Duke Alumni Gather As Probe Roils Campus

Duke lacrosse player Collin Finnerty, right, sits with his father Kevin Finnerty as he waits to appear before a judge in a courtroom at the Durham County Judicial Building in Durham, N.C., Tuesday, April 18, 2006. Finnerty was arrested early Tuesday on charges of raping and kidnapping a stripper hired to dance at an off-campus party. At left is Finnerty's father Kevin. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) (Gerry Broome - AP)

Hurston and others decried the media attention on Duke, with some saying they wanted to spend part of their reunion weekend finding out for themselves what is going on.

"One of the reasons I wanted to come was, I was anxious to get a view of the situation firsthand instead of filtered through the media," said Lynn Dalton Young, a 1976 graduate who has twin sons at Duke.

Hurston, who was attending the reunion weekend with her husband, Jim, said she takes rape seriously but isn't in a place to judge the guilt or innocence of the players.

Swift echoed that sentiment, saying he is unable to criticize the team because he can't reconcile the allegations of the past month with his memories of college life.

"You're always going to have somebody who doesn't know how to behave," he said. "I managed to get out of college without having a record."

He had an added challenge on his visit: explaining the scandal to his two daughters, ages 7 and 9, who tagged along.

"My daughter asked, 'What happened?'" Swift said. "How do I explain this? I can't even begin to describe this to my daughter."

Duke is a wonderful school, Hurston said _ a place where parents shouldn't be afraid to send their kids to college.

"I knew they were serious when I was sitting at my computer one night and I get an e-mail from the president," Hurston said. "I thought, 'They're taking it seriously.' Which is good, because it should be taken seriously."

___

Duke University: http://www.duke.edu