Dear Friends,

As I indicated in my message dated April 20 today was the date for 1) freezing this discussion board and preserving it as-is, or 2) turning it over to a group of new moderators to run. I am pleased to inform you that we are going with option 2. Stated differently, we are going co-op!

I did not anticipate how hard this decision was going to be until I started receiving emails and PMs from many of you urging me not to freeze the board, at least nor for a few more months. Quite a few members volunteered to become moderators and run the board on a rotational basis. I was touched by this cooperative spirit and continued interest in the lacrosse case. So, we will give it a try.

I identified 3 moderators and, as of today, gave them moderator status. Your new moderators are Floria, Darcy and White Fang. The selection of the moderators was done strictly on the basis of ties to the Duke University (i.e. those with ties were given preference). In 6 months, if there is still enough interest to continue, these moderators will select another group of moderators from among the board members and rotate out. In short, this board will become a member run discussion board. We don’t really know how well this scheme will work. But, but we will find out. I wish the new moderators good luck and thank them for volunteering to do this work. I will be available to help on all technical matters.

Below outlined are the changes that will take effect today and the new rules which will apply to the board.

Most importantly, the board will operate under a new name and it will no longer be connected to FODU. FODU will carry on its activities using the FODU website. This board will be run independently by its own members under the new name Duke Community Forum. The purpose of this board will be to provide an informal discussion forum for people who are affiliated with Duke University on all matters relating to the University. Naturally, the emphasis may continue to be on the lacrosse case for a while. But, in time that may change. The new configuration of the board will allow for multiple themes to be discussed.

On more practical matters:

1. The existing contents of the board, as of this morning, are frozen under the heading FODU Archives. Those contents will be preserved indefinitely.

2. At the moment, there is a link on the FODU website pointing to this board. That link will be removed within the next few days. If you have been using that link to get to this board, be sure to bookmark the board directly for your future visits. The URL (web address) of the board remains the same (i.e. if you already have a bookmark to the board, no changes are necessary).

3. The registration method has been changed. All future registrations to the board will need to be approved by moderators. This is primarily to avoid spam. All discussion boards are targeted by spammers, and if left unchecked, they post irrelevant advertisements including pornographic materials. In the coming days, all previously banned users will be removed from the members list. Because of this you may actually see a reduction in the number of registered users.

4. Two new sections have been created for future discussions. This setup is very similar to how we operated before. Therefore, you should feel right at home.

5. The online Board Rules have not been updated yet, but that should very soon.

I like to thank you, once again, for your participation on this board. Over the last year, despite some difficult times, getting to know so many of you has been a great pleasure to me. I will look forward to reading your future comments on the board. My email address remains the same ( friendsofdukeuniveristy@yahoo.com ). Please feel free to contact me either by email or through the PM system of the board. With my best wishes and compliments I bid you farewell.

From John in Carolina:
1. INNOCENT: Seligmann Honored
http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/20...nn-honored.html

From KC Johnson:
2. Seligmann Receives Delbarton Medal
http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/...rton-medal.html

From Herald Sun:
3. Prep school honors Seligmann
http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-842950.cfm

From WRAL:
4. Duke's Danowskis Named Top Coach, Player in ACC
http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/1360579/

From Herald Sun:
5. Duke scientist wins prestigious honor
http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-843016.cfm

6. Man charged with raping girl
http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-842980.cfm

Good bye Moderator. Thank you for all you have done. Also thanks to the new moderators for picking up the ball. I was a "friend" of Duke, but have no affiliation, so I guess I won't be part of the new Group. Good luck to all.

I am so glad the board continues. As already indicated, some of us are not quite ready to let go.

It is great to see how Reade Seligmann's reputation is already on repair. He was quoted saying his reputation is only for him to destroy but all these articles do help. I hope there will be more positive coverage on all three guys in the coming months.

A couple of small items:

First, The Chronicle appears to be already on recess for the summer break. So, we will not have those great articles to read for a while.

Second, the report on the Last Day of Classes festivities was very good. From what I heard, students had great fun and everthing worked out nicely. Compared to what was going last year at this time, this is a welcome change.

