Duke LAX - A topic revisited

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>I just read this article from Rolling Stone (<a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10464110/sex_scandal_at_duke%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10464110/sex_scandal_at_duke&lt;/a&gt;) and was greatly disturbed by what it implied: in essence, Duke is the school where unattractive and over-privileged alpha males go to be fawned over by beautiful, intelligent, yet insecure young women. The fact that the LAX team is more adored than the storied basketball team just astounded me, since you would never imagine somebody like Reggie Bush or Matt Leinart at USC being second banana to any dork from some niche sport. But when you think about it, it makes some sense, since the LAX players are most likely wealthy White guys while basketball players are scholarship-recruited guys of varying racial backgrounds. According to this article, it seems that the student culture of Duke is unabashedly forthright in worshipping the alpha White male, against all logic. When the news of the alleged rape case first broke (before any inconsistences were revealed), the general instinct of the female populace was to defend the accused and show little sympathy for the victim. </p>

<p>I'm sure the article has at least a trace of sensationalism in it, but just wow. It seems like Duke is a haven for those who want to relive the glory days of pre-1960s America when confident White men with a sense of entitlement ran everything, and all the women loved them for it. Anybody care to comment?</p>

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<p>Just wondering, why do girls adore athletes (or why do boys think we do)? I mean, athletes can be just as cute as any other boy but I would never date someone just because of the sport he plays...</p>

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<p>well, since i go to duke, i can say you are completely wrong. </p>

<p>you really dont need to worry about basketball players. they do more than fine with duke girls.</p>

<p>greek life dominates duke, but no more than any other southern school. your assumptions are outlandish and ridiculous. </p>

<p>how do you know what the "general instinct" of the female populace was. </p>

<p>Duke is also in the top 3 for the percentage of african american students
(among non-historically black colleges) enrolled. I guess these students wish to subject themselves to "the glory days of pre-1960's America".</p>

<p>about the only thing true in that article is duke is heavily greek and that shooters is often a crazy party. </p>

<p>I hope you were being sarcastic with this topic. but if not, im pretty sure this topic doesn't need to be revisited.</p>

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<p>When the news of the alleged rape case first broke (before any inconsistences were revealed), the general instinct of the female populace was to defend the accused and show little sympathy for the victim.</p>

<p>Well, they were right to defend them weren't they?</p>

5

<p>Frankly, when I first heard about the alleged "rape" case, I was skeptical, especially as the inconsistencies started piling up. I still don't think Duke did enough, though, to protect and/or stand behind their students as they were humiliated and attacked in the media and by black civil rights activists. It was as if Duke gave up on them and presumed innocence; were they afraid of someone/thing?</p>

<p>Did anyone see Anderson Cooper's interview with Al Sharpton following Nifong's dismissal? Sharpton's response (or lack thereof) said a lot about what really happened.</p>

6

<p>I'm going to ban together with OSUforME and really speak out for my school here. That article represents an incredibly small sect of Duke students the article refers to as the "Duke 500." First of all, Rolling Stone literally invented that title out of thin air. Second of all, I challenge you to find a mid to large size school, in the south, with a greek system, which does not have a group of students which mirror that discussed in the article. Yes, we do have girls like that who suffer from the "effortless perfection" disorder, worship the alpha males, and desire to be nothing but trophy wives. We have men who love this, and take full advantage of it. But Rolling Stone got one thing right with the "Duke 500" term in that, in a school of 6000+ undergraduates, it is a small sect. As with the "popular" clique in high school, they're the students who are highly visible, attention-seeking, and highly desirable in the midst of the "Duke Lacrosse Case" in which a school which so many of us love was being attacked for being an elitist, racist place. Saying there is atleast "a trace of sensationalism" is quite an understatement...the entire thing is sensationalism when you think about the image the media was trying to convey at this time. And this article is in ROLLING STONE magazine. Really. Seriously.</p>

<p>As a Duke student, and a Duke woman representing many others, I have to say that as a whole we are an incredibly different body than what this article portrayed. I am not insecure, and I do not worship the alpha male. I speak for myself, make decisions for myself, work hard, and want much more than a Harry Winston diamond and a credit card with no limit. I still go out, have a good time, but like the vast majority of Duke women, do not spend my time engaging in the lifestyle this article described.</p>

<p>To see this article coming up again, questioning the diversity and integrity of Duke women and the Duke population in general just frustrates me, because this is essentially the same thing as analyzing any other college based on one top fraternity and sorority, and ignoring the rest.</p>

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<p>"dork from some niche sport."</p>

<p>First of all, sorry you're too much of an idiot or from an unfortunate geographic location to think that lacrosseis a "niche sport." It's called living in the entire Northeast. Everyone plays it. Just because you're too ignorant to really know what it is doesn't mean it's not as significant.</p>

<p>Second of all, I don't see how you get off calling the Duke student body out for supporting the lacrosse players when they were completely innocent all along. Do you not realize that the DA that wanted to try the case could be disbarred for pursuing it? It was that bogus from the beginning.</p>

