Duke Lacrosse

Mike Nifong, the DA in the Duke lacrosse case, has his primary today against two Democratic challengers.  However, regardless of the outcome he will remain in office until January 2007.

And a faculty committee recomended that the lacrosse team resume play in 2007:

A Duke University committee recommended Monday that the school's lacrosse team resume play next season, but said the team needs strict monitoring because of a history of problems tied to alcohol.

"Although the pattern of misconduct in recent years by the lacrosse team is alarming, the evidence reviewed ... does not warrant suspension of the sport," a committee of seven faculty members wrote in a report.

Comments

[maryrose]

I hope Nifong loses. Anyone who would exploit a situation like this for his own personal advancement does not derserve to govern or be placed in an elected position.

[Bob in Pacifica]

Yesterday a local newspaper also reported that the alleged victim also made a complaint to the police, in 1998, that her husband was trying to kill her. Like the alleged gang rape in 1994 which she reported in 1997, she did not pursue the charge and the police did not pursue it.

[Tom Maguire]

Yesterday a local newspaper also reported that the alleged victim also made a complaint to the police, in 1998, that her husband was trying to kill her.

I don't want to blame the victim, but she may just have a bad memory and an annoying personality.

Hmm, Libby's job opened up...

[cfw]

Pretty interesting details in the Duke LAX report about "foam pits" and "foam machines" for drinking and dancing at the football games (in a "no arrest zone" for underage drinking ). Sounds like the laxers were the life of the tailgating party.

We cannot have spring-break type festivities in the fall, now can we?

Looks like the laxers were not much more rowdy than frat boys, or golfers, just sent to the dean a bit more for (minimal) puishment for pretty venal sins.

What to do? Consider helping install sound proof windows for neighbors - as is done for neighbors of LA Airport?

Call for a voluntary pro bono commitment of x hours per year providing services (paid or unpaid) within the Durham (non-Duke) community?

Call for registration and voting of all students, staff and faculty in Durham?

Encourage internships with Mayor, City Council, DA’s Office?

How about phasing out race-based presumptions of victim status? Look hard at what Justice O'Connor recently asked in the U Mich preferences case - how many years until one can leave aside race and focus on economics, for example? Jesse Jackson may have a point in saying no person, of any color, should need to be a stripper to finance college. Set up a Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation prize for 1 semester of tuition for the best undergrad essay, report, study, article, poem, work of fiction or non-fiction dealing with discrimination issues (race, sex, economic).

Bring more of Durham on campus - UNC & NCCU guest students, police and fire department ride-alongs at night, city council meetings on campus, DA office seminars at Duke law school, community meetings on campus (with fair-priced, handy parking), support interns from Durham (high school and older)?

Also, bring more of Duke to Durham - faculty meetings off campus at times, elect a Duke rep to city council, develop the Duke legal clinical program to help the DA (and PD) with trials, send Duke media students to work at Durham TV stations and newspapers, support Duke guest students at UNC and NCCU, encourage Duke business internships with Durham businesses, including NCCU and UNC (partly funded by work study funds - $15 per hour, with employer paying $7.50 per hour)?

Decentralize - have more programs like Duke in Mexico, Duke in NYC, with Duke faculty and students learning away from Durham?

Allow up to 4 semesters plus three summers of for-Duke-credit work away from Durham (graded to Duke standards by Duke faculty)?

Encourage at least 2 semesters for each student away from Durham?

Arrange sports programs to provide for up to 4 semesters plus three summers of for-Duke-credit work away from Durham (graded to Duke standards by Duke faculty) - scholarships for sports should not prevent up to 4 semesters plus three summers of for-Duke-credit work away from Durham (graded to Duke standards by Duke faculty)?

Send B-ball, soccer, football, lax and baseball teams (with coaches) to remote location every other year – for example DC (Georgetown), NYC (Columbia or NYU), LA (ucla, usc), etc.? Soccer team to Cambridge or Oxford?

Have other similar teams come to Durham during the years the Duke team is away (with their coaches)? Make the teams more mobile, focused on the student-athletes being educated and their coaches and faculty, rather than stadium-focused and geographically static.

To tamp down binge drinking, emphasize things like running, swimming, bike riding - replace daily alcohol/THC buzz with daily endorphins buzz?

Support moves to legalize marijuana? Not because THC buzz is much better, but criminalizing THC plays into the hands of traffickers, clogs the courts, corrupts authorities, legislates morality (without success), etc.

Move more students off-campus to programs like Duke in Mexico, Duke in NYC, with Duke faculty and students learning away from Durham?

Lots of binge drinking (or THC use) implies boredom and/or self-medication (dealing with srtess). Help deal with stress by decentralizing, reducing student population density.

Make lots of non-alcoholic beverages available free or for reduced cost (sugar-free soft drinks, coffee, tea).

Require non-alcoholic beverages available free or for reduced cost when alcohol is served on campus.

Consider random breath tests and urinalysis for statistical and treatment purposes (not criminal prosecution), to scope out the problem dimensions (time of day, place, age of student, extent of intoxication).

[Gary Maxwell]

CFW

NCAA regulations only permit one foreign trip every 4 years. Your every other year recommendation would run afoul of this restriction. I know of no program that has gotten a waiver of such restriction either. Its verboten.

[cfw]

Gary -

"NCAA regulations only permit one foreign trip every 4 years. Your every other year recommendation would run afoul of this restriction. I know of no program that has gotten a waiver of such restriction either. Its verboten."

My sports ideas are probably in the nature of science fiction.

I concede there would need to be a major change in the way folks think about college sports.

Pres. Brodhead at Duke (from Yale) might be willing to think a bit "out of the box." Same with Coach K, Duke's basketball coach (originally from West Point). Coach K is a big fan of Duke in Mexico, I hear.

The NCAA could probably be flexible if Oxford and Duke set up a joint soccer club. Guest students from Duke at Oxford would be doing "year abroad" programs and playing for a joint Duke/Oxford club (and vice versa).

Educational benefits of study abroad might persuade the NCAA that no improper "boondoggle" (under the table compensation without educational purpose) was intended. If not, maybe the large private universities trying to reconfigure their sprots programs a bit could form an International Collegiate AA.

[Dave in W-S]

Greta is interviewing Nifong on FNC now as the winner of the Dem primary for DA.

What a bunch of maroons.

[craig]

Looks like this fiasco is ending. http://powerlineblog.com/archives/013954.php

[wickedpinto]

Lacrosse is one of those sports you play, ONLY because you love the game. Duke would never cancel the football, baseball, or basketball season, YEAH! lets see duke cancel the basketball season. The president is out of line, and scum for destroying a chance for these kids to do something that they love, just because he wants to curry some sort of favor that doesn't make sense in an institution of higher learning.