INC NEWS - City response to Larry Moneta e-mail? (fwd)

[kjj1 at duke.edu]

I'm glad the city council is discussing the timeline of the recent 
gang-rape investigation and the unfolding events and ongoing media coverage 
of them. I, too, am concerned about some of the negative ways Durham is 
being portrayed. And while it seems that most of the discussion at council 
yesterday centered on media portrayal, I am more concerned about how Duke 
has portrayed Durham, most especially in the e-mail Larry Moneta sent out 
to ALL Duke undergraduate, graduate, and professional students last 
weekend.

I'm posting a letter I wrote earlier this week to city council, the city 
manager, and to chief Chalmers. I spoke with Major Russ in the chief's 
office about these concerns earlier this week, and I want to thank him for 
returning my telephone calls and talking with me about these concerns 
during what I'm sure is a very busy and stressful time in the department 
and in the chief's office.

I hope the council and city manager will push to answer the questions and 
address the concerns I've raised.

Kelly Jarrett


------------ Forwarded Message ------------
Date: Wednesday, April 05, 2006 11:30 AM -0400
From: kjj1 at duke.edu
To: council at ci.durham.nc.us, bbell at ci.durham.nc.us, 
steve.chalmers at durhamnc.gov
Subject: City response to Larry Moneta e-mail?

Dear City Council Members, Mayor Bell, and Chief Chalmers:

I am writing to ask you to push Duke to investigate and make public how the 
decision was made for Duke VP for Student Affairs Larry Moneta to send an 
e-mail to all Duke undergraduate and graduate students warning them of 
"threats of a 'drive-by shooting' of the lacrosse house." Specifically, I 
want to know if anyone in the upper levels of the Duke administration 
contacted Chief Chalmer's office to verify the rumor before sending this 
e-mail?

"Dear students," Moneta begins, "I write to inform you of a rumor . . . I 
don't have a way of validating the credibility of the rumor as it came to 
us third hand from the Durham Police . . . " (see below for full text of 
memo). For a week, Duke administrators kept reiterating that no one has 
been charged in the lacrosse case yet and admonishing the community not to 
"rush to judgment" until the investigation is completed and the facts are 
in. And at the end of the week, a high-level Duke administrator sends an 
inflammatory e-mail with a clear racial subtext about a third-hand rumor to
THOUSANDS of Duke students?

Surely, Larry Moneta and other Duke administrators knew this e-mail would 
get out to the broader community and the media. Did they not consider that 
passing on such an explicit rumor of retaliatory, drive-by shootings would 
create a ripe context for self-fulfilling prophecies? That once the 
allegations in this memo became public knowledge, someone would say, "Well, 
since Duke expects this, let's give them what they're asking for"?

As a Durham resident, I am insulted and incensed-not to mention just plain 
flabbergasted-by this memo. In fact, when I first read it, I thought it was 
an April Fools prank concocted by lacrosse team supporters. I simply 
couldn't imagine that high-level Duke administrators would send out such 
explicit and provocative unsubstantiated, third-hand rumors-a clear example 
of a "do as I say, not as I do" attitude on Duke's part.

I want to be clear that I understand the responsibility and legal liability 
Duke feels to protect its students. But wouldn't a cautiously worded e-mail 
providing students with the campus police number and 911 and advising 
students that tensions are running high and they should be careful, 
watchful, sensitive to their environment, and mindful of their behavior, 
reminding them that we are all living under a microscope that magnifies our 
actions and responses have fulfilled those obligations?

Instead, Moneta sent a memo of unsubstantiated third-hand rumors that 
garnered national attention and probably seared into the minds of a 
national audience and many Duke students an image of Durham as a dangerous 
place populated by predatory, menacing gangs anxious to prey on Duke 
students. Highly insulting and ironic, given the events of recent weeks.

I encourage you all to hold Duke accountable for this memo and the damage 
it has done.

Sincerely,

Kelly Jarrett

FULL TEXT OF MONETA MEMO:

Larry Moneta <studentaffairs at duke.edu>
Sent by: students-grad-all-owner at duke.edu
03/31/2006 09:52 PM
To students-undergrad-all at duke.edu,
students-grad-all at duke.edu

Subject
Safety Information

Dear students,

I write to inform you of a rumor I've just learned. I
don't have a way of validating the credibility of the rumor as it
came to us third hand from the Durham Police to various members of the Duke
community. What we've heard is threats of "drive by shooting" of the
lacrosse house in the Trinity Park area. As of the time I write this
(approximately 9pm), we are aware of a gang-related shooting that took
place this afternoon on Sedgefield Street in Walltown (several blocks from
Trinity Park). We are assured by Durham Police that this is not related to
Duke in any way. We also have a report that passengers in a car yelled at
Duke students in houses on Buchanen Street.

I share this information with great discomfort. I neither want to create
any sense of hysteria for the Duke and Trinity Park communities nor
withhold the existence of this information. We've spoken with several of
the students who live in those houses and many have chosen to stay
elsewhere tonight.

Duke and Durham Police have substantially increased patrol coverage of the
area including Trinity Park, Ninth Street and East Campus. That coverage
will remain in place for as long as necessary. I would suggest that until
we have information to discredit or validate this rumor, we all take
appropriate precautions.

Unfortunately, tensions are very high right now and may not abate for
awhile. I would anticipate further rumors and conflicting information and
we'll do our very best to keep you informed. Most important will be to care
for each other as we all struggle with these challenges. We have work to do
to restore confidence in our community and I have absolute belief that we
can and will.

Please contact Duke Police *anytime* if you feel threatened or have
information related to any unsafe situations. Call 911 or 684-2444 for
immediate support.

Larry Moneta
Vice President for Student Affairs
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