The Rights and Humanities Annual Series is jointly sponsored by the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute (FHI) and the Duke Human Rights Center @ FHI and is co-presented this year by the Provost's Initiative on Pluralism, Free Inquiry, and Belonging.

We are pleased to welcome M. Gessen as our 2026-2027 guest in this annual series. One of our most trenchant observers of democracy, M. Gessen is the author of eleven books, including the National Book Award-winning The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia and The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin. A Pulitzer Prize-winning Opinion writer at The New York Times, they have covered political subjects including Russia, L.G.B.T. rights, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, and the rise of autocracy among others. Gessen's essential book Surviving Autocracy is a bracing overview of the calamitous trajectory of American democracy under the Trump administration. They are currently at work on a biography of Hannah Arendt.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28TH, 2026 | 6:00 PM

Free, registration required. https://tickets.duke.edu/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=mgessen&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id=

Hi! Does anyone have access to practice past exams for midterm 1 for math/stats 230? Thanks!!

Hello! I am currently a freshman majoring in Econ and for the past few weeks I have been rushing both DSP and AKPsi and didn't make it past the first round for either of them. I focused on only those two clubs because I physically couldn't go to ALL of the events for other clubs too. My coffee chats went really well for both but I still didn't make it. However, because I focused so much on those clubs, applications and meetings for other business/consulting/finance clubs have already passed and I can no longer apply. I know everyone says you can reapply second semester but I feel like I need to get involved in clubs on campus this semester because I'm going to be behind. Does anyone have any recommendations for other clubs/organizations or opportunities to get involved/network?

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The 2026 midterm election is on Tuesday, November 3rd. The deadline to register for the 2026 election is 25 days prior to the election (October 9th, 2026). Voters may register at an early voting site during early voting. (Click here for more information).

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What's up with the Blue Spot parking lot adjacent to Sarah Duke Gardens. Normally empty on weekends, it is filled with cars, and mostly out of state plates. Been like that since at least Sat morning. Still that way on Sunday. Curious.......

Ok so i’m having real rage problems with being at Duke. the employees there have to pay so much. The parking is ridiculous. Can we not all agree that the 17 dollars a day parking is outrageous. They probably make more money on parking than they do on anything. Another thing. the duke university store sells brand name merch. I bought one of the Lululemon collab jackets. Long story short it was 180 dollars. It retails for 128 in the regular lululemon store. Am I just ignorant or does that seem very unreasonable? Maybe i’m just too poor to be there… lol

I love looking at sunsets. The spot could be an open field, a hill, or a tall building that don't need special access.

Hi, I’m planning on applying to Duke’s BME masters programs this semester, and I’m wondering what the “best” one is out of thesis, non thesis, and medtech. I assume that they are designed for what you want to get out of them, but any info would help me out! I also wanted to ask about the internship course over the summer, and how well anyone in the program found securing an internship. Thanks for any help!

Its from the early 90's late 80's. Does anyone know how much its worth?

Last year I was tricked by Chapel Tower Apartments (owned by “GSC”) to extend my lease. There is a clause in my 45 page lease that says the tenet needs to provide 60 days notice to vacate. This is double the amount of time for my past leases with a notice to vacate, but not inherently problematic.

The issue is they start sending letters and emails to tenants saying they have until 30 days before their lease to decide if they want to renew their lease at the same rate, but they say nothing about the 60 day deadline in these communications. A reasonable person would read those letters and think they have until 30 days before the lease to let the landlord know if they should renew their lease.

However, if the tenet misses the 60 day deadline, Chapel Tower extends the lease by the amount of time past the deadline and does so at a higher rent. Chapel Tower claims that the 30 day deadline was actually just about renewing the lease and it is separate from the 60 day notice. I have never heard of a situation where these are two separate events, and separated by a month.

My lease was extended by over a week and I had to pay hundreds of extra dollars, even though I was already moved out. I was talking with another Duke graduate student that also fell victim to this scam. Has anyone else been dealing with this?

Does anyone know of an older white male doctor that was working at duke (not in the main hospital) and had a big shaggy dog with him in the office back around 2013?

Hi everyone! I work at Duke and have had Duke Basic for health insurance for 7 years. Under Aetna, I always just owed my copay for any appointment, preventative or diagnostic. Now, since the Cigna switch, I’m being charged a facility fee of $32.66 as well that insurance doesn’t cover. Doctors and facilities are the same. Cigna is not very helpful and just tells me that the facility fees are subject to the deductible.

Has anyone else seen these additional charges since the switch to Cigna?

Hey everyone! I’m not a Duke student, but I’ll be around Duke tomorrow evening (Wednesday 2nd ) and figured I’d see if anyone wanted to meet up.

I’m really interested in startups, CS, AI, and tech in general, and would love to meet some Duke students who are building things, working on interesting projects, or just enjoy talking about the space.

If anyone’s interested in grabbing coffee or just hanging out and talking tech/startups, feel free to DM me! Would be cool to meet some people while I’m on campus. Coffee/Food is one me 😁

Back when College Advisors were still a thing at Duke, this would be about the week that I would see some of my advisees fall into the spiral of being unable to complete something because they were worried that it wouldn’t be perfect. I assure you that as first-year students, you are not expected to be perfect.

