Black Scholar at Duke Resigns From Committee Posts in Protest of University’s Reinstatement of Two Lacrosse Players Accused of Assaulting a Black Woman

Although there is good news about black applicants at Duke, fallout from the lacrosse scandal still plagues the campus. Recently, Karla F.C. Holloway, William Kenan Professor of English at Duke, resigned from all her committee positions on campus. Professor Holloway’s decision was in protest of the university’s decision to reinstate, in good standing, two lacrosse players who were accused of sexually assaulting a black woman at a party last spring.

Professor Holloway stated that she was not judging the two students and acknowledged the prosecutor’s “own lack of principled conduct” in the case. But she stated that Duke had not followed its own disciplinary procedures regarding the students. Furthermore, Holloway said that she was worried that Duke would now ignore the serious issues of racism, gender, and sexuality that need to be addressed on campus.

Professor Holloway is a member of the Group of 88, a faculty organization that wants the university to take a more active role in addressing these issues. As a result of her leadership in this group, Holloway has received a large number of racist e-mail messages.

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