Letter: Chronicle coverage of Jean-Baptiste incident biased

Following a meeting of the presidents of several black student organizations, those present felt that a statement should be made in response to The Chronicle's coverage of the incidents involving Duke Student Government President Joshua Jean-Baptiste and several others. Numerous issues arose with respect to the manner in which the events were portrayed. The article was printed without due regard for presenting the whole truth, since The Chronicle irresponsibly chose to take a stance though it relied on little corroboration. Even though The Chronicle did attempt to reach Jean-Baptiste and others involved for comment, the single eyewitness admitted that his "recollection was vague." In light of the gravity of the situation much more regard should have been given to take an objective angle in reporting the story, since it affects the manner in which a representative of the community is viewed, whose character and credibility were placed in jeopardy. Because of The Chronicle's negligence, members of the Duke community who had no prior knowledge of the situation have been negatively influenced and denied the opportunity to make a judgment based on all of the facts. As a result Jean-Baptiste and the other students involved have already been convicted in the court of public opinion.

The event was framed in terms of black greek affiliation, which is often misunderstood by members of the larger community. This has implications on the way the Duke community views black greeks as well as the entire black community, our values, mores, and ethics. Blacks are daily forced to deal with stereotypes imposed on them by the larger community and the article by not giving due regard to present an objective story reinforced those same stereotypes. We do not wish to imply that The Chronicle intended to defame black students or black greek organizations, but only to say that would be the effect of any story that lacked objectivity.

We do not wish to take a stance in support or opposition of the students involved. Realizing that the statements thus far have not been objective, we urge members of the community to wait until the all of the facts of the story are released before making further judgments.