Posted on 10/18/2006 2:45:47 PM PDT by zaxxon
The charges against the Duke lacrosse players should be dropped immediately, and the people demanding the dismissal the loudest and most forcefully should be the very people who have made a living allegedly fighting against racial injustice.
I've said this before, but it's worth saying again: Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton should be in Durham, N.C., today, promising civil disobedience until the charges are dropped and prosecutor Mike Nifong resigns.
Ed Bradley and "60 Minutes" should never be mistaken for Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court. Bradley is just a TV reporter and "60 Minutes" is just a TV show, but you couldn't help but be moved by the story they aired Sunday night about the Duke lacrosse rape allegations.
The three accused players gave their first interviews, and two of them claimed they had airtight, documented alibis. The accuser's one-night sidekick, Kim Roberts, seems to have settled on telling the truth rather than trying to spin the story for fame or money. She contradicted several of the statements the accuser gave to police.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
http://www.newsobserver.com/114/story/502352.html
News & Observer/WRAL Election 2006 Poll
http://www.newsobserver.com/1185/story/502602.html
Town-gown ties frayed
Many poll respondents think lacrosse scandal has hurt
Jane Stancill, Staff Writer
DURHAM - Nearly half of residents polled recently feel worse about the relationship between Duke University and Durham in the aftermath of the lacrosse scandal.
More blacks cited a poorer town-gown relationship -- two-thirds of the respondents.
When asked about the town-gown bond, 47 percent said they felt less positive about it, and 31 percent felt the same -- while 14 percent felt more positive. Eight percent weren't sure.
There was a stark difference of opinion along racial lines. Among black voters, 67 percent felt worse about Duke-Durham ties, while about one-third of white voters expressed a more negative view. Twenty-one percent of white voters felt the relationship was better, compared with only 5 percent of blacks. Latino residents' views were similar to those of African-Americans.
"It's disappointing to see these numbers, but it's not surprising, given the racial aspect of the situation," said John Burness, Duke's senior vice president for public affairs and government relations.
"When you get an incident that is as highly visible as this, it has many unintended consequences," Burness added. "We have to be mindful of that."
The Duke-Durham relationship has been under a microscope since March, when an escort service dancer reported that she was raped by lacrosse players at a team party. The accuser is black; the three indicted players are white. The case became a national news story and highlighted town-gown tension here.
The poll was conducted for The News & Observer and WRAL-TV by Research 2000, a Rockville, Md., firm that interviewed 600 likely voters Oct. 16-19. The margin for error is plus or minus four percentage points.
Johnny Bush, 65, took part in the poll. He thinks the relationship between Duke and Durham is about the same. The systems analyst said he has family in Texas and in Florida, who, when the lacrosse story broke, asked why he wanted to live in Durham.
Bush, who is white, counters: "It's not that bad in Durham. The news is coming out that it's bad. It's like any other city. You're going to have good, and you're going to have bad. I think the media blew this thing out of proportion."
Charlette Jenkins, 54, isn't surprised at the poll results. She thinks the lacrosse situation tapped into some people's long-held resentments toward Duke. "Rich kids are always buying their way out," said Jenkins, who is black. "Residents are saying, 'You're not going to buy yourself out of it this time.' "
But Frederick Crowell, 60, sees no damage to the Duke-Durham bond. "I don't think it's hurt," said Crowell, who is black. "In the first place, I don't think [the lacrosse players] did it."
Burness said some people aren't aware of the many partnerships between Duke and Durham, and some will always expect Duke to do more.
"Over time, we'll get past this," he said, "but it's going to take awhile."
(Staff writer Benjamin Niolet contributed to this report.)
Staff writer Jane Stancill can be reached at 956-2464 or janes@newsobserver.com.
Staff writer Benjamin Niolet contributed to this report.
It's gotten chilly (for us - we're not in Colorado). It may have gotten below freezing last night. By the weekend it's supposed to warm back up to normal for this time of year (H69/L45). They say rain Friday, but partly cloudy Sat and Sun.
