UPDATE, April 1, 2006: After reviewing the blogosphere, I think my comments about p.r. at Duke may be too kind. The university seems to have waited too long before speaking out, really until the story was being nationalized. That said, I still think that at this time, Duke University appears to be practicing crisis public relations well. As for my personal views, see the very end of the post. But for now, let's look at it from a p.r. professional vantage.
A horrible thing seems to have happened at my alma mater, Duke University, in an off-campus house owned by the university.
As you may have read this week in the New York Times or Los Angeles Times -- or heard on National Public Radio -- it is alleged that the mostly Euro-American members of the Duke lacrosse team sexually asaulted an African-American exotic dancer they had invited to perform at a party attended by most of the lacross team. The team's co-captains deny it, but the Durham Police and county prosecutor are investigating quite seriously and intensively in full view of local and national media.
Disgusting as the Duke event is, it comes just a few weeks after a Muslim graduate student violently drove his car through the pedestrian center of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus, injuring several people, in protest of the Iraq war. Duke and UNC are just eight miles apart, so the community is in double distress over these incidents. (I've been following both in the local media, so I was not surprised to read the nationally published accounts.)
Unfortunately, it takes crises like this, in which people are getting hurt, to show the thin silver lining: expert p.r. crisis management. The Duke case is turning into an excellent case study in crisis communications. The circumstances combine racism with sexism, as the dancer was African American and attends N.C. Central University in Durham, an historically black institution about five miles from Duke.
The latest allegation cames just yesterday from the newly released tape of the "911" call, which reportedly contained highly disturbing racist comments.
Quite aside from my personal reaction (and I have several sadnesses for the history of racism and especially sexism at Duke), this is worth watching for the way the university is responding.
Duke's new president, Richard Brodhead, formerly of Yale, was criticized for staying mum after the March 15 events. But during the past week or so, he has taken personal charge. The university communications office is keeping a separate website containing well organized achives of information in print and multi-media concerning the lacrosse event. Yesterday, I received an email addressed to alumni from President Brodhead briefly laying out the situation and directing alumni to the special website.
For example, Brodhead met privately yesterday with the mayor of Durham, the chancellor of NCCU, local ministers, and leaders of the Durham Committee on Black People.
Given core principles of crisis communications, I think Duke is proceeding well. But the Duke and UNC incidents together, if not separately, amount to a month's worth of very public crises and saturation news for the North Carolina Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill).
I am attaching President Brodhead's letter below (and you can also find it on Duke's website). From a p.r. perspective, I think a mistake in the letter is the omission of an email address or a form on a website for alumni to express their thoughts. The president says he has spoken to several alumni, but they must be special because the rest of us have no obvious contact information for Brodhead. Having met him last year, this must be an oversight because I believe he would want to consider as much input as possible. So the lack of phone, email, or web-based contact vehicles is disappointing.
That said, the letter is written well and provides information as well as the university's position. The link to the archive page is excellent. So all that is missing is a feedback mechanism.
The whole thing is horrible, exacerbated by the firm line taken by the lacrosse team that nothing happened. I appreciate the Duke communications office "lacrosse incident" website because it is updated and includes links to major news articles on the topic. It also includes links to editorials.
It's worth keeping an eye on these events for the crisis communications practices of both Duke and UNC-CH as well as the media reaction in a market positively overwhelmed by ugly news.
----- Emailed Letter to Alumni from President Brodhead of Duke -----
From: Duke President <president-announce@duke.edu>
Date: Mar 30, 2006 11:22 AM
Subject: Message About Duke Lacrosse Situation
To: DOUG.DAVIDOFF@alumni.duke.edu
Dear Duke Alumni,
Many of you will have heard by now news accounts about allegations against the Duke lacrosse team, which the captains of the team deny. Yesterday evening, Director of Athletics Joe Alleva and I met with members of the news media to discuss the situation. My statement announcing the suspension of lacrosse games and a supplementary statement amplifying on a question from the press conference are available on a special website: http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/mmedia/features/lacrosse_incident/. I invite you to read them so that you will be better informed about what is happening at Duke.
It's understandable to feel badly when terrible things may have happened at a place you love, and I've heard from many of you who have expressed sadness, anger, outrage, and frustration about the lacrosse situation. Let me also say that as painful as these times are, the test of a school is not preventing bad things from ever happening, but in addressing them in an honest and forthright way. In my meetings with students, faculty, and administrators, I believe Duke is doing just that. I urge you to keep informed of developments by checking the website as the days go by.
Sincerely yours,
Richard H. Brodhead
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Update, April 1, 2006: Some 26 years after I graduated from Duke, the culture of sexism seems little changed. I was at Duke at what may have been the start of the Greek renaissance. The frat boys enjoyed the sunshine on giant benches in front of their on-campus (shameful) houses, often loudly and boorishly rating women as they walked by. Does this still happen?
Also, the culture of disconnection between Duke and Durham seems only somewhat improved, and the disconnection is rooted in Euro-American fear of communities of poverty and communities where African-Americans have won power and influence. Intentional ignorance and intentional denial of reality are a form of oppression.
My hunch is that President Brodhead, as an outsider, sees this. We will know by the severity of his response once all the facts are in and criminal justice authorities have worked their process.
Several blogs have discussed these issues, and I'd like to shout out for them for their candor. Please see (1) this post by a much more recent (and female) Duke grad now living in Washington State; (2) this post by == I'm pretty certain -- a Duke student of color who writes, "...[R]ape was as much a part of Duke's culture as basketball;" (3) this post about the Long Island background of many of the lacrosse players; and (4) this candid post by a current Duke student on the here and now of the situation (and numerous comments worth reading as well).
Thank-you for this post and referring people to my post. I'm actually on leave from grad school @ Duke, and I'm a little uncertain of how the climate will be once I return next fall. I'm really glad that people are speaking out regardless of their opinion about this incident. I hope it will pave the way for deeper discussions about issues that affect all marginalized groups at Duke (students of color, GLBT students, students from working class backgrounds, etc.).
Posted by: Kimerie | Saturday, April 01, 2006 at 03:44 PM