This link is from yesterday.
1. AG to release Duke lacrosse report Friday, April 26, News14
http://news14.com/content/top_stories/5817...ay/Default.aspx

2. After Year in Spotlight, Duke Lacrosse Team Ready for ACC Tournament
April 27, WRAL
http://wral.com/sports/story/1361995/

3. AG Report – Summary and Conclusions, April 27, WRAL
http://www.wral.com/news/local/flash/1363139/

Good afternoon everyone,

The new moderation team (Floria, White Fang and myself) were informed last night that we were selected to become moderators of this board. From what I understand, there were many members volunteering. Because of the short notice, we could not quite get ready for today.

First, I am happy that our moderator agreed to keep the board open and let us continue for a while. Our new team will communicate today and tomorrow and come up with a simple game plan for running the board. We expect to post a comment by Sunday which will explain how we intend to moderate and what the new "board rules" will be. If you have suggestions or ideas, please pass them on. We will be happy to take them into account.

For now, I would like make one clarification. The existing members of this board as well as future members who do not have an affiliation to the Duke University are most welcome. This board is open to everyone. The topics we will discuss will always be about Duke. So, as long as you are interested in Duke and Duke related topics, you are most welcome to remain with us or to register. Fodu_admin_1 brought up the issue of affiliation to Duke only as it related to the selection of new moderators. Beyond that, no such connection is required. I hope this clarification helps.

We will issue a statement with further clarifications soon. Sorry for not being on top of this right away. All three of us look forward to your continued participation on the board. This will be a learning experience for all of us. We will try to make it as positive as possible. In the meantime, thank you for your patience with our rather limited moderation skills.

KC commented on AG's report:

AG's Report - April 27, KC Johnson
http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/04/ags-report.html

Thank you moderator for maintaining this board. And thanks to the new folks for taking over. I too am not quite ready to give up, and while there are other fora available, this was always my first stop of the day, and my last stop before bed.

There is good news on the Chevy Tahoe raffle (the ongoing fundraising effort to raise funds for legal expenses). Ethical Durham has setup a PayPal account to sell those tickets online. This new setup is now up and running and should make the purchase of those tickets were easy. Here is the link to check it out.

Go down where it says BuyNow and click on that button.
http://www.ethicaldurham.com/

Professor Banzhaf comments on AG's newly released report. He has some real interesting analysis and suggestions for Duke.

AG Report Strengthens Case for Nifong Disbarrment and Liability
April 27, Professor John F. Banzhaf III
http://friendsofdukeuniversity.blogspot.co...880780715501991

Re Banzhaf:

Another university, another president or another BOT chair would take advice from Banzhaf (and others) and sue Nifong and the City of Durham and recoup all of the money their innocent students wasted on lawyers. I just cannot see Duke, Brodhead or Steel doing it. These guys are scared of Nifong and their types.

We said it before, let's repeat it again. These guys are spineless. It will be interesting to see how they move. My suspicion is they will want to forget all that has happened, and in the very near future, they will start treating this huge injustice as a toboo "the incident that should not be named!"

I hope I am totally wrong on this speculation. I would love to be proven wrong.

AG's Probe Revealed Weaknesses in Duke Lacrosse Case
April 27, WRAL
http://wral.com/news/local/story/1363100

These are my thoughts about suing all the bad guys. Of course, I know it should and most likely will happen. I am hoping everyone who can will sue. But it will be the right of everyone to choose whether to sue or not to sue. I was hoping that all these civil suits (and maybe criminal suits) would start sooner than later. But now I agree with some that it will be much better to wait until the NC Bar has decided nifongs fate. If, for instance, nofong only gets a slap on the hand, then a stronger case can be made that the suits are frivolous and not worthy of going forward. But, if the NC Bar's penalty is much more severe, like debarring nifong, then I believe suits will be forthcoming from all sides of this case and will include suits against nifong, DPD, and many other slanderous and libel parties of this case. Right now there is an eerie silence out there with many folks shaking in their boots anxiously waiting for the word to hit them and hit them hard. Everytime the phone rings or an offical looking envelope arrives in the mail....I am being sued!!!!?

Today it occurred to me that so much that is written about Duke lately is so sterile that it would appear that Duke is a brand new university in the emirate of Dubai or someplace similar...with no history and no sense of community.

Even the Duke website looks to me like a marketing effort and the faculty writing in many cases seems so VERY self absorbed.

