Posted on 01/05/2007 11:01:51 AM PST by Enchante
DURHAM — A former Duke lacrosse player has filed a civil suit against Duke University and a professor, charging that the teacher unfairly gave him a failing grade after an escort service dancer said she was raped at a lacrosse team party.
An attorney for Kyle Dowd, who graduated from Duke last year, filed suit in Durham Superior Court on Thursday. Dowd and his parents, Patricia and Benjamin Dowd, are suing Duke and Kim Curtis, who is listed on Duke’s Web site as a visiting assistant professor in political science.
Curtis, who specializes in political and feminist theory, would not comment Thursday. Duke officials also declined to comment.
The suit said Dowd and another lacrosse player — neither of whom was charged in the sexual assault — were in Curtis’ “Politics and Literature” class last spring.
Before the scandal broke, the suit said, both players were passing the course. But after the rape case made news, both players failed the final assignment, the suit said, and Dowd’s final grade was an F. The players were the only ones to receive F’s, the suit said.
Duke initially refused to entertain arguments by Dowd that the grade was unfair, the suit said, but eventually agreed to accept credits that Dowd had earned earlier at Johns Hopkins University. That allowed him to graduate, the suit said, but then Duke changed the F to a D, citing a “calculation error.”
Dowd, who lives in New York City, could not be reached for comment. But his mother, reached by telephone, said their younger son, Craig, was supposed to enroll at Duke last fall on a lacrosse scholarship. He turned down the scholarship.
“We didn’t feel like we could send him to Duke with everything that was going on,” said Tricia Dowd, of East Northport, N.Y. “Believe me, we loved Duke ... but we didn’t know what the professors would do.”
Craig Dowd instead attended a community college and will enroll at Georgetown University this month, his mother said. Staff writer Jane Stancill can be reached at 956-2464 or janes@newsobserver.com.
“We didn’t feel like we could send him to Duke with everything that was going on,” said Tricia Dowd, of East Northport, N.Y. “Believe me, we loved Duke ... but we didn’t know what the professors would do.”
Many professors don't understand, "Innocent until proven guilty."
It would be a plea in "equity."
How very convenient. I don't think many universities will let you graduate unless you re-take any course that you fail and get a passing grade. By re-jiggering the grade (& granting a few transfer credit-hours) the University gets rid of the problem.
This is one that should also prove a grave embarrassment and disgrace to that PC-pathetic so-called "university" (though the Duke faculty and bureaucrats are evidently already far beyond shame).
If a student can be failed merely for being on the same team as the (falsely) accused then Duke has sunk even lower than I'd thought.....
This kind of crap really annoys me.
All these young men were tarnished.
One Duke player, not involved, tried to transfer to Syracuse. Was turned down simply because he was from Duke. Syracuse has lost my support.
When it comes to white, Christian, conservative, Republican types only.
She's part of the group of 88 that has been bashing the Lacrosse players in public. She's a Lefty from San Francisco who went even loopier at ZOOMASS. Read some of her environmental rants.
The question that begs to be answered is - Why spend your hard-earned money to send your kids to these schools?
Granted these kids had scholarships, but absent that why?
The vast majority of liberal arts programs are nothing more than indoctrination camps.
If my child told me I was paying from them to attend a course on "Politics and Literature", I would in this order: 1. Laugh in their face, 2. Stop payment on any tuition checks and 3. Seriously question my child's judgement.
Finally , the law suits begin. This will be fun to watch....
The fun won't begin until Nifong is sitting behind bars.
Neither do some FReepers, based upon another thread I was on earlier today.
I would bet that not ALL of the lacrosse palyers were on scholarship...just think of the $200,000 wasted by some parents for a child now with a tainted degree and reputation just because of a racism hustle
This is another example of why university education has become suspect. I have no doubt that a liberal professor such as this one would intentionally fail these students because of her prejudiced opinion of them. She owes these students and their parents an apology.
You don't need credentials to teach at the college level. Unless you consider liberal politics a credential.
Duke University should be ashamed of itself for not supporting the students who were wrongly accused.The PC crowd on most college campuses are a disgrace to humanity.I hope these kids never go back to that school unless the administration issues a public apology to them.
DUKE UNIVERSITY IS NOW CALLED "FLUKE UNIVERSIY".
No need to study, just work real hard at achieveing a vaunted, ignorant state of political correctness, and any student can "A" their way through to graduation.
Along with a large sum from her savings account I hope.
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