Search words: Duke University Republican
The lead story in The Daily Tar Heel right now is not from Carolina but from Duke -- the disgusting discrimination and hate recounted in a new complaint to the student judiciary with the cross-hairs on the leadership of the Duke Republican Club.
This is an on-line story, for the Tar Heel like the Chronicle has yet to resume its printed edition for the new semester. The decision of the Chronicle editors to ignore this controversy in their on-line edition is a journalistic lapse of the first order.
That lapse is compounded by the newspaper's year-old closing of its discussion boards to anything but responses to articles that its writers and editors choose. With no chance to raise the topic, Chronicle readers are experiencing an abrogation of the responsibility of the newspaper to foster dialogue and debate, to serve as a platform for "campus thought and action."
And so Fact Checker found in the Tar Heel quotes from one Carter Boyle, who has yet to respond to FC e-mails requesting confirmation and comment. Boyle became the coup d-etat chair of the Republican Club after the by-laws were altered by the executive committee with no notice to the membership, and Justin Robinette was bounced.
Boyle is confident the judiciary will not take up the case again.
Loyal Readers of Fact Checker, that is a fundamental mis-reading of the complaint: the new case does not rely alone on the judiciary's revisiting its decision last spring, a decision that was unanimous in finding discrimination against and harassment of Robinette because he is gay, but 2-1 in ruling that the discrimination and harassment were not institutional to the Republican Club. Thus the club charter -- and their ability to get student funds -- survived.
Rather, the new complaint focuses on invidious behavior by Boyle and other executive committee members since the judicial ruling. It incorporates earlier evidence from Dukies other than Robinette who were not parties to the first litigation, and evidence that was not possible to assemble for the judiciary in the 24 hours of preparation allowed.
As for Boyle, please read this comment:
“The best way to steer through the murky water is to keep focused on what our organization’s ideals are."
What channel is this dude watching?
FC did not attach Boyle's name to most of the e-mails quoted in our last post because we wanted to reach him first. But be perfectly clear: there is nothing at all murky about his homophobia. It's clear.
Mr. Boyle, if your hate of gays were not deep enough, coupled with your vulgarity, you and your executive board colleagues revealed themselves further in comments about blacks and Jews. Racism. Anti-Semitism. Yes, the Republicans have a big tent embracing everyone.
Every dimension is there for everyone to see.
Fact Checker can only hope that our administrators see it too, for this presents not only a "student issue" that students can resolve for themselves, but a situation that cuts to the heart of Duke's commitment to a "zero tolerance policy" on discriminatory intent, harassment and hostile environment.
Thank you for reading Fact Checker
Duke.Fact.Checker@gmail.com
8/26/2010
5 comments:
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Shame on Mr. Boyle, Mr. Sam Tasher and Ms. Rachel Provost! Reading their vitriolic rubbish made me sick. I just still cannot understand why the Administration at Duke wouldn't do anything about this? The general student body barely knows anything about this case unless we read the case ourselves... where's the Chronicle??
ReplyDeleteYou'd think after LAX they'd know they should stand on the side of their own students. Boyle's a absolutely waste of space of saying those things. And what's with that "murky water" quote??? Dream world, son.
You know what's also sketchy about this story. The tarheel ran a story a while back that the kid was also asked to leave the state party for something like "not being able to give potentially as much commitment."
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dailytarheel.com/index.php/article/2010/04/former_duke_college_republicans_chairman_cuts_republican_party_ties
The story is very strange, but he was just elected to that position too and literally hadn't served a single day in the office! Weird. I wonder what they have to say about this.
how can duke allow this to go on? I mean, if the Republican party wants to do it, then whatever, but Duke has some pretty strict policies on harassment! Ummm...and why would they let this hit the huffpost without saying they were at least aware of it and frown upon this kind of hate, at the very least.
Hahaha, I'm a Republican at Duke and didn't hear about Justin getting kicked out until it was in the paper. And had no idea he was gay!
ReplyDeleteYou know what is funny? Justin was doing events I went to like "Honoring the Legacy of Martin Luther King," and "Was Martin Luther King a Republican?," and something with an NAACP speaker. Haha, I wonder what these loonies were thinking all that time..."OMG why is Justin having us sit in on this! We can't wait until we oust his gay behind! Let's send him an email!" LOL. At least they have back their pathetic hateful organization. At least they kicked him out and can't bully him anymore,right?
My student fees pay for this crap!
ReplyDeleteIf I were Mr. Boyle, Mr. Tasher, or Ms. Provost, I'd be shitting my pants right about now.
ReplyDelete