The only writing I have observed about the real Duke is right here on this board.

Why not take on the role of The Duke Historical Society of sorts and make content available for everyone to read...especially undergraduate students... about the real Duke.

For example, a web site in both Spanish and English that would include...

1. Welcome Back Page for each semester for students and their families to help them understand that they are wanted and welcome.
2. Vignettes about historical Duke and the people who attended Duke
3. Vignettes about modern Duke, the current students and their families
4. Vignettes about Durham
5. A summary of the efforts of Duke over the decades to educate students from all over the World.
6. A section of fun and funny stories about Duke graduates who survived mid-term and final exams
7. A Bulletin board such as you have now for (*) Students (**) Parents

The organization of the board would be the responsibility of the moderators and help should be available to you from Duke students who would be willing to take on this task as a class project or internship.

I would suggest that content for the 'Duke Historical Society' ...'Duke Then and Now'...would need to change about three times per year and thus the web site would lend itself to project management techniques whereby you know when the deadlines are. Students would love that I would think.

It would please me somewhat if Duke was annoyed with these ideas and tried to take them away from you. That would give you the perfect opportunity to tell the administration that Duke history belongs to Duke... graduates.

The more I think about students working on this project for class projects or internships, the more I like the idea. Professors would not DARE say no.

Hope this is useful.

GP

This was posted on a thread called "FODU alive and well" on Liestoppers.

I have been asked to post a thread to advise that The FODU main page blog will continue and will be updated on an as needed basis. The new discussion board, Duke Community Forum, is now moderated by 3 new volunteers and is separate from the FODU main blog.

A small, dedicated group of individuals made a great contribution in establishing FODU. Interesting enough, it was started in May of 2006 because they saw a blog devoted to supporters of Crystal and they realized Collin, Reade and Dave and their families deserved one dedicated to them. Many thanks to Jason Trumpbour and the other hard working FODU organizers. A small, well organized, well intentioned, but not-well funded group of individuals truly did make a difference. Well done FODU!

Here is the new discussion board link.
http://z10.invisionfree.com/FODU_Open_Boar...wtopic=104&st=0

usa, thanks for the nice post on LS. We appreciate it.

News from yesterday:
1. Attorney general explains dismissal - April 27, Herald Sun
http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-843127.cfm

2. Duke, the New York Times, and the American Political Culture - April 27, William L. Anderson
http://www.lewrockwell.com/anderson/anderson183.html

3. Attorney General Releases Duke Lacrosse Case Report - April 27, The Chronicle
http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/s...t-2886198.shtml

4. Statement by John F. Burness on Summary of Conclusions by N.C. Attorney General's Office - April 27, Duke Website
http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2007/04/response_AGsummary.html

5. AG: Accuser's claims exonerated Duke players - April 27, Newsday
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisla...story?track=rss

Todays' news:
6. Report depicts dazed accuser - April 28, Newsonsever
http://www.newsobserver.com/1185/story/568651.html

7. A.G.’s Lax Report Released - April 28, DBR
http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/articles/?p=22459

8. This was posted by DukeEgr93 on John in Carolina. Interesting letter.
Elliot Wolfe’s letter to letter to Associate Dean for Judicial Affairs Stephen Bryan
http://dsg.duke.edu/content/president/judconst.pdf

Regarding the 8th item above (Elliot Wolfe's letter), once again, we see how Duke students are on top of everything and they are trying to do their absolute best. They are impressive indeed. If they only had a more supportive administration, and faculty who respected them a little. It is a shame to see how students are the ones showing the way to adults there who are getting paid the big bucks. Wolfe can teach a thing or two to many in the current Duke administration.

This is from yesterday, great news.

Blue Devils Register 13-9 Win Over North Carolina To Advance To ACC Tournament Final
April 27, GoDuke
http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_...0&ATCLID=878194

Tomorrow is the ACC championship, Duke Vs. Virginia.
Duke advances on to play Virginia on Sunday in the ACC Tournament championship game. The title game begins at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised live on Fox Sports Net.

Another interesting article in today's Newsobsever:

The lineups that weren't?
http://www.newsobserver.com/1185/story/568501.html

From the HS:

"Meanwhile, Durham officials said they will release a report by Wednesday detailing how the Durham Police Department handled its end of the lacrosse investigation.

