"Blue Devils": Ever Wondered?

You may have wondered how Duke chose the "Blue Devils" as their mascot.  (You also may not have wondered, I realize...)

If you DID wonder...wonder no more.  A five minute documentary, pretty well done.

These Kids Are Pretty Cool

I have 124 students in my "Economics for Non-Majors" class.  (Syllabus, if you are interested).

15 of them are athletes, including three from the most excellent woman's soccer team, which made the NCAA tournament and went pretty deep, which is pretty cool.  Lots of the others have done some amazing things.

But I thought I'd share this performance by one of the students in the class, Antje Lang, a sophomore.  This was at the Duke Coffee House this fall.  It's an informal setting, and the recording is just ambient, not remixed or fixed in any way.  It is, nonetheless, quite lovely.  (Here is a different set, with some of her own songs, btw).

Duke....Really?

I had not been keeping up with this.

Have to admit, I am ashamed of Duke at this point.  I have often defended Duke's record during the lacrosse scandal, blaming it mostly on the fact the prosecutor actually lied about facts, and made things up.

Sure, some (not a lot, but some) faculty said things that I regret, even if they don't.  But a number of Duke administrators (particularly Provost Peter Lange) actually behaved admirably, and they don't always get proper credit.

But this...gosh.  Full disclosure:  I consider KC Johnson at somewhere between acquaintance and friend, and I have known him for quite a while.  So perhaps I'm biased.  I'll let you decide.

As for me, I'd say Duke acted badly here.

How Crazy?

How crazy is too crazy?

I myself think that Duke's "fans" are excessive. Having the noise be intimidating is fine. But the physical presence and the reaching out is a distraction.

They can say what they want. But that doesn't make it right.

UNC v. Duke--Two Ties Day

Annual picture in front of K-ville sign. Note neckwear: I have ties to both schools!

Here is the tent city of K-ville. Doesn't smell good at this point.


Background on K-ville.

K-ville rules for this year. Just in case "You've never been to K-ville! But you've been to Oklahoma! For they tell me it has snowed there...but I really don't remember."

Duke v. MD--YYM is there!

Cliff Tucker tries to inbound the ball. But C-Crazies put that bad hoodoo on him.

The YYM is circled. Exciting. Duke uses non-price rationing to allocate game tickets. They are all "free" to students, but you have to wait in line. Maryland game usually a tough ticket to get, since U of Maryland is basically an urban pentitentiary with chalkboards and we HATES them. But this game was on January 9th before classes started and the YYM only had to wait about six hours in line to get into a position where he could fling that hoodoo.

Duke Haters

I have been teaching at Duke since 1997.

But I hate, just detest, Duke basketball. I respect, even very much admire, our coach, think the players are all great kids, it's all good. But I cannot abide the team, the cause, the self-love.

Watch this, and tell me I'm wrong.

Paul Teller

A terrific profile piece in the WaPo on my friend (and Duke alum) Paul Teller.

"Maybe it's the hair gel." You gotta like that.

House Where Mungowitz Not Raped Torn Down

The house where the "Mungowitz Rape" never happened was torn down.

Mike Schoenfeld, communications god-king of Duke University, was asked if the house where Mungowitz was not raped held any special meaning for the University.

"Who?" said Schoenfeld. Sad, really, that he would pretend that this incident that never even happened had never happened. Typical.

Now, it's true that the problem with identifying the house as the place where Mungowitz was not raped, at least according to some observers, is that there is no reason to stop there. Other people, more famous people, were not raped there. George Washington was never raped in that house. More recently, Mahatma Gandhi was not raped there, on several occasions. In particular, Mr. Gandhi was not raped in the house on December 21, 1978, or any other earlier, or later, nights.

Most recently of all, Chrystal Mangum was not raped at that house.

In fact, we could make a really long list of people not raped there.

So, I hope that the media will start to refering to the house at 610 N. Buchanan Street in Durham as the "house where Mungowitz was not raped," since that is as good an identifier as the ones the media insists on using.

Can you help?

(Nod to BH)

The King is Dead. Long Live the Queen

I'm not chair any more in....

...wait for it....

less than two minutes....

NOW!

Good luck, Karen!

We are really lucky to have a person like Karen Remmer to take over as chair. Not only will she do way better than I did (a pretty low standard...), I think she is going to make a huge difference for Duke.

Buchanan Blvd : Four Years Ago Tonight....

My pal Bob Lee writes a retrospective on the N&O and coverage of Duke Lacrosse.

The article by Ruth Sheehan (can't find a link, may be in gated archives) started like this:

Members of the Duke men’s lacrosse team: You know.

We know you know.

Whatever happened in the bathroom at the stripper party gone terribly terribly bad, you know who was involved. Every one of you does.

And one of you needs to come forward and tell the police.

Do not be afraid of retribution on the team. Do not be persuaded that somehow this “happened” to one or more “good guys.”

If what the strippers say is true — that one of them was raped, sodomized, beaten and strangled — the guys responsible are not “good.”

She does say "if," but she means "since." Because "we know you know."

Her later thoughts. And, as Bob Lee says, fair enough. A commentator comments. Sometimes s/he will get it wrong. When they get it wrong, they apologize.

When you remember, remember the biggest idiot in the world, Nancy Grace. No apology from Nancy Grace. What an idiot.

Duke Faculty Prom Tonight!

No, I'm not kidding. The faculty "dinner dance" (clearly a prom, with a band, and hot women like the LMM) goes down this evening.

Me? I'll be wearing the black tux.....

Clean shirt, new shoes
And I don't know where I am goin' to.
black tux, black tie,
I don't need a reason why.
They come runnin' just as fast as they can
Coz every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man.

Gold watch, diamond ring,
I ain't missin' not a single thing.
And cufflinks, stick pin,
When I step out I'm gonna do you in.
They come runnin' just as fast as they can
Coz every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man.

Top coat, top hat,
I don't worry coz my wallet's fat.
Black shades, white gloves,
Lookin' sharp and lookin' for love.
They come runnin' just as fast as they can
Coz every girl grazy 'bout a sharp dressed man.