Durham is not a "petting zoo"

If anyone ever wondered before what was wrong with Duke's student body, they wouldn't ever have to again after reading Stephen Miller's arrogant and reactionary op-ed.

How much sense does it make right now for anyone at Duke to dismiss valid criticism of its town-gown interaction with Durham? Now more than ever, this is the time when the university should be listening to the people of the community, instead of being callously dismissive of their outrage. Duke students are accused of raping, beating, and nearly strangulating a community member, and Miller dares to condemn the community's response to this? On top of that, he seems to think that Durham owes Duke something.

My friend, Duke would not exist as an institution were it not for the hard work and patronage of the people of Durham. Without worker cleaning the buildings or tending the gardens or cooking the food, what does Duke University have? Without patients seeking medical treatment or support staff keeping the building running, what does Duke Hospital have? And where do those workers and patients come from? Oh yeah, the city of Durham.

Actually, Miller and too many of his peers have done more to prove Duke's critics right than anyone, and to disparage this most vibrantly human of communities as a "petting zoo" speaks volumes about Duke's character as an institution. Durham is completely justified in its outrage.

Yolanda Carrington

Raleigh, North Carolina