In it, officials will discuss "our attempts to look at the exculpatory evidence, our attempts to speak with the lacrosse players and the identification process" that led to the indictments of the three players, City Manager Patrick Baker said.

"I have no intention of blaming anybody else for anything the [Police] Department did," Baker said. "It would be good for the public to understand what we did and why we did it. But the report is not going to say, 'We did it because the DA told us to.'"

This sounds like an interesting report, a little damage control perhaps. Are they trying to take cover before the law suits are filed? One wonders.

Check out the pictures and of course the article.

I'll send this over to Rice University here in Houston today.

I'll bet Tim would like to hear from the Duke family about this superb project

Duke to Dedicate Research and Teaching 'Swamp' on May 2

Fourteen-acre Steam and Wetland Assessment Management Park will help control storm water runoff and protect drinking water supplies downstream in Jordan Lake

By Tim Lucas

http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2007/04/wetland.ded.html

1. Sunday Roundup - April 29, KC Johnson
http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/...roundup_29.html

2. INNOCENT: Duke Still Falling Short - April 28, John in Carolina
http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/20...ling-short.html

3. 'Credibility Issues’ Undid Duke Case, Report Says - April 28, The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/28/us/28duk...gin&oref=slogin

4. Team party turned sour early - April 28, Newsobserver
http://www.newsobserver.com/1185/story/568500.html

5. 34 Duke students accused of cheating - April 28, Newsobsever
http://www.newsobserver.com/1366/story/568763.html

6. D.C. escort case ends first career - April 29, Newsobserver
http://www.newsobserver.com/110/story/568934.html

Duke drama a case study for colleges
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisla...y-top-headlines

Duke Men's Lacrosse team just won the ACC championship! 12-9 Final. They beat Virginia. What a terrific ending of the year!

Congratulations!

ACC CHAMPS...DUKE!

Final score: UVA 9 Duke 12

That was an excellent game! Great fot the boys and their families. I hope Brodhead was there watching.

Grant Farred is speaking at Williams College.

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/

http://www.williams.edu/

Grant Farred and Mark Anthony Neal have been visiting speakers before in 2006 at William College

https://www.williams.edu/
africana-studies/Fall2006Image.htm

"We do not yet know what we have inherited": The Politizen of "Terror Australis," Grant Farred, Duke University. Sterling Brown Visiting Professor of English and Africana Studies. Griffin 6 at 4:15 p.m.

"Looking for Leroy: HomoThugs, ThugNiggaIntellectuals and 'Queer' Black
Masculinities," Mark Anthony Neal, Duke University. Griffin 6 at 4:15 p.m.

There are many Duke Ph.D.'s at Williams College.

Duke is mentioned as the most Gay Un-Friendly School in the USA (2003) and a T-Shirt was developed in response.

http://www.williams.edu/MCC/fine.html

Katie Couric will deliver the college's Commencement address on Sunday, June 3.

And Finally, the phrase 'Nobody Does It Better' is used to describe their athletic program. That sound familiar?

http://www.williams.edu/athletics/

This is old home week for Anger Studies folk and Broadhead

Other than apologizing what could Grant Farred possibly have to say on the lacrosse case? Can't these people keep their mouths shut? I suppose not.

The lacrosse team must be celebrating tonight. It is too bad the final exams start tomorrow. They will have to change gears real fast. It was a great win today.

Nothing new under the sun

I spent three hours today reading what Grant has to say.

I was quite amazed.

Many years ago people such as Grant were part of church or just a volunteer so we paid little attention to what they had to say because they would eventually disappear.

Today, it has all changed. Grant and his friends are on the faculty of universities and paid every month. Grant and his friends are not going to voluntarily go away.

Grant says that he believes that our brains are hard wired to discriminate against others and we are hard wired towards relegating others outside of our group to lesser status in society.

Same thing we heard in the 1960's.

Our response back then was ...competent people seek out other competent people ...and skin color or sexual orientation or gender is not relevant.

We pushed hard for people of color, women and other under represented groups to attend universities and other schools back in the 1960's and we are still doing that.

Grant and his friends would like for us to take their quasi psychotherapy courses so they can heal us.

