The Chronicle
See Inside
Women’s soccer game ends in draw Page 8
T H E I N D E P E N D E N T D A I LY AT D U K E U N I V E R S I T Y
THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2019 DUKECHRONICLE.COM
OPINION
Open letter from Duke LGBTQ Network on Chick-fil-A
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTEENTH YEAR, ISSUE 5
Duke issues statement amid Chick-fil-A controversy
By Duke LGBTQ Network Guest Columnist
Editor’s note: The following statement was submitted to Duke and The Chronicle before President Vincent Price and Kevin White, vice president and director of athletics, released a statement in support of the LGBTQ+ community Aug. 27, 2019. President Price and Dr. Kevin White, In the past three years, Duke has experienced a number of incidents that call into question how inclusive and welcoming our campus is for LGBTQ students, employees and faculty, but the university responded each time with swift condemnation of the acts and affirmative support for those who were targeted. Therefore, it is disheartening to learn that just a few days after the fall semester begins at the end of August, Duke Football will meet Alabama in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. It is shocking to see that our alma mater would enter into a business arrangement with a sponsor that has made no secret of its disdain for the LGBTQ community. Duke would never enter into such an agreement with a company who unapologetically professed financial support for racist, misogynist or anti-Semitic groups. When those working in Athletics have been questioned, they have responded that the contract was signed three years ago, as if that is an excuse. Chick-fil-A’s anti-LGBTQ crusade has been well documented for years. They have See CHICK-FIL-A on Page 10
Henry Haggart | Assistant Sports Photography Editor
By Maria Morrison Health and Science News Editor
Four days prior to the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game between Duke and the University of Alabama, President Vincent Price and Kevin White, vice president and director of athletics, issued a statement expressing their support for the LGBTQ+ community amid controversy over Chick-fil-A’s stance on LGBTQ+ rights. “In light of Duke’s participation in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game and the concerns that have been expressed about the title sponsor, we proudly reaffirm our commitment to the LGBTQ+ community,” they wrote. “We stand together with our LGBTQ+ colleagues—along with all of our
classmates, teammates, teachers, alumni and friends—to fight for equality and to demand freedom from fear and hatred.” The statement comes after the Duke LGBTQ Network and the Duke Student Government Executive Board emailed letters to Price expressing their concerns over Duke’s participation in the Chick-fil-Asponsored game. “It’s disappointing to see the University’s actions contradict its statement of support for the LGBTQIA+ community,” wrote senior Manish Kumar, DSG vice president of academic affairs, in a message to The Chronicle. “Considerations should be taken in the future so marginalized voices get a say in decisions like these.” “The Duke LGBTQ Network is pleased
to see the university condemn the widely documented efforts against the LGBTQ community by Chick-fil-A and its affiliates,” wrote Alex Osmond, Trinity ‘09 and president of the Duke LGBTQ Network, in an email to The Chronicle. As recently as 2017, the fast-food chicken restaurant donated more than $1.8 million to groups that have faced criticism of espousing anti-LGBTQ+ policies, according to ThinkProgress, a progressive news site. These groups included the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which had a policy against homosexual behavior; the Salvation Army, which has faced historical accusations of promoting anti-LGBTQ+ views; and the See STATEMENT on Page 12
Two members of Exonerated Five to speak at Duke next week By Matthew Griffin University News Editor
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Members of the Exonerated Five with Ken Burns after the 2012 documentary about their case. Raymond Santana (left) and Yusef Salaam (second-from-left) are speaking at Duke next week.
Hopscotch festival celebrates 10 years The Raleigh music festival will like James Blake and CHVRCHES.
feature
acts PAGE 6
Yusef Salaam and Raymond Santana were wrongfully convicted in 1989, along with three other young men, of the assault and rape of a woman who was jogging in Central Park. The five men are now known as the Exonerated Five. Now, 17 years after they were exonerated, Salaam and Santana are coming to Duke to share their stories in two events next week. The first is a moderated event that will take place Monday, Sept. 2 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in Page Auditorium, and the second conversation will occur the next day at 12:30 p.m. in the Duke Law School. Mark Anthony Neal, James B. Duke
We want ‘Bama
Assistant Blue Zone Editor Evan Kolin previews Duke’s upcoming football game against the juggernaut. PAGE 8
INSIDE — News 2 | Sports 4 | Crossword 9 | Opinion 10 | Serving the University since 1905 |
professor of African and African American studies, will moderate the Monday talk, and Brandon Garrett, L. Neil Williams Jr. professor of law, will interview the members of the Exonerated Five during the second event. “Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and their Exonerated Five brothers are one of the greatest symbols of the impact of wrongful convictions,” Neal wrote in an email to The Chronicle. Neal and Garrett separately told The Chronicle of their personal connections to the Exonerated Five. Only a few years older than the five, Neal wrote that he had followed their story for almost 30 years, as he grew up in New York City at the time of the case. Garrett wrote that he represented Salaam See EXONERATED on Page 12
Why men need to stop wearing flip flops
Columnist Sami Kirkpatrick denounces the act of men wearing open-toed shoes in public. PAGE 11
@dukechronicle @dukebasketball |
@thedukechronicle | © 2019 The Chronicle