Here we go again

Last year, Duke made headlines, thanks to the men's lacrosse team. As I had blogged earlier (see post labels), this incident never really affected our business school community, since we were well-insulated from the antics of the undergrads. But now, this incident has hit a bit closer to home. Duke is in the news again, and this time, it's the business school students with the antics.

I've posted the article from the Durham Herald-Sun below. Hopefully this won't make quite the same headlines as the lacross scandal. I think this has hit us hard because Fuqua is a tight-knit commuity and most of us value the honor and integrity not only of each other and our school, but also of business itself. Business school is the training ground for (hopefully) leaders of tomorrow, and if we don't build an ethical foundation now, then we'll be sure to have more Enrons and WorldComs in the future.

I believe in celebrating different cultures, and I also believe that when you're in Rome, you do as the Romans due. And while there are shades of gray across cultures, there are some philosophies that remain constant. I believe ethics is one of them.

Last week, there were police officers tramping around Fuqua's campus. I went up to one and asked why they were there...after all, there are never police officers around our campus. They told me that the Dean had to tell some bad news to some students (the honor code violations) and, in light of the recent events at Virginia Tech, the Dean wanted the police there as a security measure. Anyway you look at this incident, I guess no one is insulated from the world anymore.

Fuqua students may face expulsion
BY BRIANNE DOPART
The Herald-Sun
April 27, 2007
Nine students at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business could be expelled for cheating on a take-home exam, according to Mike Hemmerich, the school's associate dean for strategy and institutional research.

Thirty-eight daytime business students at the school were accused of honor violations in 22 separate cases heard by the school's judicial board over the past several weeks. All but one of the 38 were accused of cheating in a third quarter class while one was charged with "a lying offense."

The charges stemmed from the outcome of a single take-home test taken by 410 of the first-year class's 411 students, Hemmerich said. Friday, the university's judicial board announced it found nine students guilty of "extremely severe offenses" while 15 were found guilty of "severe offenses" and 10 were found guilty of "minor offenses," he said.

Four students were found not guilty of violating the honor code.

The honor code, the preamble of which is posted in "any classroom at Fuqua" according to a statement released Friday by Douglas T. Breeden, dean of the school, is distributed to all students who enter Fuqua. Violations of the code include lying, cheating, stealing and failing to report those offenses.

The school's decision was explained to Fuqua students at a Friday afternoon session. Some students said they felt the punishment for the cheating students was not harsh enough, but at least one student said cultural differences might have confused some of those taking the test and therefore the punishment was too severe.

That student was putting up a poster, which read: "9 EXPULSION is all we need??????? PUNISHMENT OR EDUCATION?????" It also bore a statistic stemming from Duke's own Center for Academic Integrity that says 56 percent of American MBA students reported having cheated in a 2002-2004 survey.

Hemmerich declined to comment on reports that the majority of those charged with the offense were international students. The university is bound by law to keep the identity of the charges against students private, he said, and identifying the charged students as international students could "identify" some of them.

He said that international students do attend a summer program before entering the school that addresses the cultural differences between the U.S. and their respective countries of origin.
Erwin Chan, a second-year student who believes the expulsions were well warranted, said the school's decision to take action against the alleged cheaters spoke to Fuqua's commitment to integrity.

"I think you should see [the expulsions] as a sign we do take integrity very seriously," he said, adding that the school's decision to welcome back those found guilty of less offenses was a testament to his school's compassion.

According to the study performed by the Center for Academic Integrity, which polled 5,300 students, MBA students were more likely to cheat than their engineering, law and education student counterparts -- a finding that led the author of the study, Donald McCabe, to urge business schools to address their significant problem with cheating last fall.

"The type of student attracted to business is exceedingly decisive and often will substitute expediency for ethics," said the center's executive director Tim Dodd.

Hemmerich said the school's new fall curriculum will offer a class called "Global Institute" that will address the issues of leadership and ethics in business.

For the nine guilty of extremely severe offenses, the punishment will be expulsion and a notation that will appear on their transcript for four years.

The 15 guilty of severe offenses received a lesser punishment of a one-year suspension, an F in the related course and a notation that will appear on their transcript for three years. The punishment was similar for the 10 guilty of minor offenses, but the notation on those students' transcripts will appear for only one year.

The single student charged with lying received a zero grade on the take-home test and will have a notation on his or her transcript for three months.

Free the Duke 3? Puhlease.

If you've been following the Duke Lacrosse scandal lately, you know that the rape charges against the Duke Lacrosse players have been dropped. The only charge that remains in a kidnapping charge, which is anticipated to also be dismissed.

Sales of Duke Lacrosse t-shirts have increased by over 8,000% at the Duke bookstore (that's not an exaggeration) and students are wearing blue bracelets that read "Free the Duke 3. 6 13 45" (the numbers being their jersey numbers.) I saw a bumper sticker on a car the other day, which had the same slogan, along with the website www.disbarnifong.com.

I can't help but think this is a little like dancing on a grave. Sure, evidence overwhelming supports the case that the girl in question was lying. And Nifong probably acting unethically in presenting his case. But while these boys may not have done anything illegal, they are far from innocent. Here's what probably happened: during a night of drunken debauchery, the team hired strippers to perform. Specifically, they hired white strippers. Two black strippers arrived and the guys yelled racial and derogatory slurs at them. One of the girls got mad and decided to get even. Heck, one player has even been convicted in DC for assaulting a homosexual man. One way or another, bigotry runs in this crowd.

The real victims in this case are the future rape and assault victims. What girl, white or black, is going to be taken seriously now if she comes forward with a rape charge? Through this "Free the Duke 3" campaign, proponents are essentially intimidating rape victims and throwing a healthy dose of skepticism the way of any girl that may come forward in the future. And I can't help but feel that this campaign legitimizes the Duke Lacrosse team's actions, however legal they were. Rape, bigotry, and assault are not things to be taken lightly, but this campaign somehow makes them the punchline and diminishes their seriousness.

The victims are not Collin, Dave or Reade. The victims are anyone they have hurt through their words. And those who do not yet know they are victims.

It wasn't me

I went to a wedding this past weekend and ran into people I haven't seen since college. Over the course of abbreviating the past five years, I mentioned that I'm currently getting my MBA at Duke University.

Prior to the last month, when I would say this, people would ask what I'm studying, where I'm interning, and other school small talk. However, this past weekend the response was a bit different.

Them: "So...the Duke Lacrosse team. What's going on there?"
Me: "I don't know. That's really the undergrad campus."
Them: "Oh. Do you need anything from the bar?"
Repeat 27 times.

For the record, I'm not on the Duke Lacrosse team. I didn't go to the Duke Lacrosse party on the night in question. I don't know any players on the Duke Lacrosse team. I don't even know what lacrosse is, besides it being a sport played by 46 guys.

Let's keep in mind three things:
1. These guys are innocent until proven guilty, regardless of the assumed direct correlation between the size of their parents' houses and the type of lawyer they can hire.
2. I do hope the guilty party, as found through trial, is punished.
3. If you watch the news, you probably know more about the case than I do.

Now...let's get back to me.