke employee, I have also witnessed racial bias throughout my career. In my experience, this has created conflict and separation between employees and employers.
What hasn’t been said enough is what happens when universities like Duke don’t step in more proactively. Even well-intentioned support can fall short for students in the immigration system today. Here are three things Duke can do.
Through embracing uncertainty as a music major, the discovery came that creativity thrives not just in specialized art schools but right here at Duke — where collaboration, self-discovery and academia all contribute to being an artist.
What many don't know, aside from the fact that I’m “Monday Monday,” is that I applied for this position before I even stepped foot on campus.
I may have been wrong on the day after the election when I said not everything that was feared might come true. But I hope I am not wrong about my trust in those who had voted for Trump.