Nifong Gets Shunned by Duke Students for and Ethical Durham

[Sensei]

IMHO

Do you have links that show that as a whole student body Duke students, commit more crimes, drink more or are far more disruptive than NCCU students?  Is there any actual statistic that will show that Duke students "don't behave" in much greater numbers than other Universities?

With such a wonderful, welcoming attitude perhaps Duke does need to relocate.  I am not going to say that college students as a group do not have those who drink too much, are disruptive, and/or commit crimes, but I also am not going to single out Duke students and Nifong, and you and apparently the rest of Durham has done, and brand them with the mark of troublemakers, unless it can be proven that they misbehave in excess of the average comparable size college campus.

Fortunately most of Duke's undergraduates live on campus so they are vomiting in their own flowerbeds and peeing out the windows of University owned housing. Maybe a few no vomiting and no public urination signs placed along the Duke wall would improve community relations.

In other words "No you don't"  you have nothing at all that shows that Duke students are drinking, vomiting and or peeing out windows and in flower beds any MORE or any LESS than any other college students, up to and including those from NCCU.... but by all means don't let this stop you since you are obviously determined to use this to demean Duke students in general and cite this as a reason for all of them to be treated as "second class citizens"  

[inmyhumbleopinion]

In other words "No you don't"  you have nothing at all that shows that Duke students are drinking, vomiting and or peeing out windows and in flower beds any MORE or any LESS than any other college students, up to and including those from NCCU.... but by all means don't let this stop you since you are obviously determined to use this to demean Duke students in general and cite this as a reason for all of them to be treated as "second class citizens" 

I never said they did any of those things in greater numbers than any other college students.  I think they should be treated like any other citizens of Durham.

[lskinner]

I find it laughable that some are trying to make a perfectly reasonable response to an entirely unreasonable request sound rude.

It is a FACT That Mike Nifong has been denigrating and disrespectful to the entire Duke student body in any number of speeches which have been widely published.

The essence of TRUE politeness and civility is an attempt to NEVER make another person feel uncomfortable, a social way to reduce friction, not cause turmoil. A basic respect for the feelings of others which is markedly absent in this case.

There was NOTHING truly polite or civil about Nifong confronting those students. Had he been truly polite he would have simply avoided them, since he knew he had made some truly disrespectful and hurtful comments about them, and to force them into a position of appearing to "be friendly with him" after that was nothing at all even close to polite and civil, but rude, arrogant and obnoxious....he didn't get what he truly deserved for such hubris, but he didn't get a handshake or a photo op

In that respect they were truly polite.....they simply ignored his ignorant faux pax.

I basically agree.  It's a little like OJ Simpson walking up to Ron Goldman's family to shake their hands.

JMHO

[khartoum]

]I never said they did any of those things in greater numbers than any other college students.  I think they should be treated like any other citizens of Durham.

So, in other words, they should have the exact same lineup procedures as those used when any other citizens of Durham are suspects in a case?

[Sensei]

In other words "No you don't"  you have nothing at all that shows that Duke students are drinking, vomiting and or peeing out windows and in flower beds any MORE or any LESS than any other college students, up to and including those from NCCU.... but by all means don't let this stop you since you are obviously determined to use this to demean Duke students in general and cite this as a reason for all of them to be treated as "second class citizens" 

I never said they did any of those things in greater numbers than any other college students.  I think they should be treated like any other citizens of Durham.

you also suggest that ONLY Duke students are the ones who should behave better, without any indication that they are any worse than any ohter college students, but it is clear that they are punished for infractions more vigorously already.
I will take your word for the way you believe about it, but your choice of words would have people tend to think otherwise, and it is obvious that there are enough in Durham that feel that way, that I would not send any child that I loved to live among them
For example:

"Roy Chann, a Durham County carpenter, says some locals refer to Duke as "The Evil Empire."

"There's been a feeling in the past that Duke students are treated differently by the court system," Durham County District Attorney Michael Nifong says.

"There was a feeling that Duke students' daddies could buy them expensive lawyers and that they knew the right people.

"It's discouraging when people feel that way, and we try not to make that the case."

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/lacrosse/2006-03-30-divisions-at-duke_x.htm

"Gottlieb arrested or incarcerated Duke students at a higher rate than non-students, even when the students were accused of less-serious crimes than the non-students, according to a dossier given to The Chronicle by a Durham attorney close to the lacrosse case.

"Durham City Manager Patrick Baker said that cracking down on Trinity Park partying was a priority for police last year"

http://www.newsobserver.com/680/story/484329.html

Yes, I would say that there was certainly a pattern of treating Duke students "differently" just not in a way that was of benefit to them.

It certainly appears to me that they have been made to feel unwelcome,as well as being punished at a higher rate for minor infractions.

[Johnny Sack]

They should have realized their behavior could offend Durhamites and that it feeds into the stereotype of Duke students being spoiled and disrespectful. That could cost them votes. Durhamites may not want uppity Duke students telling them how to run Durham.  They should have put their personal feelings aside.  They were representing Duke Students for an Ethical Durham, all of whom may not have wanted to be portrayed in that light.

There you go lepreconing again.

If they shook hands with Nifong, that behavior could offend Durhamites and make them think Nifong is not such a bad guy and he really wasn't railroading anybody. This lets the world know the Dukies stand firm on their position and nothing is more important than character.

[DHaze]

They should have realized their behavior could offend Durhamites and that it feeds into the stereotype of Duke students being spoiled and disrespectful. That could cost them votes. Durhamites may not want uppity Duke students telling them how to run Durham.  They should have put their personal feelings aside.  They were representing Duke Students for an Ethical Durham, all of whom may not have wanted to be portrayed in that light.

