Dartblog

In “At Duke, Professors cum Prosecutors,” I made note of the oft-overlooked institutional element of the Duke rape case. In particular, I explored the significant role of activist professors in causing the on-campus frenzy. One aspect I missed was the dissension the Duke administration has sewn by appearing to have deserted its own students. A recent graduate of Duke University, now an engineer with the United States Air Force, sent me the message below, and I thought I ought to share it.

Joe-

I graduated from Duke this past spring, and just want to shoot you a quick comment, especially now that the case has jumped up again. When the allegations first came out (when The Duke Chronicle reported a rape occurred at the lax house), much of the student body raised an eyebrow, but were maybe not totally surprised — after all, the lax guys did have their reputation. But as more and more details came out and it blew up nationally, the large majority of students thought it through rationally and realized that the players were probably innocent of such charges, fairly early on. Sure, they were a little over the top, but they were still fellow Duke students, and not more “barbaric” or such than the rest of us. It just didn’t seem realistic.

And while the Duke administration’s initial stance — condemning the actions if true, and letting the initial investigation proceed — was certainly understandable, over time the tide changed dramatically. As it became quite clear to everyone paying attention that these 3 students were innocent of the outrageous charges, the Duke administration did not change its tune. Sure, while some members would occasionally slip a “more information has come out that might possibly cloud what happened that day” into an informal talk, the school as a whole never released any kind of statement that changed their attitude from essentially backing the accuser/Nifong, to actually supporting their own students and reputation. All it would have taken was a press release, something apologizing for preemptively canceling the lax season (something nearly all students disagreed with) and inviting the suspended students back to campus, if they chose to return (knowing full well they wouldn’t anyway until the trial was over).

Something to reassure the current students and recent alumni that the school actually backed its own. However, this never happened, and still hasn’t, as it is abundantly clear the whole case is bunk. Everyone knows it. This is what Duke students are furious about. Even if they did not personally know the accused, or even a lacrosse player, seeing how Duke has treated its own disgusts us. I don’t know how many students I have heard talk about how this will affect their future view of the school, and any possible alumni relations. While Duke students certainly support the ‘idea of Duke’ — a great education, outstanding athletics, and a vibrant social life — the administration (which was on poor terms with the students to begin with for constantly changing the school without consulting students) not supporting its own only continues a trend of which Duke students are tired.

Were students pissed at the national assaults about race/ class/ elitism/ etc.? Sure, but that has subsided as even The New York Times has changed their tune. What hasn’t changed is the stance by the administration, and this is what will come back to harm the school in the long run. Why support your school if they won’t support you? Duke students love Duke for the other students there, not for the administration and [its] polic[ies] that seem in constant conflict with the undergraduate experience.

I bet this [sudden decline in applications to Duke] would be reversed if Duke had come back swift and hard in a campaign to clear the names of their own students over the last few months, instead of stand idly by while the school’s name continued to be dragged through the mud. Upon my alma mater coming up in conversation, I would much rather have a person comment “I thought it was great how Duke stood by their students once the truth came out,” instead of “Oh man, what ever happened with those lacrosse kids? Did you know any of them?”

College administrators often speak of community. Isn’t it an essential part of community to defend one’s community against unfounded or overbroad attacks?