(no subject)
Honestly, where do you start to make this better?
On May 13th, the majority of the lacrosse team attended/hosted a party where there were 2 black strippers/dancers hired for the occasion. 3 members allegedly strangled and raped her for 30 minutes. Racist insults were also yelled at them from members of the team. DNA tests were taken from all members of the team except for the one black member on the team because the victim claimed that her attackers were all white. Campus protests went on all last week, complaining about the administration's slow response and in condemnation of the lacrosse team's alleged actions. Last week, 2 Duke students were attacked at a local fast food place and one of them was temporarily knocked unconscious, as well as being harassed by NC Central students who yelled that all Duke students were rapists. Also last week, a group of students just off campus were harassed by 3 separate cars with strangers who passed by them, pointing their hands in a shape of a gun and yelling, 'You'll see.' Just yesterday, the coach of the men's lacrosse team resigned. Also just yesterday, Durham police publicly released a seized email from one of players' accounts which talked about hiring, killing, and skinning another stripper, while "cumming in his duke issue spandex" and that student's name and number have been published to the public. He has consequently been suspended for his own safety. All lacrosse games and events have since been cancelled, leaving #2 Duke's lacrosse program indefinitely halted.
This line of events have touched on and sparked so many underlying issues on just about every part of Duke life. The fact that these players were able to hire strippers (if you don't consider having a party with underage drinking a problem, which i don't) brings to light not only the athlete culture on campus, but also in general the darker aspects of college culture. The fact that these players are for the most part white, from the northeast, and of privileged background only adds fuel to the traditional view of Duke as a school of white, rich, arrogant males, and most of the people who hold this view of Duke students are the residents of Durham--only one part of the larger issue of already existing strained Durham-Duke relations. The fact that when the vice president of student affairs notified students that there were increased security measures off campus after the 2 incidents of harrassment/attack on Duke students, one Durham resident sent an email to the Durham community, calling the vice president 'racist.' The fact that the stripper who was allegedly raped was a North Carolina Central student and a mother of 2. The fact that the stripper was African American. The fact that the minority populations at Duke (as well as at many other schools in this country)have a problem with self-segregation. The fact that the district attorney who is heading prosecution is a douchebag who is only concerned about how he looks for his re-election this year, by uncompromisingly asserting that the lacrosse players are racist animals who most definitely did kidnap, beat, and rape this girl, when CHARGES HAVE YET TO BE FILED, exacerbating already heightened tensions and furthering the negative bias. The idiot probably also botched the most important evidence for the case by violating the 4th amendment rights of several players, by taking DNA samples from white players who have proved that they were NOT at the party in the first place. The fact that many of the lacrosse players are in fact not deserving of all this drama, who came to this school on athletic scholarship and whose season and future has been put on hold because of something they did not do. The fact that Duke's once spotless athletic program and academic prestige have been tainted by the actions of a few extremely drunk losers. The fact that are 10 news trucks on campus, with their reporters and lights and satellites, alerting the world about just how awful this school is and reminding us every day of how big this thing as become.
Where do you start to make this better?
The administration is stepping up though, and I posted President Brodhead's plan of action last night (if you care to read it :P) It's just the first step in solving a situation which honestly, has just begun and will probably get worse if more evidence is released.
But I want to help, I want to be a part of something that will lead to this situation being solved, but honestly, this thing is so big, every time I think about it I just want to throw up my hands and scream. Who am I to think that I can do something? What do I know..
We prayed that God would give this campus unity last week at group prayer meeting.
Why am I so worked up about this? Usually I'm too self-centered to care.
BAHHH.
On May 13th, the majority of the lacrosse team attended/hosted a party where there were 2 black strippers/dancers hired for the occasion. 3 members allegedly strangled and raped her for 30 minutes. Racist insults were also yelled at them from members of the team. DNA tests were taken from all members of the team except for the one black member on the team because the victim claimed that her attackers were all white. Campus protests went on all last week, complaining about the administration's slow response and in condemnation of the lacrosse team's alleged actions. Last week, 2 Duke students were attacked at a local fast food place and one of them was temporarily knocked unconscious, as well as being harassed by NC Central students who yelled that all Duke students were rapists. Also last week, a group of students just off campus were harassed by 3 separate cars with strangers who passed by them, pointing their hands in a shape of a gun and yelling, 'You'll see.' Just yesterday, the coach of the men's lacrosse team resigned. Also just yesterday, Durham police publicly released a seized email from one of players' accounts which talked about hiring, killing, and skinning another stripper, while "cumming in his duke issue spandex" and that student's name and number have been published to the public. He has consequently been suspended for his own safety. All lacrosse games and events have since been cancelled, leaving #2 Duke's lacrosse program indefinitely halted.
This line of events have touched on and sparked so many underlying issues on just about every part of Duke life. The fact that these players were able to hire strippers (if you don't consider having a party with underage drinking a problem, which i don't) brings to light not only the athlete culture on campus, but also in general the darker aspects of college culture. The fact that these players are for the most part white, from the northeast, and of privileged background only adds fuel to the traditional view of Duke as a school of white, rich, arrogant males, and most of the people who hold this view of Duke students are the residents of Durham--only one part of the larger issue of already existing strained Durham-Duke relations. The fact that when the vice president of student affairs notified students that there were increased security measures off campus after the 2 incidents of harrassment/attack on Duke students, one Durham resident sent an email to the Durham community, calling the vice president 'racist.' The fact that the stripper who was allegedly raped was a North Carolina Central student and a mother of 2. The fact that the stripper was African American. The fact that the minority populations at Duke (as well as at many other schools in this country)have a problem with self-segregation. The fact that the district attorney who is heading prosecution is a douchebag who is only concerned about how he looks for his re-election this year, by uncompromisingly asserting that the lacrosse players are racist animals who most definitely did kidnap, beat, and rape this girl, when CHARGES HAVE YET TO BE FILED, exacerbating already heightened tensions and furthering the negative bias. The idiot probably also botched the most important evidence for the case by violating the 4th amendment rights of several players, by taking DNA samples from white players who have proved that they were NOT at the party in the first place. The fact that many of the lacrosse players are in fact not deserving of all this drama, who came to this school on athletic scholarship and whose season and future has been put on hold because of something they did not do. The fact that Duke's once spotless athletic program and academic prestige have been tainted by the actions of a few extremely drunk losers. The fact that are 10 news trucks on campus, with their reporters and lights and satellites, alerting the world about just how awful this school is and reminding us every day of how big this thing as become.
Where do you start to make this better?
The administration is stepping up though, and I posted President Brodhead's plan of action last night (if you care to read it :P) It's just the first step in solving a situation which honestly, has just begun and will probably get worse if more evidence is released.
But I want to help, I want to be a part of something that will lead to this situation being solved, but honestly, this thing is so big, every time I think about it I just want to throw up my hands and scream. Who am I to think that I can do something? What do I know..
We prayed that God would give this campus unity last week at group prayer meeting.
Why am I so worked up about this? Usually I'm too self-centered to care.
BAHHH.