New Class at Duke: Orwellian Administration?

The rape allegations against the Duke Lacrosse players were apparently so preposterous that Durham police told Duke police that it would blow over and any charges filed would be no more than misdemeanors. Duke officials were then understandably caught off guard when the case exploded three weeks later. This is according to a report commissioned by the university.

One major mistake, the report said, was that Duke President Brodhead wasn't apprised of the 'racial aspects' of the case until ten days later. In other words, Brodhead was initially misled into believing that facts in the case would prevail when had he known more he would have realized that the course of events would be dictated by a mob.

But of course the real problem was a lack of diversity in Duke's administration. While most of us have been taught that diversity is the magic solution to all problems - and a lack thereof an insurmountable obstacle to success - this message somehow eluded Duke's leadership. A more 'diverse' group might have realized that basic guilt or innocense was immaterial in such situations and that prompt Stalinist measures would be called for.

The case may have been handled better "if a wide array of life histories and perspectives had been brought to bear on what were sensitive and highly charged issues," the report said.

Yes, that would have made all the difference, sort of like the perspective of the black-female security guard who made the 9-1-1 call that night and sensitively reported that "She's like, she's like intoxicated, drunk or something."