| # | Name | Comments |
|---|
| 201 | JOHN MILLER | It is time for the Gang of 88 to recant and to realize that their gullability, while perhaps well intentioned, served only to inflame a tragic situation and to do harm to a great university and to students who were entitled to the presumption of innocence. Thank goodness for Professor Coleman. |
| 202 | Bret Thompson | |
| 203 | Wendy Breslin | |
| 204 | Anonymous | |
| 205 | David Breslin | |
| 206 | Dr. Stephen Pratt | The Group of 88 owes the Duke 3, the LAX team, and all of the Duke community an apology for their add. Good job Econ Dept. |
| 207 | Barbara Salvadore | I have never doubted one team member since this ordeal began. Continue to hold your heads up high.You have all shown so much integrity throughout this horror.
Collin- thank you for your work with Tuesdays Children. As a 9/11 family member, I personally thank you for your dedication to the organization. |
| 208 | Anonymous | I congratulate the 17 faculty members of the Economics Department. It's good to finally see support and clarity. |
| 209 | David Shimm | Brodhead should resign. |
| 210 | Anonymous | |
| 211 | Jared Frood | |
| 212 | Steve Kennedy (T'91) | While I fully support the statements of the Econ professors (who wouldn't - they are unquestionably appropriate), let the record show that this Duke grad would wholeheartedly support a more forceful and critical statement regarding the manner in which the Duke administration has handled this matter from its inception. While I don't applaud the actions of the lacrosse players that gave rise to this mess, those actions were performed by young and not-yet-fully mature individuals and were legal (except, perhaps, for some underage drinking, and I trust that most would join me in permitting some compassion before judging college kids for that offense) and do not make me ashamed to be a Duke alum. The actions of the Duke administration, on the other hand, are the actions of individuals acting on behalf of the institution and in the name of the institution, while having a professional and ethical duty to protect the institution and its constituents. While the recent statements of that administration are approaching the correct position, in my view it is an inexcusable lack of leadership mettle to have permitted a void to continue for so long, which in turn spawned objectionable statements by faculty, terrible decisions regarding the lacrosse team and the coach, and likely buttressed the belief of the prosecution that it could get away with its egregious conduct. This lack of fortitude, and lack of forsight to anticipate the effects of this leadership void, do in fact embarrass me and make me ashamed of my alma mater. Were I a Trustee, I would be inclined to conclude that the current leadership can not and will not recover from its failures in this case, and that new leadership is required to regain the confidence of the institution. |
| 213 | Ursula Henwood | |
| 214 | Madeline Woodmansee | |
| 215 | Eliza Pike | |
| 216 | H. Mason Hicks | |
| 217 | Gary Dunkel | As an attorney,I'm embarrased by Mr.Nifong.As Duke alum. saddened by damage to university and affected students.While their conduct that evening certainly was not admirable it appears to pale in comparison to Mr.Nifong's opportunism an apparent incompetence. |
| 218 | John Fay | I applaud the economics department at Duke for finally taking a stand. The group of '88' have seriously tarnished all of Duke University and their profession. Liberal arts education, above all else, is suppose to teach students how to learn, considering actions speak louder than words, the group of '88s' letter to the Chronicle at such a crucial time demonstrate they are not qualified to teach Duke students how to learn as fairness, due process and reserving judgement is lost on them. I have reviewed the list of '88' and was relieved none of them ever taught a class I took. Considering the administration at Duke is too cowardly to on this matter, I suggest all Duke students boycott any class taught by these teachers as it is their right to receive a top quality education at Duke, and these teachers have demonstrated they are not of the quality Duke students deserve when they pay their exorbitant tuition bill . |
| 219 | Craig H. Lewis | |
| 220 | Randolph H. Perry | I am the parent of a current Duke student. I am a practicing lawyer. |
| 221 | Anonymous | Please do not assume that faculty who have been (or still are) silent have not formed reasoned and sensible opinions about the events of the last ten months. Nor should their silence be construed as supportive of the 88 signatories of the "listening" ad in the Duke Chronicle (or of any other position); as a general rule, the most strident and extreme voices are not universal, nor rarely even widely held (or so I would like to believe).
