BSA’s Final Honors Ceremony Movie
To prepare for the the Black Student Alliance’s Final Honors ceremonies, I have created this comment space for seniors to provide feedback on what they would like to see in the graduation movie.
The Movie Committee wants to create a short film, no longer than 10 minutes, that provides an entertaining view of our past 4 years at Duke University.
We are still in the planning phase, so if you have any ideas add them as comments.
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I think the video should incorporate student memories.
I think this movie will provide good memories for students and parents
I definitely think the movie should have a representation of freshman year some where in it. Because that was the best times of Duke (for most of us) and that is when we first met people and connections started happening.
I would suggest using facebook as a source of photos for the slide show portion of the movie, perhaps we can discuss some ideas I have over dinner
I came across this site while doing some research on diversity measures being used at universities. As an alum, I just want to express my disappointment that the so-called “Black Graduation†ceremony continues. I have no problem explaining that as a white male who is race-blind and who strives for ethnic and cultural communication and celebration, I am saddened that well-educated, dynamic students are comfortable self-segregating and separating themselves from other Duke graduates. I am not one of those idiots who thinks that a good way to express my frustration is to have a “White graduationâ€, because I think there is certainly some merit to minorities gathering to encourage and celebrate each other. Thus, I don’t know exactly where I stand, but I hope that black students remember that those excluded from the title of the ceremony itself may feel resentment and rejection. I realize that our society is not yet race-blind and opportunities are not yet equal for all people, but explicit self-segregation is a self-centered way of looking at the inequities. It may be the more comfortable thing to do just because of the inherently segregated society that we grew up in, but the more difficult choice of self-integration may allow us to achieve our ultimate goal. We just have to decide what our ultimate goal really is. Is it short-term comfort? Or is it long-term enrichment, peace, understanding, and reconciliation? And remember the cultural connections that we can all share in – art, music, religion, food, etc. All of these things can be shared in a race-neutral, inclusive way.
Thank you Mike for your comment. As a current student participating in the ceremony, I am well aware of the issues that you raised in your post.
In some ways, the title of the blog post was inaccurate, in that the name of the ceremony has been changed from BSA’s Black Graduation Ceremony to the Final Honors Ceremony. This name change occurred about two years ago when objections were made that the title of this ceremony seemed to suggest a self-segregation mentality.
Another reason for the name change is that this ceremony is not meant to exclude others. This year there are various individuals from different ethnic groups who associate with the black community who were invited to participate in the ceremony, receive stoles and a memory book as a graduation gift – like other students in the ceremony.
And on self-segregation: This ceremony is meant to provide a final outlet during graduation for self-identified members of Duke’s black community to convene one last time before official graduation ceremonies the following morning.
In no way is this final honors ceremony a replacement for the Wallace Wade graduation practices held the following morning.
I apologize for the use of the old ‘black grad’ name. I have since renamed the title of this post. I am sorry for the confusion.
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hi
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good luck