3/2/2010 Demographis of student body

Fact Checker here. Thank you for this story, even if you buried the most interesting part.
✔
I was rather surprised... no, let's use a stronger word.... astounded to learn that a self-study showed "21.6 percent of (Duke) students come from families that make more than $300,000 a year."

Consider, please, the latest Census Bureau statistic: "In 2006, there were approximately 116,011,000 households in the United States. 1.93% of all households had annual incomes exceeding $250,000..."

That's enough to raise the question of whether we are cherry picking based upon financial ability. A really serious indictment.

Dean Nowicki's long-range study is important. So is immediate action. Duke should forthwith stop asking on its applications if you need financial aid. That information should be requested only after you decide to attend.

Mr. Brodhead, order this today! That would be leadership.

Another step: open up the admissions office and let us see the self studies that have already been done there. Fact Checker is aware of only one statistic, from a big sheaf of statistics, in one study that shows that 70 percent of white students come from homes with incomes above $100,000 a year.

A Deputy Fact Checker, frustrated at being unable to obtain the full study cited in the last paragraph, asked for a list of studies undertaken... a list with no data. Answer: nyet!! nyet!!

Draw your own conclusions why the admissions office is so secretive. No.... let's use another word there... defensive.

✔Beware: some clown has started to post on the Chronicle board using the name THE Fact Checker. Accept no substitute or generic version! Look for the symbol you can trust: ✔Fact Checker. No THE.