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Caldbeck, the penitent Duke bro? Last Thursday, Justin Caldbeck, the disgraced ventured capitalist and Duke alumni (Trinity, ‘99), was on campus to speak to students in a finance class about the dangers of “bro-culture.” Caldbeck famously resigned this past summer from Binary Capital, a leading venture capital firm in the Silicon Valley, amidst a wave of sexual harassment claims by female peers in the industry. According to Bloomberg Businessweek and The Chronicle, Caldbeck gave a 51-slide presentation to about 50 students in which he highlighted the toxic masculinity inherent within the Silicon Valley and at Duke. Caldbeck, in speaking to the class, also stated that he took “full responsibility for his actions” and highlighted the “importance of speaking out against sexual harassment.” Caldbeck’s speech and presence at Duke was obviously problematic in a number of regards. Although Caldbeck did emphasize taking “full responsibility for his actions,” nonetheless his emphasis on “lacking self-awareness” and blaming the toxic “bro-culture” at Duke and the Silicon Valley for his actions does not justify the fact that as an individual, self-cognizant man in a position of power, he sexually harassed his female peers, notwithstanding obvious structural factors. The fact remains that he was obviously “self-aware” of the problematic,
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“Super proud of Gabrielle Stewart. Congratulations on the Rhodes Scholarship ....DUKE Proud” — Barbara Summey Marshall on Nov. 19 article, “Senior
Gabrielle Stewart named Rhodes Scholar”
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misogynistic nature of “bro-culture”—rather he quite oppositely relished in it from his position of power. Moreover, although Edward Tirayakin (the lecturer who hosted Caldbeck) stated that he thought Caldbeck represented a “good learning lesson” for his students as someone “who did some pretty bad things and lost a lot of money,” clearly Caldbeck is benefiting professionally off his wrongdoings as evident by his recent actions. Caldbeck has embarked upon the
Editorial Board much-trodden path of past offenders, portraying himself as a “penitent sinner” and in the process professionally benefiting off of speaking events as well as his very public, self-styled campaign of “selfawareness.” Clearly, even for the most egregious sexual offenders, there is definitely a professional afterlife—as evident by the “Head of Self-Reflection, Accountability & Change” himself. However, Caldbeck is correct in highlighting the toxic masculinity inherent at Duke and consequently within the professional world. A former walk-on for Duke’s basketball team and a fraternity member, Caldbeck noted in his talk of a common culture of
sexualizing and objectifying women ingrained within male organizations on campus. At a campus where 40 percent of undergraduate women report being sexually assaulted, it follows that such an unsafe environment continues into the professional world where men like Caldbeck can continue their actions in a maledominated workplace. As someone who has engaged with this “bro-culture” ever since his days at Duke, it is deplorable that it took an entire professional scandal for Caldbeck to become conscious of the inherently problematic nature of this undeterred chain of toxic masculinity. Caldbeck’s presence on campus as well his postscandal behavior is especially shameful as an alum who is clearly professionally benefiting off of his previous wrongdoings. Moreover, instead of using the Caldbeck case as an example of “It can happen to you” in order to deter sexual assault/harassment on campus and in the professional realm, we should aim to instead ameliorate the structural, cultural causes of such behavior in a way that recognizes the fundamental human right of every student and employee to feel safe. It is going to take more than a one-dimensional act of public penance from a disgraced Duke-affiliated sexual-harasser in order to truly create a campus and professional world where everyone feels safe.
Annual B.S. competition
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uke students continued an age-old tradition this past week as thousands of undergrads hunkered down for the commencement of the 17th biannual Busyness and Stress (B.S.) Competition. The cut-throat game, which challenges students to seem busier and more stressed than their peers, has long been a favorite of Duke students, dating back years to dorm rooms, lab basements, and library cubicles.
Monday Monday NOT NOT TRUE
Appearing constantly occupied and aggressively worried about coursework, extracurriculars, and social life is at the heart of the B.S. image. Three seniors formalized the game several years ago, striving to “build more community around Duke students’ B.S.” Ever since, the Competition has brought students together and tested them in myriad ways— ultimately asking, who’s the B.S. master? Although the time frame of unofficial games varies (with some students competing for four years straight), the official Competition spans three weeks during the fall and spring semesters, during which students are “constantly considered in-game” and must “ceaselessly” put on their most aggressive Busyness and Stress image. Each day, judges vote on the most “B.S.-qualified” contestants. Those who don’t make the cut are immediately eliminated—with the stakes getting higher each round. This cut-throat sense of competition and impending failure, said one organizer, “really pushes students” to do their best. “We find that even though students might underestimate just how much B.S. they’re capable of, it’s often far more than they think— they just need a little feeling of inadequacy!” Judges emphasize that no quantitative metrics, such as number of clubs or hours of homework, are recorded during the game—since it’s “not about
understanding how busy they actually are.” Instead, this year’s head judge said, it’s about “the general vibe” of the contestant. “The kind of B.S. we look for in Duke students isn’t that tangible stuff on paper, like clubs or jobs or research or whatever, but really just, like, the ambiance—how success feels around them.” Despite there being no single, defined path to victory, according to a former judge, there are “definitely clear B.S. strategies among previous winners.” Last semester’s champion, for instance, blended “constant complaints about grades” and “pointlessly late weeknights” with social media “grandstanding” and a “frantic-looking walk” to come across as the busiest and most-stressed student of the semester. The junior was actually moved to tears when he was announced the winner, then saying, “it almost makes all the misery worth it.” Another previous victor leveraged subtle signaling to out-B.S. her peers. “I remember she always wore workout clothes,” recalled one alumna who remembered the “legendary” competition round. “And she would always leave mixers early to finish her problem set,” she said, which was an “impressive” touch. “And then there was the color-coded agenda, the textbooks she would hulk around—it all left such an impression.” The alumna added that she “really admired” the student’s commitment to her lack thereof. Other assorted success tactics include exercising at bizarre hours, cancelling plans with friends to “study,” shoveling in food while walking, and blowing off dates because “it’s just been really busy lately.” Alongside this, though, the Competition’s creators noted that physical appearance should in no way suffer – the best competitors “find ways to still look great during the day, but also rock that ‘I’ve-been-in-Perk-for-sixhours’ sweatpants look come 2 A.M.” Ultimately, only one undergraduate can walk away victorious—the true master of B.S., the recipient of an enormous participation ribbon and the true admiration of their anxious peers. Monday Monday was unable to reach non-B.S.participants for comment – they were too busy actually working.
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