Irony of the 88

In the wake of all the lacrosse drama, one issue that has come to light but has not been resolved fully is the batch of disgraceful comments made by the now-renowned "Group of 88" faculty members. I find a lot of irony in what they said, their reactions to responses to what they said and their actions.

I find it ironic that they condemn the exact freedom of speech that protects their ability to put their foots in their mouth as they did. They exclaim injustice at the responses that people gave to their cultural statement. Yet, it is just as much someone's right to voice opposition to what they said as it was their right to say it in the first place. I don't condone the alleged death threats issued against the groups' members, but strong language in response to their statements is still someone's freedom of speech.

I find it ironic that they decry racism and unequal treatment when it came to those involved in the scenario for which all suspects have now been shown innocent. Yet, when a similar crime was allegedly committed last semester, but with the roles reversed-a white girl was allegedly raped by a black man-the 88 were silent. Not a peep. Perhaps their silence was related to the fact that statistics show that it is not so surprising for a black man to commit a violent felony in Durham. But whatever the reason, it's ironic that their own treatment of the situation was unequal in comparison to that of the lacrosse case.

I find it ironic that a group of Ph.D.s, who rely on written communication to convey their ideas and research, claim that something they wrote has been so misunderstood. How did these people ever write their dissertations and obtain their Ph.D.s in the first place if they couldn't even convey a simple message to campus? They claim that their written statements have been misunderstood, but these people rely on writing for their careers.

I find it ironic that they claim that their purpose was to initiate a dialogue to spur cultural change, yet they are not interested in continuing dialogue, trying to explain what they meant or even apologizing for the apparent vast misunderstanding that they claim must have happened.

Joe Volpe

Ph.D. student in computational

biology & bioinformatics