The official catchphrase for the media whirlwind surrounding the lacrosse controversy, "the perfect storm," has become the perfect way to describe the convoluted meltdown of race, class, gender and town-gown relations under the harsh glare of the national spotlight.
But another kind of storm has been brewing from within "the low stone wall" currently cited across the country as a telling symbol of palpable division between Duke and Durham. The lacrosse season may be cancelled, but another kind of play ensues as separate sides emerge from between the folds of The Chronicle and amid murmurings on the quad. Teams have formed, and verbal battle has begun-and everyone has an agenda.
The confusing jumble of disturbing allegations, pending investigation and continuing developments have contributed to a firestorm of split perspectives. District Attorney Michael Nifong's transparent lack of propriety in disclosing his unfounded conclusions to the national press has raised alarm bells for some but encouraged rampant extrapolations from others. Witness accounts of racial slurs allegedly tossed out by team members have complicated general willingness to accept that age-old axiom, "innocent until proven guilty," with the line between racist and rapist trodden thin. A team member's nauseating email, released just this week, puts a graphic twist on the public's interpretation of the mindsets of the allegedly guilty but threatens to make the entire team and school fodder for the sensationalist coverage sure to follow. The future of the Duke lacrosse program has been at times debated or else shunted sideways, culminating in a blow Wednesday with the resignation of Coach Mike Pressler.
In the midst of mounting uncertainty, Duke students have sought distinctly different approaches to effecting change. Some seek to raise awareness and create a forum for discussing broader issues, from sexual assault to race relations to class privilege. Others point to the alleged incident as indicative of major problems with current policies and standards of community life on campus.
As Duke takes hits for the alleged actions of a few, students have likewise adopted radically different responses to deteriorating campus-community relations. Some condemn Duke for ostensibly fostering a campus culture of privilege and snobbery, at times failing to fairly consider Duke's diverse racial, geographic and socioeconomic makeup. Firing back, dissenters highlight Duke's volunteer efforts and accuse Durham of a history of hostility, sometimes disregarding the setbacks that could result from careless phrasing and insensitive framing of the delicate mutuality that exists between town and gown.
Emotional reactions have spanned the full spectrum as well. There has been outrage in the form of ambiguous protests, aimed at alleged perpetrators, administrators and the Duke community. Outrage in the form of focused activism, calling for change, perspective and increased awareness. Outrage limited to the rape, which may or may not have occurred. Outrage directed at the very fact that this horrifying situation, forcing us to call into question basic human decency, did occur.
As stubbornly stationed Channel 5 news vans begin to blend into the West Campus landscape, students have made the appropriate mental adjustments, ignoring them and walking by. The presence of the media, and perhaps even their chosen portrayals of Duke, is not the problem. But when CBS or ESPN reports that Duke students genuinely believe our campus fosters a rape culture or embedded white supremacy, then it is clear we have a very big problem. And there is no walking past it.
What does Duke represent? What do you, as a vital member of the Duke community, represent? Perhaps it is not Duke, as a campus, that lies inside the proverbial bubble.
Perhaps all of us have chosen to live inside customized bubbles, limited to close acquaintances, morning classes and afternoon clubs, forgetting to look closely at what our school as a whole comprises with great expectations, mutual encouragement and open-minded hope.
As students voice their opinions on the implications of the situation for the alleged victim and the alleged perpetrators, and for the university and the nation, it becomes ever clearer that the critical question of what Duke really represents hinges on neither media slant nor public preconceptions.
Perhaps the nation will not judge our school based upon the alleged actions of a single group of young men. But judging us by our shaky and divided stance on what Duke does and does not stand for? That's fair game. No pun intended.
Jane Chong is a Trinity freshman. Her column runs every other Friday.
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