As a Duke alumnus (or alumna, if you are female) how do you feel about Duke using alumni donations or possibly some of its endowment to build a performing arts center for Durham? Might this move have an impact on fund raising?
Duke has so many problems right now that spending money on a performing arts center for Durham is the least of our worries. Frankly, I would rather they do that than spend it on the crackpots on their faculty or some of the so-called "departments" that the Gang of 88 populate. In either event, Duke will not see a dime out of me until this sorry no account cast of characters are gone. The real hit for Duke for their sorry decisions in this whole affair has not hit . . . yet. The hit comes next spring when we see the yield rate for applicants and whether the standards for admission erode. The next big hit is after the trial and it becomes as apparent to the public as it is to us that the case is a sick joke -- that's when the alumni contributions will whither. It is also why they desparately need a trial to substantiate the decisions they have made thus far.
You do have a good point. Brodhead has spent his presidency currying favor with Durham at the expense of his students. For example, Brodhead received a standing ovation at the Durham NAACP for his actions in the lacrosse case. He has also remained silent (maybe ewven duplicitous) in Durham;s policy of targeting Duke students for criminal prosecution on bogus charges. When he appears before alumni, his reception is muted. That tells me the jury is still out.
Are they going to do that? Is that "payment in kind" for something?