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During their Duke careers,graduating seniors Gerald Oliver,Katie Mitchell and Ashley Joyce have helped improve race relations,Greek life,classroom honesty and other important aspects of campus life.
Their work illustrates how many students are choosing to make a positive difference in their own communities,said Larry Moneta,vice president for student affairs.
"Students are reclaiming their social life in a much broader way," Moneta said."It's happening in key pockets around campus."
Several student-led groups have emerged in the aftermath of the Women's Initiative,said Donna Lisker,director of the Women's Center.Active Minds encourages students to think about mental illness.Devil Dating aims to improve the campus dating scene.A women's mentoring group links students with faculty and alumni.
"These initiatives represent all different kinds of students who see some piece of the puzzle that looks familiar to them,and they decide to take this particular piece on," Lisker said."That's been wonderful to see."
Gerald Oliver
The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) arrived on Duke's campus when Gerald Oliver was a sophomore.By his senior year,he was president of NPHC,the umbrella organization for the nine historically black fraternities and sororities,six of which are represented at Duke.
As the leader of a young organization,Oliver worked to strengthen NPHC's voice,establish its place in the Greek system and smooth out communication between Duke administrators and black Greeks.That entailed going to lots of meetings and speaking up,he said.
"I haven't been involved with big stuff that makes the paper," Oliver said."I didn't organize a super program; it was more day-to-day things."
Oliver,who is also a member of Campus Council,made time for weekly meetings of the Community Executive Council,where the presidents of the four Greek councils -- NPHC,the Interfraternity Council,the Inter-Greek Council and the Pan-Hellenic Association -- discussed such issues as housing,recruitment,hazing policies and community service.
"The things that IFC and Pan-Hell do affect us,and the things we do affect them," Oliver said."We made a lot of effort in that group to make sure we were working together since our fates are tied."
Fraternities and sororities have been viewed as self-segregating organizations,but Oliver said that black fraternities and sororities have helped lift up the black community that historically has had a disadvantage in higher education.
"It would be inaccurate to say there is no color division," said Oliver,a psychology major who is applying to business schools for the fall."But just because the organizations serve different purposes doesn't mean they can't interact and understand each other."
The student-run Center for Race Relations has helped open lines of communication by bringing together Oliver's fraternity,Alpha Phi Alpha,and the almost all-white Kappa Alpha fraternity to discuss issues they previously hadn't had a venue to address.
"We had a lot of good conversations," Oliver said,"but it doesn't mean much if nobody beyond the leaders buys into that."
The diversity of Duke provides an opportunity for ethnic and cultural exchange that many students might not have had up to that point.When he returns to Duke over the years for homecoming,he would like to see race relations remain a priority and more members involved in the discussions.
"As long as conversations like that continue to happen," he said,"race relations on campus will get better."
Katie Mitchell
The Greek system still needs work,said Katie Mitchell,president of the Duke chapter of Delta Delta Delta sorority.But changes won't be easy to make because the Greek system is a microcosm of the larger world.
"The world is competitive; the world is exclusive; the world has standards that have little to do with who you are," Mitchell said.
Mitchell,and the Tri-Delts,forged ahead anyway.
The alcohol-free casino night the Tri-Delts sponsored in November was open to everyone on campus.The party attracted a cross-section of the student body,raised money for charity and may become a Tri-Delt tradition to help shrug off a reputation of exclusivity.
Once the Women's Initiative report added "effortless perfection" to the campus lexicon,Mitchell gathered the 170 women in her chapter for a discussion about eating disorders.
"Talking about it is the first step," she said."We need to talk about our experiences and move past them."
Mitchell believes that change can evolve through "small things done with a good heart and good intentions."
"I think my strength and who I am can be a force to change the system," she said.
In her leadership roles,Mitchell has learned that change forced upon others won't succeed.
"The administration can't impose any one culture on the students," she said."When we see things that need to be changed,we need to come together and ask,'How do we make this happen?'"
She joined 17 other women to write,edit and perform "All of the Above," a series of anonymous monologues about what it is like to be a woman at Duke.The performance sold out every night.
A public policy major with minors in women's studies and Spanish,Mitchell is off to Tanzania on a Hart Fellowship later this year to research women's legal rights in the East African country.
Ashley Joyce
The letter Ashley Joyce received as vice chair of the Undergraduate Judicial Board was every probation officer's dream.
A student returning to Duke from a one-year suspension for cheating wrote to thank board members for imposing the punishment.The time away from Duke,the student said,had given him a new perspective on honesty and integrity that he would carry with him beyond his undergraduate years.
"The hope and gratitude in that letter made me feel my work on UJB was worth it," Joyce said.
The spate of high-profile corporate officers "cheating behind the backs of consumers" indicates a dearth of integrity among the country's leaders,Joyce said.
"These are the kinds of decisions Duke is responsible for forming while you're here," she said."If we can be instrumental in shaping those decisions and how you treat other people,that's huge."
While pursuing her political science degree,Joyce has worked with the Honor Council and served on the Academic Integrity Council.She has also been a member of the Alpha Phi Omega service sorority and helped lead a Girl Scout troop.
She plans to teach English in France for a year before deciding whether to attend law school.Her involvement in the extracurricular organizations is a way of expressing how much her education at Duke means to her.
"It's a way of being fulfilled," she said."I feel involved in the heart of what's going on on campus.I couldn't imagine not doing anything like that while I was here.I'd feel like I was wasting my time."
Joyce praised the new Community Standard,which went into effect in fall 2003 and requires students to sign a pledge that they will uphold the values of the Duke community.Those include not lying,cheating or stealing or accepting those behaviors in others.
Through the Community Standard,Joyce said,students are more inclined to treat others with respect.Still,work remains for students to create an environment of honesty and respect.
"If we're going to make Duke a place where honesty and respect are part of the environment on campus,it needs to be owned by the students," she said."That's the biggest challenge next year."
Written by Nancy Oates