I have a vision of angry parents storming (the administrative) Allen Building and cornering Brodhead in his office. Kind of like Dr. Frankenstein. Nifong can play the role of the monster.
Check out those comments.
There are some really stupid people in Durham.
"I don't think those boys done it. But just over that one case, I can't go against [Nifong]."
The DA is knowingly trying to throw innocent people in jail but, hey, it's only one case. Couldn't happen again.
"If somebody runs over one of our children or grandchildren, we'd want them put behind bars. He's the one to do it."
Yes Nifong IS the one to run over your childeren and grandchildren. Ironic that this particular moron chose the "run over" metaphor since Crystal quite literally tried to run over a cop and got set free with a slap on the wrist.
"If you got money, you can basically buy your way out of anything. Are you going to take a stand for [the accuser] or are you going to stand with the people who have money?"
I hate rich people and want them in jail.
And there you have the jury pool...
Ah - it's his job to unreservedly support his candidate. He'd say the sky is green if he needed to. Monks is the ass.
Yep, that's the jury pool.
Now, again, how are they going to prove themselves innocent at trial?
It's not complicated. Monks is a Nifong plant. Done all the time in politics...
I just sent Dr. Baldwin the following e-mail. I encourage everyone else to do likewise.
"all alone" S/B "all along"
Sigh.
So sue me.
Sorry, I'm agreeing with you and have for a long time.
After some searching on Duke's website, I was finally able to find the link to the names of the professors who are part of the group of 88, using the link posted on this website. I was surprised (or maybe not) to find Kim Curtis' name on the list, since she railroaded my son into the the Duke Judicial system, which caused him to be suspended for two semesters. He was in Army ROTC, a student athlete and an outspoken conservative. When his Roller Hockey Club team won the regionals, and were sent to the Nationals in LA for 10 days (paid for by the University), he visited all his professors to tell them of his absence. They all approved, assuming he turned his assigned work in beforehand. Only one of his professors, Kim Curtis, claimed she never received his work, and automatically FAILED him for the entire course (this was second semester of his junior year). She also brought charges against him of Lying to the Duke Judicial system. He was notified of this by mail during the summer, well after the incident had occurred. Because he was at ROTC training, he was unable to respond in a timely way, nor was he able to connect with any of a list of Judicial Code Advisors, who act as respresentatives for the accused at these hearings, because many of them were not available during the summer. During the first week of classes in the Fall he was put on trial. His Judicial Advisor, who did her best to help him put together a case in such a short amount of time, expressed shock at the charges and the way that they were handled. She said in her rushed amount of research, she was unable to find ANY other cases of a student being charged through the Judicial System of Lying about turning a paper in late. He was convicted and expelled for two semesters. He was ordered to vacate his dorm room within 48 hours. Since he did not have a car, I immediately started the long drive to Durham to help him move out. Since his DukeCard had been IMMEDIATELY invalidated, he could not get a meal on campus, or even get into his dorm to start moving his things out. Of course this pales next to the horrific ordeals that the Lacrosse players have endured. But I thought that I would share this story to show that some of these professors are potential serious threats to our students and their rights. I have a son who is a freshman this fall, and I am going to make sure that he is not assigned classes with any of these 88 professors. PS. If you would like to verify this story, you can call Dean Bryan's office. I will be happy to sign a release so that you can review the files. 3:16 AM
I posted a comment asking her if her son graduated eventually. I also expressed surprise that she would send her younger son there after what certainly appears to be a miscarriage of justice. Pretty scary stuff from the Gang of 88.
I emailed him, told him i was as chemistry major at Duke and supported his position. He responded and said that the emails were uniformly positive and supportive.
For those interested, I'll be speaking as part of a panel discussion on the case this Thursday night, sponsored by ACLU@DUKE. The talk is at 7pm, in the Von Canon Center (lower level of the Bryan Center on Duke's West Campus) . The panel also includes Stephen Miller, whose columns and public appearances helped crystallize Duke student opinion on the case.
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