As the media frenzy surrounding Duke this past week begins to die down, we as a student body are reminded of life’s fragility. For on Sunday, February 10, 2013, Duke University lost one of its own. Unfortunately, as chronicled on Facebook and other social media outlets, a poor Duke squirrel was attacked by a hawk and preyed upon on the main quad.
Duke squirrels are very much a part of our campus. They have been at Duke for many generations – I recently read a letter about a squirrel that was trapped in a campus vending machine in 1966 – and I know that most students certainly feel a connection to them. Whether you are dodging them as they run across the walkways along the main quad, watching them enjoy someone’s half eaten burger out of a trashcan, or laughing awkwardly as they openly perform mating rituals, you have interacted with one of these furry creatures at some point during your time here at Duke. Personally, I think the Duke squirrels are a lot like us. They spend their days rushing around campus trying to balance their time between socializing and finding food. They know how to have fun, but they also know how to be successful and get down to business when competing for resources with their fellow squirrels. These squirrels also face threats every day of their lives from the hawks that often fly overhead.
A few weeks ago, I witnessed something pretty incredible while I was walking past the trees on the main quad. I heard a squirrel on the tree trunk next to me begin making a loud chattering noise that eventually built up into a scream. At first I thought the squirrel was going to attack me and I started to break into a fast walk, but then I saw a squirrel on a nearby tree begin to chatter as well. Soon, all of the squirrels on all the trees in the quad were chattering in unison. It suddenly dawned on me that the squirrels were communicating with each other; this chatter was a warning system! I looked up, and sure enough a hawk was circling the trees looking for a squirrel to eat for dinner.
The point is, I think there is something we can learn from our squirrel counterparts. Even though they don’t always get along with each other, when times get tough they protect each other. Instead of just hiding quietly in their trees, they stay strong as a community and make sure that they are all safe. Recently, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding Duke, and the media has certainly been enjoying blasting Duke students negatively into the public sphere. Instead of turning on each other, we should band together as a community and do as the squirrels do. Unfortunately, our deceased squirrel friend fell prey to a hawk, but that doesn’t mean any of us have to. If there are predators circling Duke, it’s up to us whether or not they succeed in eating us for dinner.
WARNING: Graphic Images Below
Photo Credit: Rachel Shenker
R.I.P
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