tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13073631.post3399844074032632517..comments2024-01-04T07:21:18.243-05:00Comments on John In Carolina: Why did Duke’s trustees enable the frame-up attempt?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13073631.post-36563092788128060372008-12-21T19:00:00.000-05:002008-12-21T19:00:00.000-05:00I graduated from Duke in 1955. When I was a stude...I graduated from Duke in 1955. When I was a student, relations between the university and the city were bad. Duke behaved quite arrogantly back then.<BR/><BR/>I think the trustees may have been willing to throw the lacrosse players under the bus to prove that they now want to cooperate with the city.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13073631.post-89981794586801528062008-12-21T12:10:00.000-05:002008-12-21T12:10:00.000-05:00First you have to have honest people, then you can...First you have to have honest people, then you can have honest institutions. Lacking honest people you can have all the rules you want the institutions will still be corrupt.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13073631.post-60817526034146602002008-12-21T09:31:00.000-05:002008-12-21T09:31:00.000-05:00The post's title is a darn good question.For those...The post's title is a darn good question.<BR/><BR/>For those of us lacking a Duke connection, here's a more general concern: Is the conduct of <I>this</I> institution's Board of Trustees appallingly unique, or is it a consequence of the usual course of business? <BR/><BR/>If presented with a similar set of circumstances, would other BOTs have performed more honorably or more capably?<BR/><BR/>We can't know the answer, but I'll state the most reasonable guess: <I>No</I>.<BR/><BR/>Shivers accompanied by "There but for the Grace of God go I" <I>ought</I> to be the common reaction of university trustees upon reading "Until Proven Innocent" and the like.<BR/><BR/>Two thoughts as to why. First, the initial reactions to Nifong's and the DPD's campaign by the N&O, the potbangers, the Group of 88, and Pres. Brodhead defined the narrative for the BOT as much as for the media as a whole. It's very difficult for humans to admit "I've been wrong, so I'm repudiating my actions to this point." This is especially true for those in the public eye--and for those such as Trustee Robert Steele who hold themselves in high esteem.<BR/><BR/>Second, some stories are intrinsically more credible than others, and the Lacrosse Gang Rapists account had the ring of authenticity from the very beginning. As the edges began fraying, it morphed naturally into an essential truth, details notwithstanding. <A HREF="http://www.coxandforkum.com/archives/000416.html" REL="nofollow">Fake but accurate.</A> Partly this ground was prepared by the rowdy conduct of the team over the years--<A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Charlotte_Simmons" REL="nofollow">Charlotte Simmons.</A> Yet it is apparent (to all except many Leftists) that the lion's share of this travesty was enabled by our society's widespread and reflexive genuflection to the idol of political correctness. For the Trustees who came to the case with prior Belief or even merely Acceptance, listening to the Listeners was the natural place to start. (Obviously, I am using that word in the same toxic manner that the Listeners themselves do.)<BR/><BR/>It would have taken unusual insight and strength of character for a Duke Trustee to have deviated from the road that Brodhead and Steele reflexively began to travel. None did, in those critical weeks and months before "lawyering up" became the order of the day. <BR/><BR/>Sadly, few of their peers at other institutions would have, either.AMachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08872008617279528583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13073631.post-79160614473406864912008-12-21T08:30:00.000-05:002008-12-21T08:30:00.000-05:00Duke has spent more than $100 million buying good ...Duke has spent more than $100 million buying good will in Durham. (Duke is likely the biggest renter of office space; and often the first to line up to invest in any re-development project). <BR/><BR/>Duke needs the city's good will in order to get the zoning it requires to rebuild its campus (a project costing up to $500 million).<BR/><BR/>In their grand scheme of things, IMHO, big-time players like Steel and the rest probably considered three innocent Duke students to be expendable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13073631.post-49610444403456328182008-12-21T00:34:00.000-05:002008-12-21T00:34:00.000-05:00Were the trustees just following the lead of the c...Were the trustees just following the lead of the chairman of the board of trustees? Is there even one trustee who will break the wall of silence?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com