What are Dukes relations with Durham?
One of the most harmful inaccuracies in some media accounts, particularly in the initial weeks and from outside reporters who visited for only a few hours or days, was the portrayal of a rift between “Rich White Duke” and “Poor Black Durham.” Both of those descriptions were erroneous and harmful. The truth is that Duke and Durham are both wonderfully diverse, and they benefit from being tied inextricably to one another. More than half of Duke employees live in Durham. Thousands of Duke students and employees volunteer in Durham. Local residents, in turn, attend Duke events, pray in its Chapel, cheer for its teams and choose to live near its campus. Opinion research carried out by Duke confirms that, if anything, the lacrosse incident has only served to strengthen the ties between the university and the community. More than 75 percent of Duke students perform some community service while at Duke — contributing more than 100,000 hours each year — through the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Pa
