Duke Univ. President insults players' families

http://forums.talkleft.com/index.php?topic=465.0 ^ | Oct. 25, 2006

[CondorFlight]

3."Colin Finnerty’s parents contacted (Duke Univ. President) Brodhead to ask for permission to transfer credits from other colleges. . . Brodhead refused to meet with them despite several requests. Finally, the person in charge of the annual giving program told Brodhead that, unless he agreed to see the Finnerties, he would resign. Only then did Brodhead agree to meet them. In the meeting, Brodhead remained intransigent and he and Mrs. Finnerty got into terrible argument. The Finnerties walked out because Brodhead started insulting them."

(excerpt from a statement at Talk Left by an offical spokesman for Friends of Duke Univeristy)

[Canali]

Nobody on the Duke basketball team would have actually spend $800 to see some girl-girl action.

[HaveHadEnough]

Duke would not allow the transfer, and so they had to ask for that permission.

I understand, but they have to meet with the president of the university? If the rule is that two courses can be transferred, then two courses can be transferred. What is there to ask?

[flyingtabby]

Here's a link to their policies. And, since they are, after all, a private (as opposed to a state school) they can take a LOT of latitude in terms of suspension or expulsion of students. If you read thru the stuff, it does say the students cannot engage in disruptive behavior off-campus. Etc. Etc. Etc. In other words, they have covered their behinds pretty well in terms of whether or not they can kick someone out for illegal activities, on campus or off campus, with or without administrative hearings.........you need to click on sidebar links to read further, but they really DO have the right to expel the students if they so choose.
http://judicial.studentaffairs.duke.edu/policies/policy_list/alcohol.html

[newcthem]

Hey......time to head back to the dims website, where your intelligence will certainly be welcomed.

[cryptical]

I understand, but they have to meet with the president of the university? If the rule is that two courses can be transferred, then two courses can be transferred. What is there to ask?

Ask for an exception, because it is an exceptional situation.

[pray4liberty]

This is not surprising, colleges have been doing this to parents for years.

Why we put up with this crap is beyond me.

[Constitutions Grandchild]

There will be none. There will be nothing even if the boys are cleared of all charges. The School Districts and Colleges will never admit foul, nor will they say another word about it. They will vigorously fight any lawsuit and defend their position. You all must accept that. It is up to Duke Alumni to pressure for any type of change, barring that, tuition may rise, but no doubt they have some type of insurance for any malfeasance. If more suits are filed, they will be unable to obtain insurance. That's the way of the world.

[pray4liberty]

I hope they taped those insults. Bill O'Reilly would have a field day.

Parents get treated like this at the high schools too. Some of these administrators simply do not have good manners and cannot control their tempers. They make life just awful for the decent teachers out there who are doing their best to educate our children.

[Constitutions Grandchild]

The moment charges are filed, they must suspend pending investigation and resolution. Those are the guidelines across the board. What they didn't have to do is chop wood and add it to the blaze.

[Old Professer]

You take a man's name, you take his livelihood.

[thinkthenpost]

Since the alleged victim was not a student at Duke I seriously doubt that Duke was required to suspend the accused 3 from attending class, from La Crosse I can see. The meeting was not concerning the suspension anyway, it was about Duke accepting transfer credits earned during the suspension.

[rawhide]

Brodbutthead has got to go! This guy is a world class creep!

[flyingtabby]

Like it or not, I'm simply pointing out the truth of the matter. Private universities such as Duke may suspend and/or expel students at their own discretion. I am not saying this is necessarily the correct course of action, simply that they are within their rights to do so.

[JamesP81]

Hey - Duke had every right to expel those students!

I hear that JC Penney is having a special on jackboots this weekend. You ought to check it out.

I suppose you're not entirely wrong since Duke is a private university, IIRC. That doesn't change the fact that it's a tacky, mean spirited thing to do. Brodhead ought to be ashamed of himself, but the man is so crass that he probably isn't.

[Constitutions Grandchild]

Two different things here. Suspension is mandatory for all public institutions (to protect the student population) while an investigation is pending or felony charges have been filed -- doesn't matter if the person arrested was arrested on school property or doing something on the other side of town. The trigger here is the "felony" designation which is why a felonious crime must be alleged in the scam cases.

As to meeting with the parents, we, too, suffered the ostracism and refusal to meet. We were told by the School Administration not to set foot on campus. I don't know what the motivation for being a total jerk would be, I suspect it's something to do with breeding, however, I could be wrong and they're worried about vigilante parents coming in and wiping out the student body and administration. After the latest deals in Colorado and Pennsylvania, they wouldn't be out of line for thinking that.

[jennyd]

Well, don't forget they are rich too. I suppose their parents should have drown them in a bucket when they were born.

[flyingtabby]

The advantage of Duke being a private university is that, should the board decide they don't like the way the situation was handled, they can give Broadhead the boot. The ultimate decision maker is going to be the big money contributors. If they like how it was handled, Broadhead stays. If not, he'll be kissing his presidency goodbye real fast........

[VaFarmer]

Duke University has been disgraceful in its response to this situation. I would like to caution anyone from believing that the situation would be much different at any other "top tier" college or university.

For years, feminist student organizations and feminist faculty have made colleges unsafe for men unless they are very, very cute. (Cute guys don't get on the wrong side of women very often, no matter how outrageous their behavior.) Regular guys are getting thrown out of school or otherwise punished for the most incredibly minor offenses, particularly for offensive language.

To give you an example, I had a friend thrown out of a graduate program for asking a girl to go to dinner. The faculty reasoning was that she already had a boyfriend, the graduate student should have known that she was not interested, and therefore pursuing the relationship was unprofessional and harrassing. Of course, my friend was a clueless, total loser and knew nothing about dating, girls, boyfriends, or anything else. Three years of his life went down the drain for cluelessness.

How I got a degree is a anybody's guess, since I am definately not cute and I am definately a loudmouth.

Anyhow, if the rape charges come to nothing, Duke may make some superficial comments supporting the boys, but there will be disciplinary action taken against them for the drinking and alleged racial slur.

Feminist and racial activists have very loud voices and white guys don't count for much around Duke.

Parents: Send your kids somewhere else. I'm not kidding. Risks are different for girls, but not any better. "Top tier" universities and liberal arts schools get the most promising kids in the country and are toxic for a large percentage of them.