NCCU students back a classmate

A campus vigil supports a woman who says she was raped at a Duke lacrosse party

Maya Jackson, a junior at N.C. Central University, weeps as she speaks at a campus vigil and show of solidarity.

Security guard at Kroger on Hillsborough Road calls 911 at 1:22 a.m. on March 14 about a distraught woman. This is not the voice of the alleged victim.


A woman calls 911 at 12:53 a.m. on March 14 about someone shouting a racial slur in front of 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. This is not the voice of the alleged victim.
Related ContentRuth Sheehan's blog
More stories about the case involving the Duke men's lacrosse team.
What is the obligation of someone not involved in a possible crime to tell what he or she knows?More Sports Florida beats UCLA for title
Duke coach channels drive
NCCU students back a classmate
Sendek starts fresh
Vasicek no ordinary Joe in victorious return
High School results


Anne Blythe, Staff Writer
Students gathered at N.C. Central University on Monday evening to show support and solidarity for their fellow student -- the woman who reported being raped at a Duke University lacrosse team party last month.
Nearly 350 people crowded around McLean Residence Hall as the sun dipped toward the horizon.

Many wrote words of encouragement on banners to be posted around campus.

"We really want to show our support for our fellow Eagle, especially as she's being portrayed as someone who deserved it because she's an exotic dancer," said Jazmine Godbold, an NCCU sophomore from Charlotte. "We want to show her that we know it wasn't her fault, that she didn't deserve this, that we support her. Regardless of what her job was, no person deserves to be raped."

On March 14, a woman told police that three men raped her at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd., a rental property owned by Duke University that three lacrosse team captains shared.

No charges have been filed, but 46 members of the lacrosse team were ordered to submit DNA samples in a case that has thrust Duke and Durham into the national spotlight.

The NCCU student who reported the rape, an exotic dancer who went to the house for what she thought would be a small party, is black. She told police that she was choked, sodomized and raped by three white men.

"It's one of the most overwhelming things I've heard of happening, for 2006," said Faye Tate Williams, 52, a 27-year resident of Durham who attended the NCCU vigil. "This thing just has so many -isms, if you will, the racism, the sexism, the elitism. It just takes you so far back."

Since the report became public, there have been many protests, vigils and rallies at Duke University and in the neighborhood where the party occurred.

People have been outraged by the allegations, and there has been much concern about the response from Duke administrators and athletics officials.

At NCCU on Monday, though, organizers of the vigil urged students not to bash Duke students.

Student Body President Renee Clark read a statement from Chancellor James Ammons, who reiterated that the university would do all it could to help the woman through her ordeal.

"These allegations of what occurred at the Duke University lacrosse team's party are disturbing, inhumane and insensitive," Ammons said in the statement. "Further, we stand against the use of racial slurs and the vilification of anyone. Every human being has the right to be treated with dignity and respect. Our students, faculty and staff are outraged by what has been alleged, but are also mindful of the fact that an investigation is still under way and no charges have been filed."

As students await the outcome of the investigation, Ammons urged them not to try to "take matters into their own hands."

"What is most important to the NCCU family is that the investigation is thorough and that justice is served," Ammons said.

The Rev. William J. Barber II, state conference president of the NAACP, also urged the students to await the outcome of an investigation that he and others in the civil rights organization are monitoring. He applauded the students for speaking out and asking tough questions in a case that is getting much scrutiny.

"When you stand up like this, you are not a lynch mob, you are acting like people of conscience," Barber said.

Although the tenor of the speak-out and vigil was about offering a broad shoulder to a fellow student, there were undercurrents of disgust and distrust toward Duke administrators and the justice system.

Some questioned why no arrests had been made and why District Attorney Mike Nifong announced he planned to take a vacation while the investigation was under way.

"If it was the basketball team here and the victim was a student at Duke, the guys here would already be locked up," said Henry Johnson, an NCCU graduate student.

http://forums.theskyiscrape.com/viewtopic.php?t=37911

Innocent until Proven Guitly, adjust the thread title accordingly.

Innocent until Proven Guitly, adjust the thread title accordingly.

pretty enlightening to read some people's comments in this thread. talk about a rush to judgement.

If black lacrosse players had done this to a white stripper, the needles would already be in their arms.

had done wha? not raped her?

Kidnapped and molested.

oh, so the duke players did this? wow, i didnt know that, i didnt even know they went to trial yet. thanks for keeping me up to date b

No, they just watched her strip, paid her her money, and thanked her for the lovely evening.

I find your philosophy troubling, Peeps. Pregnant women who get mouthy with cops should expect to get tazed to the ground. Old grandmother's keeping dime bags of pot deserve to have their doors kicked in and be shot. But rich, "educated" college students shouldn't expect to be public smeared if they drag a stripper into a back room and tried to get laid?

These guys clearly crossed a line with this stripper, and I won't applaud them for stopping short of sticking their dicks into her.

If black lacrosse players had done this to a white stripper, the needles would already be in their arms.