Posted on 01/16/2007 9:19:41 PM PST by freespirited
Dozens of Duke professors have posted "an open letter to the Duke community" on the Web, explaining an ad last spring that has been widely criticized as a condemnation of lacrosse players.
The new letter, signed by 87 faculty and posted at www.concerneddukefaculty.org, refuses to apologize for the ad and reiterates concerns about issues of race and sexual violence on the Duke campus. It says the so-called "Group of 88" ad _ published in the university student newspaper The Chronicle last April _ has been grossly misinterpreted. That ad has been a subject of heated debate on blogs and its signers have received angry and sometimes racist e-mails.
"The ad has been read as a comment on the alleged rape, the team party, or the specific students accused," the letter said. "Worse, it has been read as rendering a judgment in the case....We reject all attempts to try the case outside the courts, and stand firmly by the principle of the presumption of innocence."
The letter was signed by "concerned faculty," many of whom endorsed the original ad. The ad, entitled, "What Does a Social Disaster Sound Like?" included anonymous statements by students talking about racism and sexism on the campus. The ad also thanked "protesters making collective noise."
The letter this week has backed off that a bit, saying, "We do not endorse every demonstration that took place at the time."
William Chafe, a history professor who signed both the ad and the letter, said the bloggers' interpretation of the ad has become the version people accepted. And that's wrong, he said. "We're trying to set the record straight and clarify that we never claimed the lacrosse players were guilty," Chafe said.
No matter what happens with the lacrosse sexual assault case, the letter said, issues of race and sexual violence still exist on campus and should be addressed.
The "Group of 88" has been portrayed as politically correct, left-wing professors who rushed to assume lacrosse players were guilty of rape. The professors have been harshly criticized as the sexual assault case unraveled.
The rhetoric has been heated on the Duke campus, where President Richard Brodhead has called for a restoration of the "fabric of mutual respect." Two weeks ago, a group of economics professors signed a letter saying they supported lacrosse players and all student athletes, and expressing regret that Duke professors were viewed as prejudiced against some students.
That prompted an online petition signed by more than 450 Duke alumni and Duke supporters, standing behind the economics professors. Many of the petition signers targeted their anger at the "Group of 88."
In the online letter, concerned faculty say they won't apologize despite the fury.
"There have been public calls to the authors to retract the ad or apologize for it, as well as calls for action against them and attacks on their character," the letter said. "We reject all of these. We think the ad's authors were right to give voice to the students quoted, whose suffering is real. We also acknowledge the pain that has been generated by what we believe is a misperception that the authors of the ad prejudged the rape case."
Libtards are never wrong.
Just like the issues raised by "Killian's" memos didn't wind down after they were proven to be fakes? Since, after all, they were "fake but accurate"?
To a liberal, if a problem is sufficiently serious, there's nothing wrong with cooking some evidence to exaggerate it. Somehow the possibility that the problem might in reality not be so serious never enters the picture. Since the liberals believe their own exaggerated portrayals of the problem, their lies become self-justifying.
The problem is that in the academic world, the one thing they will not do is to admit they are wrong. These guys will go to their graves never admitting they were wrong.
And who was #88?
Sexual misbehaviour is a real problem, there's too much testosterone on campus for us little weenies to feel safe?
These liberal socialist faculty weenies are amazing, I am sure they would attempt to die politically correct, with recycling logos on each of their coffins, along with various pro-feminist bumper stickers.
They lack a genuine sense of justice and are overwhelmingly ignorant , for people who are supposedly scholars. They seek to cling to their putrid sense of justice, even when the facts are glaring in their faces,refusing to abandon a lost cause because of a misapplied liberal socialist ideology.
The victim was not raped, had the semen of 2 men on her underwear, neither of which matched the accuseds DNA. So someone has to be blamed? She was not kidnapped, but was there of her own free will, and actually left when she wanted to leave.Full stop.So STFU!
As far as the victim is concerned, the condition of her sexual equipment was likely that way 4 days out of every week, just another evening at the office. So if its social justice the faculty wants, then contribute 50% of their faculty salaries to the victim, so she doesn't have to be a hooker, put your money where your mouth is DUKE faculty!
That's the most meaningless bunch of BS I've read in a long time.
They failed miserably IMHO.
They forgot to include the ongoing problems of pathological liars and the race baiter's who stand behind them.
One of the things I truly dislike about liberals is the fact that none of them are adult enough, or brave enough to admit when they are wrong. No, they would rather act like 5 year olds in kindergarten than supposed mature adults. Even when it destroys innocent boys lives, it is far more important to them and their elitist egos to keep the facade going that they are right rather than doing the right thing: Apologize
Ever notice how liberals demand everyone else apologize for all things wrong, but they will never EVER apologize for their actions. They will apologize for things like what their country did, or what mankind did, but their own actions? They are perfect so why apologize.
Explain it to the jury at your civil trial, Billy.
Communists all.
Anyone got a list of the 87 idiots?
"... exacerbated by the heightened tensions in its immediate aftermath."
The add praised those that were helping to 'heighten' the tension in the immediate aftermath!
TRANSLATION: "All 88 of us are going to get sued. Big time."
The site is down, but I can guess the content. There is a message there in 120-point Times New Roman font with the words, "Please don't sue our silly asses into the ground."
That's why I put misunderstood in quotes.
From the "ad":
" . . no one is really talking about how to keep the young woman herself central to this conversation, how to keep her humanity before us . . . she doesn’t seem to be visible in this. Not for the university, not for us."
Funny, the more the young woman herself was made "central to this conversation", the more obvious that she perpetrated a hoax. Where is the academic outrage at the false accusation of rape for political expediency and the denial of civil rights to the accused?
Lieberals are intellectual and moral midgets. They could all use a good Draino enema.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.