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Brodhead apologizes
Slammed by the'Canes
Some laud decision; others At lawschoolpanel, prez says question timing, sincerity lacrosse case was mishandled by
NOAH PRINCE/THE CHRONICLE
The Miami defensesuffocated Re'quan Boyette and the Blue Devils Saturday, coming up withnine sacks and several key stops in theHurricanes' 24-14 win.TheBlue Devils, who are now 0-2 in the ACC, return to WallaceWade Stadiumfor the first time in a month next weekend to battleWake Forest. See story in SPORTSWRAP.
Chelsea Allison
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Christine Hall
THE CHRONICLE
THE CHRONICLE
A standing ovation, amplified for many by a year’s worth of tension and waiting, met the apology to the lacrosse players and their families President Richard Brodhead delivered Saturday at the School ofLaw. Brodhead’s remarks made up just 15 minutes of a two-day conference called “The Court of Public Opinion: The Practice and Ethics of Trying Cases in the Media.” But for some, his words were perhaps the most significant of the entire event. Brodhead’s original involvement in the conference had been canceled, and he was not expected to be a part of the programming until a month ago, when he asked to speak after the lacrosse panel, said Kathryn Bradley, senior lecturing fellow analysis at the School ofLaw and chair of the conference steering committee “Although the conference was planned without [his address], I think it was exacdy the right place and the right time,” she said. Others, however, said although the conference may have set an appropriate tone, the timing was off. “I thought it was appropriate that President Brodhead would apologize for the failure of the leadership, but it was well over a year late,” Jay Bilas, Trinity ’B6 and Law ’92, told The Chronicle Sunday. Bilas wrote a letter in June to the editor of Duke Magazine, Robert Bliwise, which recently appeared on the magazine’s Web site. The letter called for the resignation of both Brodhead and the chair of the Board of Trustees, Robert Steel, Trinity ’73. “The vast majority of his words and actions, and in many cases his silence, emphasized an aura of guilt of the students and of the University,” the letter reads. “From the beginning, President Brodhead abdicated his responsibility as Duke’s leader to stand up for fairness and truth.” But John Burness, vice president for government
Standing behind a podium in a packed auditorium at the School ofLaw Saturday, President Richard Brodhead issued an apology to members of the 2005-2006 men’s lacrosse team and their families in his first public statement on the lacrosse case since the disbarment and resignation of former Durham district attorney Mike Nifong. “First and foremost, I regret our failure to reach out to the lacrosse players and their families in this time of extraordinary peril,” Brodhead said. “Given the complexities of the case, getting this communication right would never have been easy. But the fact is that we did not get it right, causing the families to feel abandoned when they most needed support. This was a mistake. I take responsibility for it, and I apologize.” Brodhead added that the administration will review the decisions made during the handling of the lacrosse case. He said, however, that questions regarding how a university should act when its students are accused of a crime are questions that Duke “neither can nor should resolve by itself.” In an effort to prevent a similar situation from repeating itself, Brodhead said Duke will host a national conference of educators, lawyers and student affairs leaders to discuss how such situations should be handled. Brodhead’s apology was one part of a two-day-long conference at the School ofLaw titled “The Court of Public Opinion: The Practice and Ethics of Trying Cases in the Media,” which focused on the role that media and public scrutiny played in high-profile cases like the lacrosse case. In a roundtable panel titled “A Conversation: Living Through Lacrosse,” professors, administrators and media members discussed
SEE BRODHEAD ON PAGE 8
Trustees meet, Drag OK Few work
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SEE APOLOGY ON PAGE 5
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Lysa Chen THE CHRONICLE
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Laughter, squeals and men in skin-tight clothing and high heels filled the Duke Coffeehouse Friday night at the
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David Graham THE CHRONICLE
During a weekend when President Richard Brodhead’s lacrosse apology grabbed attention nationally and on campus, the University’s Board of Trustees met and approved more than $l2O million of construction at its
quarterly meeting Friday. The Board gave preliminary approval to two large construction projects, although the final go-ahead will require complete plans. As anticipated, a s2(>-million renovation of Few Quadrangle was approved. The trustees also greenlighted a renovation of the Gross Chemistry Laboratory as a “green” building to house the Nicholas School of the Envi-
SEE TRUSTEES ON PAGE 4
annual Fall Drag Show hosted by the Alliance of Queer Undergraduates at Duke. AQUADuke’s drag show kicked off the 23rd annual North Carolina Pride Weekend, including a parade and festival held on East Campus Saturday. Friday night, drag queens and kings strutted their stuff on stage—and through the crowd—to music varying from Rihanna’s “Shut Up and Drive” to Chicago’s “All that Jazz.” “We’re just testing some gender norms,” said senior Ashley Walker, president of AQUADuke. Before the show she handed out pink “It’s a Girl” and blue “It’s a Boy” bubble gum cigars to the packed house. “Souvenirs,” she said. “See, gender norms.” SEE PARADE ON PAGE 4
ALEXIS COOK/THE CHRONICLE
Participants in the 23rd N.C. Pride Weekend set up stands on East Campus.