Campus on alert after gang threats against students

	The Walk-On Michael Mueller is a former sports associate editor for The Chronicle, Duke's student newspaper.
	Demonstrators listen to a response from Duke University President Richard Brodhead following a news conference. Photo by AP

Michael Mueller

The lacrosse situation at Duke dominated conversation and triggered campus protests and community outrage after the allegations were announced. Weeks later, students and professors are still debating the scandal in and out of class.

For the most part, people are getting on with their lives as they try to stay abreast of new developments. The local bar Satisfaction was as crowded as ever on Thursday night, and the Durham party scene appears to be as vibrant as it was before the scandal.

I can't speak for all Duke students, but if you talk to 10 students about the issue, you'll probably get 10 different responses. Obviously, we feel consternation about the allegations -- the e-mail released recently was jaw-dropping disgusting. But I feel like a lot of students are in a holding pattern. People are waiting to hear what happens with the DNA test results. While these allegations are serious, it's not fair to condemn the lacrosse team before they are proven guilty.

That said, a lot of people are tired of the media converging on campus. We've been under a white-hot microscope for weeks. It seems almost as if this is being portrayed as some kind of epic battle -- Duke against North Carolina Central University, Duke against the city of Durham, white against black. It's hard to ignore these polarizations. Also, it seems as if the accused are becoming the face of the university. It almost seems as if people are ignoring the fact that Duke students work and live in Durham.

The allegations certainly aren't helping community relations. A Duke student was assaulted at a popular off-campus eatery and there have been threats of gang violence and retaliation against students, making us feel uneasy here. Just a couple of days ago, a pair of Duke students had insults shouted at them from an SUV that was cruising down Campus Drive. The area around the university feels like a powder keg ready to explode.