No - it has already been seriously damaged.
This could not have happened at a worse time. Acceptance letters were out and students were to have sent in their checks right while this disaster was playing out.
Duke's president has made it abundantly clear. He does NOT support his students. He should be fired!
My advice to anyone who has the ABILITY to be accepted to Duke, grab the chance! BUT! Be prepared to work hard. No "passes" at Duke just for getting in. You have to EARN that degree. IMO, those who choose not to go don't belong there. If you're not ready to challenge yourself, fo-get-aboud-it! Say, LJ, why all the Duke hate? Are you from Maryland or just the recipient of a rejection letter? Or maybe your baby received the letter.....?
Agreed. The point of Nifong's inquisition was for short term political tactics. Few Duke students/parents vote in local Durham elections and he hung a couple of students for the stampeding crowd. As a Duke alum with high school children, this episode is unnerving. I love Duke but as long as that dingaling Brodhead is running the show students have no protection, and you would have to matriculate knowing that you should not, under any circumstances, leave that campus. The fact that Durham reelected Nifong suggests that Duke hatred in Durham runs deeper than we thought. I saw an interview tonight of a Duke LAX player who made clear that they were convicted by the media and the University threw their own students in the trash. The indicted almost certainly are innocent of a rape, and even if they are responsible for some boorish behavior, a University President should be expected to support his students, even if is only morale. Instead, Brodhead destroyed their college careers and threw them to the wolves.
What is the best way to make our displeasure with his lack of judgment and loyalty to Duke known? I found it interesting that the LAX player interviewd said that the faculty and administration threw them away but the players felt that the alumni base was there for them. Personally, I stopped contributing as a protest over Brodhead allowing Palestinian terrorists on campus. I suspect the only thing people like Brodhead respects is money.
WHat can we do?
No parents in their right mind, especially if they have any wealth, would send their kid to Duke after this. He or she would just be a target - especially a "he."
Let Durham go on record as the city that couldn't handle having a fine university in its midst. Instead of embracing it, the townspeople (and the president of Duke) shat all over it.
Way to go, Durham.