There you go lepreconing again.

If they shook hands with Nifong, that behavior could offend Durhamites and make them think Nifong is not such a bad guy and he really wasn't railroading anybody. This lets the world know the Dukies stand firm on their position and nothing is more important than character.

I agree -- would have made the students look like they were saying "all in good sport".

It's not sport, it's not about shaking hands, it's about Nifong's deliberate complicity in trying to ruin three innocent young lives.

[inmyhumbleopinion]

]I never said they did any of those things in greater numbers than any other college students.  I think they should be treated like any other citizens of Durham.

So, in other words, they should have the exact same lineup procedures as those used when any other citizens of Durham are suspects in a case?

Of course. Do we know what they usually do to identify suspects/witnesses when 44 out of 47 potential witnesses to a crime decline to speak to police investigators? They should follow that proecedure.

[inmyhumbleopinion]

They should have realized their behavior could offend Durhamites and that it feeds into the stereotype of Duke students being spoiled and disrespectful. That could cost them votes. Durhamites may not want uppity Duke students telling them how to run Durham.  They should have put their personal feelings aside.  They were representing Duke Students for an Ethical Durham, all of whom may not have wanted to be portrayed in that light.

There you go lepreconing again.

If they shook hands with Nifong, that behavior could offend Durhamites and make them think Nifong is not such a bad guy and he really wasn't railroading anybody. This lets the world know the Dukies stand firm on their position and nothing is more important than character.

I agree -- would have made the students look like they were saying "all in good sport".

It's not sport, it's not about shaking hands, it's about Nifong's deliberate complicity in trying to ruin three innocent young lives.

That's no excuse for bad manners.

[lskinner]

They should have realized their behavior could offend Durhamites and that it feeds into the stereotype of Duke students being spoiled and disrespectful. That could cost them votes. Durhamites may not want uppity Duke students telling them how to run Durham.  They should have put their personal feelings aside.  They were representing Duke Students for an Ethical Durham, all of whom may not have wanted to be portrayed in that light.

There you go lepreconing again.

If they shook hands with Nifong, that behavior could offend Durhamites and make them think Nifong is not such a bad guy and he really wasn't railroading anybody. This lets the world know the Dukies stand firm on their position and nothing is more important than character.

I agree -- would have made the students look like they were saying "all in good sport".

It's not sport, it's not about shaking hands, it's about Nifong's deliberate complicity in trying to ruin three innocent young lives.

I agree.  Shaking hands is like saying "nothing personal."  But guess what -- this fight has become personal.  It became personal when Nifong decided to prosecute innocent men for personal gain.  And if there is any justice in the world, Nifong will pay -- personally -- for what he has done.  I would never shake his hand under any normal circumstances.  

[Neanderthal]

What would happen if there was a concerted effort on the part of the DPD to crack down on NCCU students?
What if they were treated the same way as Duke students?
How long before there were complaints aplenty to all the relevant authorities?

Maybe Duke should consider relocating somewhere else. (Texas?)

They have enough in the endowment to build a state-of-the-art undergraduate campus on the Brazos and have it
up and functioning in two years.

If Durham hates the place so much, Duke can stop spending money there or giving to the community in a futile effort to buy
goodwill, and simply pack up and go to another place where they and their money will be more appreciated.

[Sensei]

They should have realized their behavior could offend Durhamites and that it feeds into the stereotype of Duke students being spoiled and disrespectful. That could cost them votes. Durhamites may not want uppity Duke students telling them how to run Durham.  They should have put their personal feelings aside.  They were representing Duke Students for an Ethical Durham, all of whom may not have wanted to be portrayed in that light.

There you go lepreconing again.

If they shook hands with Nifong, that behavior could offend Durhamites and make them think Nifong is not such a bad guy and he really wasn't railroading anybody. This lets the world know the Dukies stand firm on their position and nothing is more important than character.

I agree -- would have made the students look like they were saying "all in good sport".

It's not sport, it's not about shaking hands, it's about Nifong's deliberate complicity in trying to ruin three innocent young lives.

That's no excuse for bad manners.

But whose bad manners?

The ultimate in bad manner is to make demeaning statements about a specific group and then in front of the cameras attempt to bully them into a situation which would appear to all the world as if they were mutually respectful, when the LAST thing anyone can accuse Nifong of is being respectful to the Students.

If there were any bad manner shown it was not on the part of the Students...the bad manners was attempting to force them into a confrontation after making the statements that he has about them and their fellow students.

[inmyhumbleopinion]

What would happen if there was a concerted effort on the part of the DPD to crack down on NCCU students?
What if they were treated the same way as Duke students?
How long before there were complaints aplenty to all the relevant authorities?

Money would pour in from posh enclaves on Long Island and New Jersey, Bob Bennett would be working the PR, Ed Bradley would roll back into town, Don Newport and Tony Soprano would quit their day jobs...

[Diesel]

The LAX case has shown Nifong to have many unsavory qualities. To add to these, this handshake incident tells me that he is an utter hypocrite. I was proud of those Duke students for ignoring his proffered handshake.  In fact this episode inspired me to see if I could offer practical help to Durham in dealing with the Nifong problem. Accordingly, I have just sent donations to both Duke Students for an Ethical Durham and Recall Nifong –Vote Cheek.

[Johnny Sack]

Quote from: Sensei

The ultimate in bad manner is to make demeaning statements about a specific group and then in front of the cameras attempt to bully them into a situation which would appear to all the world as if they were mutually respectful, when the LAST thing anyone can accuse Nifong of is being respectful to the Students.


Good point but save your breath. Anyone that doesn't realize the "prosecution side" is the side with bad manners is either a leprechchaun an idiot or just doesn't know good manners.