This is public. It needs to be.
Duke lacrosse team suspended after allegations of gang rape. Most of the team was apparently at the party; however, no one has come forward about what happened. This happened over spring break, but the story only became public late last week. All but one of the players have been DNA tested, and the Duke President has suspended the team while the
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Of course not all the guys at the party knew that there was a rape going on (allegedly), although I'm willing to bet that more than the 3 participating would have known it was happening. As to calling out their fellow teammates on racial slurs, I'm unfortunately not a bit shocked that no one did. Even full adults rarely manage that one in that kind of situation.
I think people would be less anxious to condemn the whole team if that house (the team captains') weren't infamous for loud obnoxious parties (some of the Duke/Durham tension you mentioned - my neighborhood listserv is full of discussion about this case right now, cross-pollinating with other neighborhood listservs including Trinity Park where the incident occurred). But what I get hung up on is that, assuming it did happen the way the young woman tells it, then her entire life is changed. Quite possibly more than going to prison would for the perpetrators (who likely have enough money to have good lawyers), since she may very well get freaked out in any public situation now, or at any party, or with any men, or with any white people, or in any sexually charged moment. And who could blame her? Other than copious support and counseling, which I think and hope she's getting, the best way I can think of to avoid her trauma becoming chronic would be for justice to be done...and that's certainly not a given.
I would say that I hope she's lying - I do wish it never happened - but it would do so much to undermine other women's credibility with authorities and the media in such circumstances that I can't quite wish it. Ugh to the whole situation.
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I completely agree. With this, and with everything else you said. Apparently about 15 members of the team had arrests on their record already -- mostly alcohol offenses. I've been reading some of the Duke coverage of it, too, and there are a lot of undergrads saying the team was already notorious for not treating women well. (dukeobservr, I think, is where I got most of that from.) It sounds like something like this was inevitable. It's just a horrible situation all around. I hope the Durham police are incredibly careful with the invesigation, for the sake of the woman and the entire town.
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