A view from Duke's chapel

The situation that has been roiling Durham concerning the Duke men's lacrosse team, an exotic dancer and allegations of rape has been examined from a variety of perspectives.

Some, like professor Tim Tyson, author of "Blood Done Sign My Name," have looked at issues of race, class and inequality. Defense attorneys stress that one is innocent until proven guilty, and that everyone has the right to remain silent. Protesters have called lacrosse team members shameful for their silence. Team supporters say these students have been unfairly tried in the press.

What has been missing for many of the public is a spiritual viewpoint. What is this affair doing to the soul of Durham and its two universities, one historically black, the other historically white?

I often attend Sunday services at Duke Chapel, where the all these issues above have been discussed with refreshing candor. Dr. Samuel Wells, dean of the Chapel, and the Rev. Craig T. Kocher, assistant dean and director of religious life at Duke, have mentioned the allegations in prayers, sermons and in other talks on campus.

Last Sunday, Wells offered a 15-minute meditation, without notes, in his soft, British voice. He stood at the head of the center aisle, level with the congregation, not in the pulpit above it. His message was about a university's "law," the legal and social contract that governs behavior on a college campus. He gave three examples of this law.

First, learning and education require imagination. There must be a concern for the wider social implications of our actions.

Second, he expressed concern over the portrayal of a subculture of arrogance and entitlement at Duke. He worried about the "commodification of another race or another class of person." This undermines what the university stands for.

Thirdly, Wells fretted about sex. "If I were 19 and a Duke undergraduate today...I think that I would find it most difficult" to interpret signals from women, he said. He sympathizes with young adult sexual confusion, but deplores that some males -- not all -- feel entitled to "exploit and terrorize" women students.

Still, Wells found hope in the midst of division, primarily the concern shown for an unnamed victim of alleged sexual assault. He declared that there has been an "earnest searching for truth and beauty." He praised Duke President Richard Brodhead for his openness.

"Have we not seen people coming around these themes of loving attention?" he said. "Have we not seen renewal in some aspects of our university's life?"

Then he asked simply, "How do our relationships exhibit to the world how much God desires us?"

The Rev.Kocher, in prayer, called on all of us to honor our bodies instead of allowing "bodies to be consumed," and to avoid objectification of others. He prayed for unity and healing among Duke, N.C. Central University and the city of Durham. N.C. Central is where the African-American woman at the center of the storm attends college.

Of all the comments I heard during that Sunday service, a line from Wells sticks in my mind: "This has been a week for naming our silences."

One can imagine the enormous peer pressure on these young lacrosse players. Whistleblowers are not treated kindly in our society. The accused have the right to remain silent, but should we always remain silent, even when it's our right to do so?

Wells is correct -- there is a "university law," but there is a larger universal law. We have a social contract not to exploit each other. Focusing on spirituality as well as legality may be the best course for all parties involved in this sad incident.

(Anthony Hatcher is associate professor of communications at Elon University.)