COLLEGE SHORTS

Author: POLLY JOHNSON

Duke lacrosse players accused of gang rape

A gang rape investigation involving several male lacrosse players is underway at Duke University. The team members allegedly raped, strangled and robbed an exotic dancer

who was one of two dancers hired to perform at a private party at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. in Durham, N.C., the residence of the three lacrosse captains.

No charges have been pressed and the team members have remained mostly silent, but the community outrage has been overwhelming. Community members, faculty and students protested outside the Buchanan residence as well as outside the home of the Duke University President Richard Brodhead, who wrote in a statement to the university community, "Physical coercion and sexual assault are unacceptable in any setting and will not be tolerated at Duke. As none of us would choose to be the object of such conduct, so none of us has the right to subject another person to such behavior. Since they run counter to such fundamental values, the claims against our players, if verified, will warrant very serious penalties, both from the university and in the courts."

DNA samples were taken from 46 out of the 47 members of the lacrosse team, and when those are processed at the crime lab, they will hopefully determine if any of the team members were involved in the alleged rape.

Duke's athletic director Joe Alleva cancelled the two games following the incident and all future games have been cancelled pending further revelations in the case. The contents of the lacrosse page on the Duke Athletics We site, including the roster and schedule, have been removed and replaced with a statement from Brodhead explaining the situation.

-The Duke Chronicle and WRAL.com

Boulder reports meningitis case

A male sophomore University of Colorado (CU), Boulder student was diagnosed with meningococcal meningitis on Friday, March 17, prompting 25 students to visit CU's Wardenburg Health Center to obtain preventative antibiotics.

The 25 students were ones who had come into close contact with the infected individual, even if they had just been at the same party that the student had attended on March 11.

The bacterial infection, which causes an inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord, can only be protected by a vaccine. Meningitis is potentially fatal, and students on college campuses are particularly susceptible to the infection due to living in such close quarters and sharing drinks and personal items.

Symptoms appear seven to 10 days after exposure and can include confusion, sudden headaches and rashes on the arms and legs. Each year, approximately 100 to 125 cases of meningitis are reported on college campuses with about five to 15 deaths each year.

Wardenburg Health Center Director Bob Cranny estimates that 50 percent of the CU population has the meningitis bacteria in their body with the trigger being a suppressed immune system. Triggers can include stress, dehydration, alcohol and lack of sleep, which all can break down the immune system and set off the infection.

Colorado state law does not require that college students be vaccinated against the infection, but Cranny said that he would lobby to make the vaccine required, noting that the "severity of its contagiousness makes it such a threat."

-The Campus Press