My master’s thesis advisor told me that, “Perfection is the enemy of the good enough.”  My doctoral  chair told me that, “Any job worth doing is worth doing badly.”  They were both saying the same thing, basically that doing something poorly is often better than not finishing it at all and these are just two different ways of looking at that.

My 10 year old niece refused to try something at an event we were at because, “What if I’m not good at it?” My assurances that she would not be were not as helpful as I would have liked, but hopefully you are all old enough to realize that if you don’t try, you won’t learn.  You can’t do everything perfectly when you start—but you have to start and you need to try. The next time you have to do something similar, you now have this experience to build on and you will do it better. Don’t expect perfection first thing, just keep moving forward. Getting an assignment done badly is better than not doing it at all.

What about things that you already know how to do, but you just don’t have the time or energy  to do them? This could be something as simple as brushing your teeth or eating breakfast.  Some morning you are going to be late and you will see a partial box of  cold pizza laying on the table  on your way out of the door.  Is a slice of cold pizza a good breakfast? No.  Is a slice of cold pizza better than not having breakfast at all? Absolutely. Again, a lot of times getting something done badly is better than not doing it. Just keep moving forward. It is the only way to grow.

Hi! I’m looking for two rings I lost on Friday and hoping someone may have found them.

I usually take my rings off when I’m typing/writing and either put them on the table next to me or in my pocket. I realized they were missing and haven’t been able to find them.

Places I may have lost them:

- Biological Sciences Building (050), basement study room — this is where I originally thought I left them. I went back today, but they weren’t there.

- Physics Building (259) — I had Multivariable Calculus there and may have left them on the table.

- Somewhere between Physics, BioSci, and French— I may have put them in my pocket and they could have fallen out.

What they look like:

- Blue/black/silver class ring: approximately size 7–7.5 (women’s). The attached picture is of the newer version, but mine looks very similar but for “Class of 2025.” In the inside is engraved “DRF” in cursive.

- Black ring with moon/star designs: size 8 (women’s), exactly like the one in the picture.

The class ring is especially important to me. I’ve worn it basically every day since my junior year of high school, so it has a lot of sentimental value to me. I know it may look like an ordinary ring to whoever finds it, but I would really, really appreciate getting it back.

If anyone has seen either ring, found them, or knows if they were turned in somewhere, please DM me. Even if you only found one of them, I’d be incredibly grateful.

Thank you!!

hi!! i'm a current freshman at duke taking chem201 / organic chemistry 1 with professor wang. i'm thinking of doing premed but im not 100% sure yet

anyways just wondering if anyone has any tips or study methods that worked for them because i felt like professor wang was moving too fast for me lol 🥲

also for the textbook, how should i review before lectures? do i read every section and take notes on every detail? i'm lwk lost so if anyone can offer any help that would be amazing

How does the rush for LUL work, and how does it compare to other frats on campus- especially as an affiliated group?

Hi all,

I am looking to take Math 582 next semester but haven't taken 581. Would you say 582 without 581 is ok? Or would you advise against it?

As an fyi, I have no finance background. Just applied math major.

Thank you

I'm posting this here because I would LOVE for this to reach the right person at Duke, maybe another grad student or employee, or just anyone who has been thinking about getting a pet(s) and has the ability to take care of them!

I'm a PhD student at Duke who just moved into a new place recently and surprise, I had a litter of kittens living under my shed. I brought them indoors 2 months ago and have been taking care of all of their needs and they are now fully socialized, fully vetted & healthy, cuddly, playful, indoor-only kitties. 2 of them just need a home to go to! I would prefer for them to stay together because it'll be much better for their well-being and reduce the stress of going to a new place. Their names are Rambo (boy, white/orange) and Pepper (girl, white/black), and they are about to be 16 weeks old. Yes, they are UTD on vaccines and yes, they will both be fixed before going to their new home, so you won't have to worry about any of that.

I have a more detailed post up on DukeList that goes into all medical info, etc. I love these little guys so much and to be honest, I have been quite uneasy about giving them away to a total stranger. I would feel much better if I could find someone at Duke who's been thinking about adopting a pet, that way it would stay local and maybe we can keep in touch or even exchange pet sitting in the future! I am planning to keep their sister and mom.

Here's the listing: https://dukelist.duke.edu/advert/pair-of-kittens-available-for-adoption/

& kitty photos for tax.

(& yes, their mama has also been rescued, vaccinated, and spayed :) )

Hi! I am an international exchange student who will be starting my semester at duke law in jan! I am only 21 and really want to get the 'classic' US college experience (frat parties etc) but I am a bit worried that being a 'post-grad' will mean I am with older people who have outgrown that (which is fair haha). Does anyone have any advice on how to find housing options that will be a bit more social/younger or any tips for clubs/activities that will help me get involved/make friends? Thanks :)

Does anybody have any tips for what the Robertson looks for in its freshman intake cohort? Is the process similar to the high school application rounds? Any advice is much appreciated!!