Letter: Only idiots think 'Blue Devils for Dole' is improper

First of all, I would like to calm the apparent anxieties of the Democratic and/or radical partisans around campus who are concerned that North Carolinians are going to mistake the recent Blue Devils for Dole fundraising event as a formal endorsement of Elizabeth Dole by her alma mater. Trust me when I tell you that no one in North Carolina familiar enough with this University to be aware of this fundraiser would be fooled into believing the leftist hangovers from the 1960s who run this school would endorse a Republican, even if she was one of its most successful alumnae.

Their's is an idiotic argument, anyways, because it is clearly not an official University event, although conducted by private citizens affilated with the University. Yes, Coach K and Coach G are "Blue Devils," as am I and most of you are, because they are affiliated with the University, and they happen to be "for Dole." This does not imply, however, that all individuals meeting the first criteria meet the second. If this were true, many groups would be in trouble. Take Students Against Sweatshops. I am a student. I am not, however, against sweatshops nor am I bothered by that group's name because it would take a moron to think that its name implied a formal renouncement of sweatshops by all students.

Those people compaining about this fundraiser must be either afflicted likewise or jumping on any opportunity to renounce anyone at Duke who is not committed to the leftist company line. A Blue Devil is an individual person, Duke is a body of people, an institution, of which I am a part. Coach K didn't say "Duke for Dole," although "Duke" is used questionably from time to time. For example, "Duke Welcomes Gloria Steinem." I am a part of Duke and Duke used my money to welcome Steinem. I, however, did not welcome her appearance here or anywhere near me; the same can be said for "Duke Welcomes Former Black Panther Leader...." Point being, these events could be much more easily construed to imply community support and unwittingly took funds from members of the community, neither of which the basketball coaches did, yet whiners still must call it improper. Yeah, it was probably lacking a discourse as well.