Much like the rest of campus, Duke Student Government was consumed with discussion of the rape allegations against the men's lacrosse team at its general body meeting Wednesday night.
After well over two hours of failed resolutions and amendments, DSG issued a statement that proclaimed the organization's support for Duke's annual Sexual Assault Prevention Week in light of recent events.
"As the entire issue continues to evolve, we want to reaffirm that DSG will be active in the conversation," said DSG President Jesse Longoria, a senior.
Several executives indicated they had felt this issue was too important for DSG to remain silent. Taking a vocal stance was more essential than the specifics of the legislation, they said.
"I knew we should leave here with a unified statement to the student body," said DSG Executive Vice President Brandon Goodwin, a senior. "I'm extremely pleased to have had an open dialogue about the issue."
The meeting, however, soon transformed into a contentious battle regarding the role the resolution should play among the campus body-and whether reacting to the rape allegations was even appropriate.
Senior Nicole Cederblom and junior Matthew Hoekstra, two senators who helped draft the initial resolution, said they felt the final statement did not adequately address the situation.
"I expected more from DSG, like a bill or a resolution that had teeth, rather than a paltry statement that DSG is thinking about it," Cederblom said. "DSG is the body that should do something. Other than that, we just live up to expectations and that's what we did tonight."
Hoekstra agreed that the organization did not accomplish its mission, adding that he attributes his resolution's failure to the cautious attitudes of other members.
"The problem with DSG is egos," Hoekstra said. "Unless something passes unanimously, people are afraid to deal with it... I support the [final] letter-but it is just a cop out."
The original resolution encouraged the administration to enforce the Duke Community Standard, especially in regard to student-athletes. Debate quickly emerged about whether this bill would unfairly impugn the lacrosse team.
Senator Matt McNeill, a sophomore, questioned the role of the bill in the face of recent rape allegations.
"Given the gravity of the event, I don't understand what you'd want to do differently," McNeill said. "You need to investigate the entire situation before you make charges against anyone."
After several amendments were proposed to the initial resolution, the proposal ultimately failed by a vote of 12 to 20 with six abstentions.
Several senators, however, said they were dissatisfied with the organization's failure to reach a final decision, noting that this original document failed to adequately address the recent allegations.
In response, Senator Chauncey Nartey, a junior, drafted another resolution, which focused more specifically on the men's lacrosse team.
In the policy statement of Nartey's resolution, he suggested that the administration prohibit the team from participating in any practices until the current investigation has been settled.
Several representatives expressed concern that the proposed bill unfairly singled out members of the lacrosse team before any charges had been filed.
"Frankly, if this were just a group of guys living on campus, would it have received the same scrutiny?" asked senior Brenda Bautsch, vice president of athletics and campus services.
After further debate, the proposed bill was tabled for further discussion at a general body meeting in two weeks.
To draw the discussion to a close, Goodwin presented the final statement, which he described as the product of lengthy discussion among DSG's executive board over the past several days.
Although the final statement ultimately did not pass unanimously, 25 supporters stayed after the meeting-which lasted more than two hours-to sign the letter.
McNeil said he was not surprised by the heated nature of the debate.
"Whenever you have an issue where people have strong feelings on both sides, those are the meetings that are going to last a long time," McNeill said.
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