One year ago, a large portion of faculty and students at Duke were defending an African American single mother who had been hired as an exotic dancer, and was bringing charges of rape against students at their university. Members of the national media, along with Americans across the country, were expressing strong views about an elitist white culture which fostered racism. This week, many of those who had voiced such opinions had come to realize that all the allegations in the case were groundless. What a difference a year makes.
It's time to look back at the unfortunate series of events which unrolled during the past 13 months and ask what lessons can be drawn from this case. The problem seems to be two-fold: a justice system which was almost corrupted by one incompetent prosecutor, and a community plagued by racial tension, waiting to pounce on one explosive issue.
The first predicament needs to be addressed through measures increasing the accountability of government prosecutors. David Evans, one of the exonerated lacrosse players, spoke to the dangers of false convictions and his luck in support and resources at a press conference on Wednesday, saying, "Many people across this country, across this state, would not have the opportunity that we did. And this could simply have been brushed underneath the rug just as another case, and some innocent person would end up in jail for their entire life."
With this, Evans pointed out a dangerous and scary possibility. The amount of energy that went into investigating the plaintiff's claim shows to what extent an overzealous district attorney can hijack the justice system. For defendants with limited financial resources, this could result in an impossible battle. Proving one's innocence should not, under any circumstances, require millions of dollars in legal fees.
In this very real case, justice can be said to have (albeit slowly) prevailed. But while the judicial process ran its course, the issues brought up by this scandal certainly struck a raw nerve across the country. It is quite probable that most of the vociferous defendants of the dancer regret having spoken so hastily, and also quite understandable that they may have been swayed by emotion.
Clearly, despite admissions policies at Duke which welcome students of all races, there are still a number of community members who view the institution as a bastion of white elitism. Since the incident, many in the Duke community, minority students and faculty alike, have voiced their discomfort with racial issues at the university.
Sound familiar? The Duke case, in its details, does not parallel the Christmas carol incident last semester, but it is likely that our students can relate to a culture in which implicit racial tensions are suddenly brought into the light by an unexpected occurrence. If our country's elite institutions of higher education (which are frequently compared to idealized bubbles) are not immune from these tensions, it is not a good sign for society as a whole.
The bottom line is that we need to be talking about racial difficulties before they cascade into huge problems. After all, it was only two generations ago that America's public schools were desegregated. We still have a long way to go in building a healthy society where citizens are not judged based on the color of their skin.
