THE RECENT move of theAlpha Phi Alpha Fraternity,Inc. from the Black Fraternal Council to the Inter-Fraternity Council has kindled much debate on Grounds. While many were encouraged by the transition, the Alphas were also criticized by some students and administrators for flying in the face of black tradition. Most notably, Office of African-American Affairs Dean M. Rick Turner lambasted the switch, saying, "Martin Luther King, Jr. was an Alpha, and he would roll over in his grave if he knew that these young men made this move." Such an opinion highlights a problematic trend in social thought. At the University and around the world, people routinely misunderstand the role history ought to play in our lives, allowing an over-preponderance of the past to prevent us from living a rational life.
One of the most quoted maxims in our canon reminds us that "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." Here at Mr. Jefferson's university, we certainly heed this warning, immersing ourselves in history day in and day out. And we are not alone. International headlines are replete with history -- the 60th anniversaries of D-Day, Auschwitz and, this past Sunday, the Allied bombing of Dresden. History is clearly a major part of our social consciousness.
Thus it was of little surprise last week when Associate Dean of Students David Bynes defended Turner and others who opposed the Alphas' move to the IFC by citing the weighty history of black fraternal organizations. In a guest column ("Standing by Truth," Feb. 10), Bynes provided an articulate reminder of the origins of black fraternal organizations and their historic mission, arguing that the Alphas' move has "much larger implications" at the University and beyond. Bynes' argument is a familiar one. Amidst any discussion of racial issues on Grounds we are reminded to consider current events in light of the role race has played in University and American history.
Indeed, racial discrimination led to many atrocities, and it is surely not an error to consider racial history when pondering our current situation. We ought to learn from past racial problems as we do from historic instances of tyranny, disaster or war. But there is a fine line between learning from the past and allowing it to dictate the future, in local matters concerning race as well as international questions regarding war.
As mentioned above, Sunday marked the 60th anniversary of the disastrous firebombing of Dresden, Germany, toward the end of the Second World War. For years, students of history across the globe have learned about the horrors of combat from this incident. But today, Dresden's history is serving a more insidious purpose. Germany's National Democratic Party, considered a right-wing fringe group, cites the incident as evidence of atrocities against Germany and refuses to commemorate Holocaust victims. Memories of Dresden, it seems, are as able to polarize as they are to educate.
From an objective standpoint, such bickering is hard to fathom. Every nation involved in World War II both suffered horrible loss and engaged in some regrettable actions. But it seems clear that, even with bitter memories still fresh in many people's minds, Europeans ought to focus on the future rather than allow history to force them into restrictive roles dictated by their ethnic heritage.
Would that it were all so simple.
While it is more difficult to judge our own actions so detachedly, we on Grounds similarly suffer from what philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche called "historical fever." Basing our social logic on historical precedent, we tend to operate via generalizations instead of specifics. We think of reparation rather than common sense. We see racial groups, not individuals. And we allow all this to mandate our actions. While we no longer run the risk of repeating history for lack of remembrance, we allow the past to limit the present and redact the future.
No University student or group should feel limited by history. Turner and Bynes are wrong to suggest that anything in the past is so important that it preempts free, logical action today.
We at the University are more than the sum of our history. Above and beyond our families, our nationalities and our ethnicities, we are individuals deserving consideration as such. Especially at a university, a place constantly refreshing itself with new minds and new ideas, we must not think of ourselves as history's pawns. For those who cannot look beyond history are doomed to forever live in its shadow.
Nick Chapin's column usually appears Tuesdays in The Cavlier Daily. He can be reached at nchapin@cavalierdaily.com.
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