I am a Professor at Duke, a Duke alumnus, and a resident of Durham. I have constantly updated my position on the lacrosse case as new evidence has come to light and will continue to do so as new evidence comes to light. I am signing this petition because at this point in time, based on the evidence of which I am aware (which is quite extensive, after devoting much time to reading motions, affidavits, sworn statements, news articles, and multiple blogs), I believe:
1) the three lacrosse players, Reade Seligmann, David Evans, and Collin Finnerty, are completely innocent of the charges they face,
2) the DA Mike Nifong is corrupt to a level that merits censure or disbarment; I believe this will eventually happen since the charge that he already faces (making inflammatory prejudicial statements) is the least compelling of those he will probably later have to face (willfully violating accepted lineup procedures, and withholding and conspiring to withhold exculpatory evidence),
3) because of her claims, which appear at this time to be baseless, the accuser has done significant harm not only to the accused, to Duke, to NCCU, and to the city of Durham, but also to herself (by exposing to public examination her character and her past) and to all true victims of rape and sexual assault who are now less likely to be as readily believed,
4) the group of 88 signatories of the "listening" ad is not monolithic in its beliefs; while many of the signatories will likely not change their minds regardless of what evidence is revealed (which is extremely disconcerting given that we uphold scholars as people who ponder carefully, think critically, and consider dispassionately), I believe other signatories to be fine colleagues who are seeking the truth and willing to eventually change their positions in the light of new evidence (even though they may not be willing to do so in public), and
5) the Duke administration is trying to walk a fine line since it needs to please many constituencies; I believe the administration is committed to the truth, but as with all large institutions, this is a slow process because it takes more time to change the course of a large ship than a small one (recall that in the earliest days, some criticized the administration for not moving swiftly enough to condemn the players); this is especially true of academic institutions where the administration serves at the pleasure of so many competing constituencies (although stronger leaders might not seek to please all constituencies equally and the response time might then be faster).
While no university is perfect, and Duke is certainly not an exception to this rule, Duke is truly a wonderful institution with great faculty, students, employees, alumni, fans, and friends. I thank each of you for your support of Duke! |
| 222 | Ricki D'Alessandro | |
| 223 | Kristin Lonergan Batista, Esq | As an attorney. I am both shocked and angered by this miscarriage of justice. |
| 224 | Keri Dunn | |
| 225 | Anonymous | |
| 226 | Anonymous | My own child was a "victim" of the Durham Police Department during her tenure at Duke costing thousands of dollars in legal fees for trumped up charges that 15 years ago would have been considered nothing more than good natured fun. A contact of mine at another N.C. law enforcement agency told me that the Durham PD had a reputation of corruption and "going after rich kids" - no big secret.
I was increculous at the total lack of support by the Duke administration during the entire LaCrosse incident, as well as for hundreds of other students that have been abused by the same system.
The Duke administration has become politically correct as opposed to doing the RIGHT THING. What kind of example is this setting for the future leaders, what type of trust is this instilling, and what does this display about democratic system? Shame on us all. |
| 227 | Stacey Mon | |
| 228 | William Wolcott | |
| 229 | David Kang | |
| 230 | Larry Wendling | |
| 231 | Mindy Solie | |
| 232 | Peggy Harper | |
| 233 | Edward Douglass | |
| 234 | Ralph H. Lloyd | How could anyone not subscribe to that simple message? |
| 235 | Erik Henkelman | |
| 236 | Anonymous | |
| 237 | Patricia Moynihan | My prayers are always with the entire lacrosse team, but especially Reade, Collin, Dave and their families. Please continue to contact me if I can support them in any way. |
| 238 | Kern Smith | Class of '06 |
| 239 | Kemp D. Gregory | |
| 240 | JJ Hooton | What a contrast between the economics professors and the G88 who are now practically claiming victim status for their REAL comments, attitudes and actions about their IMAGINED actions of the indicted team members. What world do they live in? As a School of the Environment grad, I was disappointed to read Thomas Crowley's guest ed to the HS but his apology was sincere. He admitted he was wrong, said he was sorry and basically asked for forgiveness. When I hear the words: " I am sorry, I made a mistake, please forgive me" from the G88, I might feel a little sympathy for their pathetic sense of entitilement from any criticism for lacking any respect for due process of law, particularly for their own students. However, I will bet all I've got that they will continue to hide behind their self-righteous unearned morality, it just takes too much courage for this group, as well as some in the administration (the Pres, Davidson) to admit they made a mistake and apologize for it. To the G88: WE'RE LISTENING. |
| 241 | michael roth | Shame on Duke, Shame on Durham, Shame on the Criminal Justice system in NC, and the media
for forgetting that in this country you are innocent until proven guilty. When an injustice has occured then all who were over zealous in assumption of guilt should be as over zealous in righting a wrong.
The attempt of Duke to invite students back is a transparent attempt to position this once well respected institution of higher learing in a better light to avoid a law suit by the parents of these students who have been wronged and to bolster sagging aplications from incoming freshman who wish to attend this fine instution of higher learning with a shamefully tarnished reputation, when it comes to showing support for its student body and remembering that in this country one is presumed innocent until proven guilty . Too little to late Duke. What about your lacrosse coach who was dismissed ? What about the other innocent members of your team who were deprived of a opportunity to compete. Shame on Duke. Shame on the North Carolina Bar |
| 242 | Jaclyn M. Obeso | |
| 243 | Christopher David Mandracchia | Nifong, Durham Police Department, and the whole judicial system in Durham need to be investigated. |
| 244 | John R. Runyan III | |
| 245 | Christopher Goss | |
| 246 | Paul E Durnan | |
| 247 | Faik Koray | |
| 248 | Jean C. Brooks | |
| 249 | David Smallen | |
| 250 | John Korman | |