Indoctrinate U kicked off its campus tour last week at the most appropriate campus imaginable: Duke University. Duke is still recovering from its shameful behavior during much of 2006 and 2007, when the administration and the faculty leapt to punitive presumptions of guilt after a mentally unstable stripper falsely accused several lacrosse players of raping her. The whole ugly story is recounted in gripping prose by KC Johnson and Stuart Taylor in Until Proven Innocent; Johnson also maintains Durham in Wonderland, a website with ongoing commentary on the case and its aftermath. Though Duke has never really acknowledged just how badly it behaved, and though the 88 faculty members who signed an outrageously presumptuous and hateful statement against the lacrosse team have never been held accountable for their patently unprofessional actions, there are people at Duke who want to see the culture change. And they are the ones responsible for bringing Indoctrinate U to campus.
Duke Students for an Ethical Duke spearheaded the screening, coordinating with a wide range of campus groups not only to get a good turnout, but also to bring filmmaker Evan Coyne Maloney and producer Thor Halvorssen to the event. Here's what they had to say about it all:
Last night's screening of Indoctrinate U was fantastic! The film was insightful, provocative and often hilarious. The Duke Chronicle reported the event in today's issue, though with a few significant mistakes and a somewhat unfortunate title. DSEDuke sponsored the film, with contributions from the Program on Values and Ethics in the Marketplace and the Political Science department. A discussion afterwards was co-sponsored and promoted by the Duke Conservative Union, College Republicans, Duke Democrats, and the Center for Race Relations.We promoted the event (albeit with late start) with an attempt to attract a diverse audience, both ethnically, ideologically and intellectually. We encouraged attendees to prepare to ask tough, penetrating questions during the Q&A with Thor and Evan. Evan and Thor were fantastic. With the exception of perhaps one question, we were somewhat disappointed that neither was ever really challenged. Thor in particular was remarkably insightful, animated and inspiring in his responses.
It was also wonderful to meet them in person. Evan and Thor both joined all of us for dinner afterwards at the Washington Duke Inn.
We are currently lobbying for them to create a documentary on the Duke Lacrosse Affair.
Very cool--and a great campus premiere for this important film.
Indoctrinate U will be on the road for the coming months, with screenings at Indiana, East Tennessee State, San Diego State, and more. And, on April 3, it will be coming home to roost at Maloney's alma mater, Bucknell. Last time Evan was there showing an early version of the film, the campus police nearly arrested him. Here's hoping the university shows a bit more tolerance this time around.