Exactly. My daughter had planned on applying to Duke after they contacted her. Not gonna happen now and we have written and told them why. OK, she's female and this particular case involves male students of Duke. Doesn't matter. If they are going to knee jerk and throw their students under the bus - not a place for us to be.
The alumni base is very jittery about this whole thing. THe rumours of a very low yield rate for incoming freshman are strong but only time will tell. Frankly, many parents will feel the same way you do and the real problem is when students are deciding between schools, the first question they will ask is if just how risky and dangerous it will be for Duke students in Durham - - not a good questions when recruiting students. Puts Duke ar a serious disadvantage.
As the percentage of women to men attending college continues to widen, Duke with 52% female and 48% men is doing okay. I wonder if the male percentage will drop and the women's will increase next year and beyond because of this case? I read that once a campus is 60% female, applications drop off precipitously, and that's why many schools now have affirmative action for males - the new college minority.