<p>Basically you're an idiot. And what's with the athlete hate? Sorry if they stole your lunch money in high school, but get over it.</p>

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<p>i agree completely with arctic16, although its not just the northeast. im in michigan and lacrosse is huge here, as well as as the rest of the midwest, and it is growing like crazy in the west and south. and i believe that nifong has already been disbarred.</p>

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<p>i'm not sure, but i think nbachris wasn't stating absolutes, simply what he believed the rolling stones article was implying...</p>

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<p>That article is completely ridiculous, not even containing a grain of truth or accuracy. Know why? </p>

<p>It described Duke girls as "beautiful". For those who have no clue about this school (like the RollingStone authors), Duke is widely considered in the bottom five when it comes to attractive females. </p>

<p>Beyond that, the entire idea that LAX is more revered than basketball at that school?? </p>

<p>Are you kidding me?? That's the dumbest thing I've heard in the past month....and I've talked to several bums and rednecks in that stretch. </p>

<p>Does that honestly make any sense, even to you?? </p>

<p>Coach K is a national legend and makes tens of millions of dollars a year. The athletic department has made hundreds of millions of dollars thanks to the basketball program. </p>

<p>The top players go on to sign multi-million NBA contracts. The stadium is always packed to capacity. </p>

<p>And you honestly think LAX players are even a fraction as popular and relevant as that?? </p>

<p>Regardless of what a RollingStone writer mumbled in-between hits on a crack pipe, that's utter nonsense.</p>

<p>Edit</p>

<p>I just need to respond to this last, unbelievable bit of idiocy;</p>

<p>
[QUOTE]
When the news of the alleged rape case first broke (before any inconsistences were revealed), the general instinct of the female populace was to defend the accused and show little sympathy for the victim.

[/QUOTE]
</p>

<p>I don't know whether you invented this, or the RollingStone authors, but it is so stupid, I'm practically speechless. </p>

<p>Do you not remember the Duke professors (over seventy in all) who formed a special group wanting ALL the LAX players kicked out of the school? </p>

<p>Or the hundreds of Duke students who picketed various campus sites in protest of the students? </p>

<p>Or the professors and students who pointed out the LAX players in the class and called them filthy rapists and racists? </p>

<p>There was a huge amount of anger and backlash against the LAX team after the initial accusations, from professors and students alike, even though they turned out to be completely bogus, and Crystal Mangum had a long police record, and had made the same accusation against another man, only to be proven fake. </p>

<p>Start reading from about here;</p>

<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Mangum#Defense_and_media_questioning%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Mangum#Defense_and_media_questioning&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>One last thing; I greatly dislike Duke as a school, partly because of their basketball team, and partly because of the attitude of their students. If you had written that Coach K likes to drink little childrens' blood at night, I'd probably agree. </p>

<p>It's a testament to how absurd and inaccurate the article is that I, of all people, am staunchly defending the place.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
First of all, sorry you're too much of an idiot or from an unfortunate geographic location to think that lacrosseis a "niche sport."

[/quote]
</p>

<p>My mistake. I never realized that professional lacrosse players were featured on Wheaties boxes, and that top lacrosse players cast large shadows over collegiate stars like Brady Quinn and Greg Oden.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Second of all, I don't see how you get off calling the Duke student body out for supporting the lacrosse players when they were completely innocent all along. Do you not realize that the DA that wanted to try the case could be disbarred for pursuing it? It was that bogus from the beginning.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>You can't apply hindsight in this case. When the news broke, all that was known was that a bunch of over-sexed and aggressive jocks were accused of rape. Now there are some pretty unlikely stories in the world, but that isn't one of them. The school could've gone either way, since there would've been the "innocent til guilty" people and the "women's rights" people. But according to Rolling Stone, there was a stark absence of sympathy for the accuser, maybe because she was a poor Black stripper who did not go to Duke. I don't know.</p>

<p>
[quote]
And what's with the athlete hate? Sorry if they stole your lunch money in high school, but get over it.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I was a football letterman in high school.</p>

<p>Anyway, the harsh judgments I passed on Duke were subject to the actual veracity of this article which I wanted to find out by posting this on this forum. Thankfully, some of you have convinced me that this was utter sensationalism and that Duke is NOT the anti-meritocratic hellhole as depicted by Rolling Stone.</p>

<p>That is all.</p>

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<p>


</p>

<p>Now, now, let's not take that much back. I'm pretty sure everyone at Duke is ugly and stupid, and Coach K dines on illegal Cuban immigrants. </p>

<p>With that being said, Janet Reitman is a complete idiot who has obviously never attended Duke, visited the school, or spoken with anyone who has. </p>

<p>It really shows you how bad Rolling Stone has gotten that they publish such garbage. There was once a time that they actually wrote interesting articles and had good interviews. </p>

<p>Some of them even having to do with music.</p>