Duke
rape case arouses racial tensions
in N.C.
Molly
Stewart
Let’s
face it: college kids like to party — a
lot. But unlike beer pong, rape is not
a fun, harmless party game. It’s
a disgusting, sick crime.
But rape can be a crime in which it’s hard to prove innocence or guilt.
The recent Duke University case of a party gone terribly wrong is such a case.
It’s become a blurry battle of “he said, she said” dividing
races and destroying lives.
The clear part of the case is there was a party held by three captains of Duke’s
men’s lacrosse team at their house March 13. Two exotic dancers were
hired to perform at the party. What happened next is not so clear.
There are two sides to the story, one from the exotic dancers and another from
the lacrosse team. Newsweek found that according to the affidavit of a Durham,
N.C. police officer, one of the strippers, a black North Carolina Central University
student, told the police she had been raped, sodomized, strangled and beaten
by three of the partygoers.
The players say they are completely innocent and no one had sex with the stripper
that night.
In the men’s defense, attorneys representing the lacrosse team members
announced tests conducted by state forensic technicians found no genetic link
between the players and the woman accusing them of rape.
This story has created economic and racial tension in Durham because of Duke’s
reputation. It’s known for its elite, privileged white students and championship
basketball teams. The accuser’s school is a historically black public
university.
When you’re a player on one of the best teams in the nation, it’s
somehow a lot easier to look the other way and let things slide. It’s
not exactly a fair system, but Duke gets a lot of press and prestige from its
top-rated sports teams.
According to MSNBC.com, the case has been intensified by an e-mail from sophomore
player Ryan McFadyen, who is now suspended.
“I plan on killing the bitches as soon as the [sic] walk in and proceeding
[sic] to cut their skin off while [ejaculating] in my Duke [sic] issue spandex,” he
wrote.
That doesn’t sound like a completely innocent comment, but more like
an angry outburst at having been busted by a stripper. The whole ordeal has
also caused the men’s lacrosse coach, Mike
Pressler, to quit and Duke’s president, Richard H. Brodhead, to suspend
the nationally-ranked men’s lacrosse team for the rest of the season.
The men’s lacrosse team has a history of, according to Brodhead, “boorish
behavior and underage drinking.” This makes it hard to believe the men
are completely innocent.
Sure, there’s no DNA evidence, but District Attorney Mike Nifong has
said 75 to 80 percent of rape prosecutions lack DNA evidence. That means that
they could have raped her and just used condoms.
Or they could be completely innocent.
However, medical examinations found the 27-year-old woman had injuries consistent
with rape. There’s nothing for her to gain by accusing the lacrosse team
if they didn’t really do it. So why would she lie about it?
It’s as if these boys abused the stripper like she was another one of
their expensive toys. Sorry, but women aren’t BMWs that you can crash
and then have Daddy replace. You can’t damage a woman and then expect
not to pay the consequences.
The truth is, I don’t know if the boys are innocent or guilty, but either
way they could show some respect. If they didn’t do it, they have nothing
to hide. Lashing out in a disgusting, threatening email only makes the situation
worse. Perhaps Duke should take a closer look at the men who represent them
on and off the field.
Molly Stewart is a freshman journalism major.
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