Duke faculty groups
Soon after the allegations were made, 88 Duke professors (commonly referred
to as the "Group of 88" or "Gang of 88") from the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences placed an ad in The Chronicle referring to the circumstances surrounding the allegations as a "social disaster" and quoting anonymous individuals citing
racism and sexism in the Duke community.[158] In three departments, more than half of faculty signed the statement. The department with the highest proportion of
signatories was African & African-American Studies, with 80%. Just over 72% of the Women's Studies faculty signed the statement, Cultural Anthropology 60%, Romance studies 44.8%, Literature 41.7%, English 32.2%, Art & Art History 30.7%, and History 25%. No faculty members from the Pratt School of Engineering or full-time law professors signed the document. Departments that had no faculty members sign
the document include Biological Anthropology and Anatomy, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Economics, Genetics, Germanic Languages/Literature, Psychology and Neuroscience, Religion, and Slavic and Eurasian Studies. Many have criticized the group for rushing to judgment in condemning
the lacrosse players, but some in the group maintain that the ad made no mention of innocence or guilt, but rather elaborated
on this "social disaster."[10], [11]
In January 2007, a new letter was posted at the Concerned Duke Faculty
website signed by 87 faculty members stating that the original ad was misinterpreted.[159] In the letter, the group does not apologize for the original ad but instead states that the intent of the ad was to
address issues of racism and sexism on the Duke campus and not prejudge the case.[160]
Seventeen faculty members of the economics department sent a letter showing support for the players on January 6, 2007, saying, "We regret that the Duke faculty is now seen as prejudiced against
certain of its own students," and telling the players that they are more than welcome to enroll in their courses.[16
