Does anyone have the text of the “Duke 88” letter? I would think the exact wording of that letter would make a huge difference in the degree of liability of these folks. If they used phrases like “These are troubling allegations, and Duke University must act on the basis of available evidence to insure the integrity of our academic environment”, then their liability would be small. My rellocation is they used much less circumscribed language though, which presumed guilt, and they may have much deeper liability.
here it is:
http://listening.nfshost.com/listening.htm
my favorite part, read the fine print at the bottom
“We thank the following departments and programs for signing onto this ad with African & African American Studies: Romance Studies; Psychology: Social and Health Sciences;
Franklin Humanities Institute; Critical U.S. Studies; Art, Art History, and Visual Studies; Classical Studies; Asian & African Languages & Literature; Women’s Studies; Latino/a
Studies; Latin American and Caribbean Studies; Medieval and Renaissance Studies; European Studies; Program in Education; and the Center for Documentary Studies. Because
of space limitations, the names of individual faculty and staff who signed on in support may be read at the AAAS website:http://www.duke.edu/web/africanameric";