Duke, Durham and lousy journalism

I guess we’ve all been reading and watching the media frenzy that’s followed allegations of rape, sodomy, and strangulation leveled against some members of Duke University’s lacrosse team.

I don’t know what happened in the house that night so I don’t know enough to say anyone under investigation is guilty of a crime. I just know enough to grant them a presumption of innocence and ask for a thorough and fair investigation.

Now let’s turn to the media and see what some of them know. Here’s part of what Knight-Ridder’s Tom Sorensen is saying:

I don't know much about lacrosse. Maybe it only seems as if a team is not complete unless it features players named Chip, Chad, Carter, Biff and Gray. The monikers suggest khaki pants and wide-striped rugby shirts, late-night keg parties and late-morning lattes, good old frat boys having a good old frat-boy time.

Now a woman emerges, saying members of the lacrosse team at Duke raped her two weeks ago. In the meantime, players appeared reluctant to assist in the investigation - a situation that reeked of rich-boy, frat-boy arrogance and entitlement. …

Sorensen may not know much about lacrosse but he’s convinced he can tell us a lot about ourselves just be knowing our “monikers.”

I’d like to ask Sorensen some questions.

Hi, Tom. My moniker’s John. What does that tell you? Am I “a good old frat-boy” or a fair-minded professional journalist or what?

Do you know much about the meanings of “stereotyping” and “prejudgment?”

I can’t say anything about the lacrosse players but I’ve known a lot of people who were afraid to come forward in certain situations because they feared stereotyping and prejudgment.

How about you, Tom? Do you know any people like that?

Folks, let’s move on and look at some of what Raleigh News & Observer news columnist Barry Saunders knows:

If Duke could pack up and move, it would, eager to escape Durham's reputation as a cesspool of civic incompetence.

Likewise, if Durham could bid Duke "adieu," it would.

There is palpable resentment by townies toward a university many feel exemplifies privilege, noblisse oblige and just plain spoiled rottenness.

If you know anything about Duke and Durham, you're thinking Saunders' remarks tell you more about him than Duke or Durham. You’re right!

Durham has some civic incompetence but so do most places. The city’s a fine place to be; Duke has no wish to leave.

Sure, there are some people around town who regularly spew in Duke’s direction the sort of palpable resentment Saunders exhibits.

Right now they’re spewing more than usual. They’re upset because of what they see as the university’s failure to make sure their kind of justice is done. Judging by letters to the editor, TV interviews and what I learn around town, the number of Durham’s palpably resentful may have increased in the past week or so.

But the overwhelming majority of Durham “townies” are very glad Duke’s part of the community. I know. I've been one of them for more than 30 years.

Many of us are proud to work at Duke. We’re grateful for the wonderful friends and neighbors its helped bring to Durham. Some of us will even tell you we literally owe our lives to the people and services at the magnificent medical center that’s a part of the university.

Say adieu to Duke? Why would we ever do that? We're not palpably resentful.

We know Duke, like any great institution, has faults, makes mistakes and sometimes deserves criticism. But we mean fair and constructive criticism; not the self-righteous, angry, short on facts kind the university’s received so much of lately.

We’re sorry for the current difficulties. We want things to work out as fairly and justly as possible. And we’ll always wish Duke well.

Now about journalists like Sorensen and Saunders:What would an awful lot of us like to say to them?

“Bon Voyage.”