I was planning to write a mock fashion column this week . . . seriously. For any of you who actually read Towerview, you must have noticed that the editors often include a fashion piece with commentary and student model to boot. Although intended to provide sound advice on the hottest designer attire, the articles are nothing short of hysterical (check them at www.dukechronicle.com under magazine archive). I even had an opening line prepared: "I may never have worked at Vogue and my last name isn't Fortunato but that doesn't mean I can't pontificate on the latest trends."
But as so many have said before me, Due to Recent Events, I felt a responsibility to exchange light-hearted humor for critical reflection. From "the e-mail heard round the world" to the two-and-a-half weeks it took President Brodhead to e-mail the entire Duke community, there are just too many questions and individuals involved for me to render an entire column focused on a single issue.
It has been three full weeks since The Chronicle first tendered the headline: "Off-East house site of reported rape." With protests abounding, media vans on main West and crazed Divinity students/English professors, it is important that we take a moment to step back and reflect on what has transpired in and around campus since our return from spring break.
I. The Media: In the court of public opinion, the lacrosse team has already been tried, convicted and sentenced to death.
You know it is bad when my seventy-something grandmother who lives in Boston and spends three days a week on dialysis starts talking to me about something related to Duke besides basketball and whether or not I have made any nice "lady friends."
I do not want to diminish the magnitude of this alleged crime. It is so heinous and cruel, an accusation not only of sexual assault but also of strangulation, robbery and kidnapping, that I cannot even begin to fathom what kind of monster(s) could have perpetrated such an act.
But I am deeply troubled by the fact that there were nearly twice as many articles last week in the New York Times, one of the leading papers in the world, about an alleged isolated crime than there were about the very same crime that has been committed on a near daily basis for the past three years in Darfur, Sudan.
II. Presidential Leadership: We needed Giuliani after 9/11, and we got Bush after Katrina.
President Keohane would have never waited 11 days to make her first official public statement about such a serious matter directly related to this University and the surrounding community. It is not just because as a woman, she would have felt more comfortable addressing the issues at hand. Rather, it is because Keohane was a brilliant academic as well as a talented administrator who understood when to exert strong leadership (e.g. Women's Initiative).
More poet than politician, President Brodhead fumbled around with pathetically trite calls for "education" and "patience." I can only hope for Duke's sake that such ineffectiveness stems from a lack of experience and not from innate character flaws. It is still too early to tell whether the seemingly excessive number of study commissions he has formed-none of which deal explicitly with race-will be little more than a practice in futility or a solid step on the road to recovery.
III. Town-Gown Relations: Do you honestly believe that the varsity men's lacrosse team represents the Duke student body at large?
I am absolutely outraged by the fact that local residents surrounding East Campus have attempted to turn the current controversy into a referendum on the entire off-campus social scene. The Trinity Park residents see this terrible tragedy, which at the very least involves inexplicable racial epithets, as an opportunity to rid their community of Duke students once and for all.
In one recent posting on the Trinity Park listserve, retired faculty member Laura Guttman quickly jumps from the lacrosse incident to question whether "Duke's recruiting motto will be: 'Send your Son and Daughter to Duke: Most of Our Students Haven't Been Convicted Yet."'
I am sick and tired of debating the off-campus issue with administrators and local residents. The likely cancellation of tailgates will only exacerbate the already tense situation. Brodhead and Larry Moneta can call as many town hall meetings as they like, but until they provide a feasible alternative for senior fraternity members, their endless dialogue will be meaningless.
And we all know what the logical solution is-the administration must reconsider its plans for Central Campus. Instead of paying for a goddamn bowling alley, it should build a section of townhouses that would only be open to seniors willing to live in groups of eight to twelve. There would be no single-family neighbors, seniors could throw house parties and Duke students would finally get recognized for their positive contributions to Durham as loyal customers and committed volunteers.
I am set to graduate in five weeks, and I do not intend on spending my last remaining days as an undergraduate obsessing over every little detail released by the profit-driven press. For all of those interesting in protesting, you should channel that positive energy into the Darfur Rally in Washington April 30 and wait for the North Carolina judicial system to run it course.
Adam Yoffie is a Trinity senior. This is his final column.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.