Nothing new under the sun.

GP

Something that has gotten little press is why Crystal Gail Mangum was dishonorably discharged from the Navy. I heard she was a hooker and made thousands on ship.

I am sure she and Kim went to the party not expecting to dance for two hours. I bet they went there to do tricks and collect money. That is why they were so horrified when they saw 40 boys. I mean why should it matter if they dance in front of 10 or 40. But, it would matter if you went there thinking you were going to prostitute yourself. That is why she took Flexeril, no doubt. Apparently, that is how these escort services work. They send " dancers" to the place and the dancer makes her money doing tricks and getting tips. They most likely were miffed when there were no takers.

I am speculating but no one seems to say exactly what angered the two so much other than the broom remark which seems a bit bizarre for hookers to become so incensed about. It was all about the money!!!!! Or lack thereof.

Can those Navy documents become unsealed?

And my other question is when will NCCU fess up to her exact student status?

How long are they going to carry on with that charade? If I were a NCCU student or an alum, I would be embarrassed to have my name associated with Crystal Gail Mangum. I would want her status as " honor student" immediately cleared up. Was this just another "reach" on the part of the press? Who gave the press that information?

And how did Jesse and Sharpton know to go scurrying so fast from Durham and away from the case? Who clued those two in so early?

Finally, when are Burness and Brodhead turning in their resignations? I think the day after graduation would be fitting.

Letter from Reade Seligmann at DIW :

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/...ann-letter.html

1. Devils return to greatness
April 30, Newsobserver
http://www.newsobserver.com/736/story/569278.html

2. Duke Claims 2007 ACC Men’s Lacrosse Title With 12-9 Win Over Virginia
April 29, GoDuke
http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_...0&ATCLID=878882

3. Duke Lacrosse Wins ACC Championship
April 29, WRAL
http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/1367260/

4. Duke Lacrosse Wins ACC Championship With 12-9 Win Over Virginia
April 29, WRAL
http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/1367412/

5. Hoax News Items
April 29, John in Carolina
http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/20...ems-apr-29.html

GP,

Were you reading Farred's old writings, or did you find a copy of what he had to say yesterday? If latter, please post a link so we can all read it. I could not find a link to the event at Williams yesterday. Thank You.

Liz,

Somehow, this interesting bit of news about Mangum does not surprise me. Basically, she was in the Navy to offer her services as a hooker. She probably went too far, lost all decorum and got kicked out. What a gem Nifong had in his hands? Then again, if she was not so messed up, would she do what she has done? This saga will make great reading in books and in movies for years to come.

NCCU, Al Sharpten, Jesse Jackson and many others must be really proud of Mangum. What an exemplary citizen?

Go to Durham in wonderland blg site and read the letter Reade Seligmann wrote to everyone who supported the three. Very nice.

lol Sorry I see Quasi has already posted the site thanks

Hi Darcy,

This is the link you asked about.
http://www.williams.edu/africana-studies/Spring2007.htm

Also, I commented yesterday on KC's Board about Williams college.

Diesel 6:59 said...
...So GP, the explanation for Farred's presentation is that Williams College is basically a farm team for graduates from the Duke Angry Studies program? The Duke AAS connection may also explain why they don't want anyone taping the presentation--there is precedent at Duke!
::
That is pretty much my read on the situation.
If you are going to create petroleum engineers they have to go someplace to work...if they aren't especially skilled at driving a Taxi. Same with these folks.
I'm still researching the farm team hypothesis and it appears that they only go to universities and colleges with one half Billion Dollar endowment or higher.
Also, the university or college will have a liberal arts designation.
Tonight I am looking for the association of such colleges.
In America we have an association for everything :-)
It looks like half of the graduates go to law school, or nursing school, Public Health training or become journalists.
::
GP
--
I have a meeting in a few minutes so I will need to comment later on Farred's writings. He is essentially a member of the group of people who talk about 'secrets' of governments and 'secret' unconscious racism and sexism.
Lots of secrets.
Similar to debating with someone who believes in Ghosts. If only they see Ghosts, I can't respond to any facts and might resort to name calling or character assimilation. Which...is what they want me to do so they can claim victim status.
And he gets paid by Duke for these writings.
GP