As an African American, an alumnus and a member of the 2005 Duke men's lacrosse program, I am revolted by my alma mater's handling of the rape allegations directed toward members of the lacrosse team.
Richard Brodhead, Larry Moneta, other administrators and certain faculty members have flagrantly and wrongfully hung members of the Duke men's lacrosse team out to dry.
This mistake has not gone unnoticed and will no longer be tolerated by the alumni community. I call on all of Duke University's alumni and donors to end contributions to the University pending a formal apology issued by President Brodhead on behalf of the faculty and administration for failing to appropriately support members of the Duke community.
If Duke University and its current leadership plan to allow TV personalities, sundry activists and District Attorney Mike Nifong run my alma mater, the school is not headed in the right direction, and I declare it unfit for support-financial or otherwise.
This issue of a commitment to one another transcends the lacrosse team, athletics and the many generations of Duke graduates. Therefore, it deserves the utmost attention. My former teammates were assaulted and harassed while Duke's administrative leaders avoided "the arena," scheduled meetings and distanced themselves from their own students.
Since the third of several versions of the alleged victim's story was reported, the conduct of three individuals has been called into question. Even if I agreed with the shallow attempt to sit the fence in reference to those three individuals, what about the treatment of the rest of the team? The other 44 members? The persecution of numerous members of the lacrosse team, under the administration's watch, is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
President Brodhead, your time on the sidelines is up; Dukies don't cower when faced with tough situations, and they certainly do not take cues from the rogue, the misinformed or the fickle masses. Duke University was, is and will continue to be a great institution because it promotes leadership; once we let others outside of our community dictate to us what is best for Duke out of fear or a desire to appease, we lose what makes Duke special. Failing to stand up for students at Duke University is the most egregious offense that an administrator-pledged to serve his students fairly and equally-can commit.
A cloud of uncertainty has surrounded the case since its inception. America can keep Nancy Grace and the constant and nauseating spin of the "no spin zone," but the lack of clarity in the case demands that the leaders of Duke University fully support their students throughout the processes necessary for a resolution. Yet the members of the lacrosse team did not get that support from the professional educators and administrators on campus.
Instead, players had to rely on an exemplary group of friends to overcome the constant abuse perpetrated by other Duke students, as well as outsiders who were irresponsibly allowed on campus despite their lack of a constructive purpose.
I am sure that soon, when they creep back into their respective corners of cowardice, no one will be able to find these gullible supporters of rash Jim-Crow-esque behavior, which is ironically and sadly endemic at a school in the South that is comprised of what the alumni network would like me to believe are educated and thoughtful students.
Athletes devote up to half of their time at school representing Duke in competition, and therefore they deserve at least as much support as any other student until we know the truth. I would suggest the school's leaders (not a committee) clearly and publicly articulate support for a remarkable group of student athletes-and yes, one can have a beer before he is 21 or forget to use "inside voices" after 11 p.m., and still be a commendable student-athlete and person-as they continue to tell an unchanged story that implies their innocence.
Mr. Brodhead, you have helped to create an audience of hypocrites that may now choose to ignore the facts or "yeah but." their way out of their past impudence. If you do not address Duke University's abandonment and abuse of the lacrosse team, you implicitly condone such behavior and send the message that only the lacrosse team need show remorse for their transgressions.
Most alarming for alumni is the fact that the failure to correct the rest of the community's mistake will further divide a campus and hinder Duke's ability to move forward. Is this the education you plan to provide at Duke University, an education where if you are wrong with "the group," you need not revisit your actions?
Mr. Brodhead, the fact is that many, if not most, married men in America have been to a party with a stripper. Some white, some black, whatever; if you truly find stripping to be inappropriate, take your stand against a nation that condones the practice.
Transference is a serious problem for a leader; do not transfer blame solely onto the shoulders of my former teammates. Duke has irreversibly and in error taken something from quality young men.
You, Mr. Brodhead, and your staff have taken their youth, you have taken their pride and you have taken their innocence in the worst way possible. The indirect way. The passive way. The deniable way. The underhanded way.
This is not and will not be the Duke Way. The safety of the middle ground was never appropriate for Duke or its administrators and it grows less and less so each day. Take the opportunity to correct your mistake instead of sweeping it under the rug and waving yet another red flag of bad leadership.
Randall Drain, Trinity '05, is a former member of the Duke men's lacrosse team.
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