INC NEWS - Houston Baker blasts delay in addressing rape case (Charlotte Observer)

[John Schelp]

Duke leadership feels heat: Professor blasts delay in
addressing rape case; officials hear concerns
(Charlotte Observer, 1 April 2006)

The aftershocks from sex-assault allegations involving
Duke University's lacrosse team rippled across the
school Friday as a professor lambasted the school's
leadership and administrators continued reaching out
to African American leaders, alumni and anxious
parents.

Houston Baker, a professor of English and African
American studies, distributed a 2 1/2-page e-mail
criticizing the administration for taking two weeks to
publicly address the reported rape of an exotic dancer
by three men at a party hosted by members of the
lacrosse team.

"We have been deeply embarrassed by the silence that
seems to surround this white, male athletic team's
racist assaults," Baker wrote.

Duke spokesman John Burness said officials need more
time to read and examine the e-mail before responding,
but he called Baker a distinguished faculty member who
is "extraordinarily upset," and he described the
e-mail as "very serious."

"It's understandable to feel badly when terrible
things may have happened at a place you love,"
university President Richard Brodhead wrote in an
e-mail to 80,000 alumni this week, "and I've heard
from many of you who have expressed sadness, anger,
outrage and frustration about the lacrosse situation.

"Let me also say that as painful as these times are,
the test of a school is not preventing bad things from
ever happening, but in addressing them in an honest
and forthright way."

Baker, a nationally recognized author and scholar,
made references to "Uncle Tom's Cabin" as he accused
the administration of cowardice in dealing with the
team's raucous partying and underage drinking. Such
behavior wouldn't be tolerated in other settings, he
wrote.

While declaring no rush to judgment, Baker nonetheless
called for the immediate dismissal of the team and its
coaches. He also chastised Duke basketball coach Mike
Krzyzewski and other prominent university figures.

"Where now is the commercial charisma of `Coach K'?"
Baker wrote. "Why aren't such stalwarts of Duke
athletics publicly and courageously addressing the
horrors that have occurred in their own domain?"

Brodhead has been meeting with groups on campus and
off, including African American leaders.

At breakfast Thursday, Brodhead met with African
American leaders from Durham and N.C. Central
University, the historically black college in Durham
where the reported rape victim is a student.

Brodhead's e-mail to university parents said the
allegations, if proven, would justify outrage, but he
cautioned that accusations are not convictions.

"I would gladly have spared your sons and daughters
this experience," Brodhead wrote. "But painful as
these days are, times of strain can also be times of
education. We will be working as always to assure the
welfare of our students, and we'll be struggling to
make this an occasion where we can all grow in
wisdom."