Being a son of the South, I (Rich) know more than a few people that have gone to Duke. I briefly considered law school there myself. I have spoken with a number of them in recent weeks about the alleged attack on the young woman and what they think and feel about the situation. Most answered with the vacuous, “Yea, I don’t know. It’s a pretty bad thing.” But one I talked to recently that I am pretty close to had a different story.
It was her freshman year and she and a few friends decided to attend a Duke Lacrosse party. It was her first college party and I’m sure she was filled with anticipation. As soon as they got there they were given punch, of course. Only one cup. A few minutes later she and her friend felt really drowsy and barely able to stand. A friend who had not taken a drink took them back to their dorms.
A few weeks later she went to the doctor for a routine check up where they did some blood work. Low and behold, they found traces of rohypnol in her system. Rohypnol stays in the human body for some weeks after being ingested. She never went to another Duke lacrosse party.
What will happen to The State Of . . . Duke, not just the lacrosse team, but the school as a whole, is unknown at the moment. A lot of people are saying it’s bad all around. However, I find that those people mostly at fault like to say that to spread the blame. It’s not bad all around, it’s bad at Duke in this situation. To serve as a deterrent, a university has the duty to come down hard on this behavior. They are the standard bearers of behavior for our future leaders. This should also apply so small schools such as Florida A&M, where a group of Kappas have been arrested for participating in an hazing incident. Five Kappa “brothers” beat a sophomore initiant with canes for four consecutive nights resulting in injuries that made him unable to attend school for the remainder of the semester. The university, in this instance, suspended the students accordingly. I say that if such allegations are proven, these students should be expelled. It sends a message that the university, we as a community (in the case of FAMU), and we as a society do not condone abusing young women or our young brothers.
Filed under: Uncategorized
