c. 2007 Religion News Service
DURHAM, N.C. _ Now that District Attorney Mike Nifong has been removed for misconduct in handling rape allegations against three Duke University lacrosse players, it is time to learn from this 17-month saga.
I’m not talking about simply closing the book on a rogue DA, breathing a sigh of relief, and moving on. Instead, we need to dig deeply into the broader and deeper meanings of these events.
We all have a stake in this learning. The Duke case is more than local drama. It is a high-profile look at an epidemic of accountability-denial.
For example, the interim DA said his staff will have one long conversation about the Nifong era and move on. I should think they would be discussing this episode every day, using it to raise the bar on interviewing witnesses, collaborating with police, handling evidence and making public statements.
The city has launched a study of the role of its police force in the case. It’s already being criticized as window-dressing, likely to produce little more than low-level blaming.
Citizens have much to learn. The allegations of a black woman that she was raped by three white men ignited racial outcries _ not because a DA was leading citizens over a cliff, but because racial tensions always simmer in Durham (and other cities) and occasionally erupt.
If anything, Nifong’s ouster worsens the situation. The message is clear: Don’t mess with rich white folks who can hire powerful lawyers and do their own exhaustive analysis of DNA evidence. Black citizens could be excused for asking, “Is money what it takes to secure justice?”
Other than five quickly shelved self-studies, Duke University’s administration shows no discernible appetite for learning from these events.
On the Sunday after rape allegations were revealed, I watched female students express outrage at the way women are treated at Duke, neighbors express outrage at the way hard-partying undergraduates tarnish their neighborhoods, and others express outrage at a jock culture soaked in beer and privilege.
Duke needs to be taking that outrage seriously. It doesn’t go away with Nifong’s removal. If the women were correct in describing a high incidence of sexual assault by male students, then Duke has a huge ethical issue, not to mention potential exposure to crippling lawsuits.
Moving drunken students out of the tony neighborhood where the notorious lacrosse team party occurred doesn’t address the problem of out-of-control drinking or the growing perception of Duke as a party school.
Having blistered Nifong with a national campaign of letters to the editor, Duke loyalists now are piling on the 88 faculty members who took out a newspaper ad condemning students’ alleged behavior. Even if the allegations were baseless, their deep concern for a university apparently losing its way should be seen as a wake-up call. The hapless DA didn’t stir their frustration; teaching Duke students did.
Duke should be leading the way in a national reassessment of student life, campus ethics, entitlement and privilege, academic freedom, gender relations, underage alcohol use, exposure to liability for failure to provide a safe environment, and the role of over-involved parents.
Finally, the three exonerated young men need to learn from this episode. They have had a sobering look inside the criminal justice system, which should give them sympathy for the many who are unfairly accused.
They have also seen how classmates perceived them as arrogant. These perceptions predated March 2006 and need to be taken seriously, if they are to be successful citizens and professionals.
(Tom Ehrich is a writer, church consultant and Episcopal priest in Durham, N.C. He is the author of “Just Wondering, Jesus: 100 Questions People Want to Ask,” and the founder of the Church Wellness Project. His Web site is http://www.morningwalkmedia.com.)
KRE/LF END EHRICH
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