Increasingly under attack from newspaper editorials and online bloggers, the Duke faculty members known as “The Group of 88” posted a letter online yesterday defending themselves against accusations that they had rushed to judge the three men’s lacrosse players.
In the one-page “Open Letter to the Duke Community,” professors aimed to clarify an advertisement they’d published last year in a student newspaper entitled, “What Does a Social Disaster Sound Like?” The advertisement quoted anonymous students about the prevalence of sexism and racism at Duke.
“The ad has been read as a comment on the alleged rape, the team party or the specific students accused. Worse, it has been read as rendering a judgment in the case,” the letter said. “We understand the ad instead as a call to action on important, longstanding issues on and around our campus, an attempt to channel the attention generated by the incident to addressing these.”
Wednesday’s letter was signed by 87 members of Duke’s faculty, including 90 percent of the African and African American studies department, 60 percent of the women’s studies and a third of the English department.
Professors who signed the letter said they had received vicious and threatening e-mails after the advertisement was published. Dubbed “The Group of 88,” the professors became targets for all those charging that Duke professors were left-leaning and close-minded. The professors, however, say their initial intent has been misrepresented.
“I’ve seen responses to the ad that indicate the ad attacks students; passes judgment on the lacrosse players. It did no such thing. I don’t know how anyone could read that,” says Dr. Kerry L. Haynie, a political science professor. “It was to raise concern about underlying tension that preceded the lacrosse event and remain.”
The advertisement gained additional prominence when, in the fall, the defense attorney for the lacrosse players requested a change of venue, citing the advertisement as evidence of Duke faculty bias against the players. More recently, on January 10th, a group of Duke economics professors penned a letter to the university newspaper countering the sense that faculty was inimical to students: “We welcome all members of the lacrosse team and all student athletes,” the letter stated. About 18 faculty signed it.
