Blogger in Duke case on campus

Brooklyn College professor, harsh critic, to give talk today

DURHAM -- KC Johnson, a Brooklyn College professor who became one of the most prolific bloggers about the Duke lacrosse case, will speak today on a campus where he has been a harsh critic of faculty.

At his Durham-in-Wonderland Web site, Johnson has created a "Hall of Shame" into which he has inducted dozens of Duke University faculty members.

At 7 p.m. today in Duke's Page Auditorium, the soft-spoken but biting polemicist could face questions from professors who have been the subject of his scorn.

A new group, Duke Students for an Ethical Duke, and Duke's Program on Values and Ethics in the Marketplace issued the invitation to Johnson, a co-author of "Until Proven Innocent: Political Correctness and the Shameful Injustices of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case." The book, also written by Stuart Taylor, a columnist for the National Journal, has received mixed reviews on a campus that spent the past 16 months battling fallout from the Duke lacrosse case.

Some offer high praise. Others say the book should not be billed as the unflinching truth.

"While we disagree with many of its conclusions, it's not going to serve any good purpose to engage in a point by point rebuttal," said John Burness, a Duke spokesman. "It's one interpretation of the history of the past two years. There have been other interpretations, and we assume there will be more."

Ken Larrey, a Duke senior from Houston, Texas, said the group that invited Johnson to campus has attracted 229 members to its Facebook social networking page on the Web. Since the semester started, the group has been selling copies of "It's Not About the Truth," a book co-authored by former lacrosse coach Mike Pressler.

The case might be over, Larrey said, but student anger is still simmering at Duke.

"There are an awful lot of questions that need to be answered," Larrey said in a recent interview. "There are people who have a lot to answer for."

Larrey, a former co-president of a recreational lacrosse club at the university, said some students are still upset by the actions of professors in the so-called "Group of 88," who lent their names to an advertisement in the student newspaper that seemed to condemn lacrosse players early in the lacrosse case rape investigation.

Larrey said his group plans to be a long-standing organization that protects the rights of students.

"We want to give voice to students who feel they have no venue," he said. "We want to promote an atmosphere at Duke where trust is restored, where we discuss things and handle things in a principled fashion."

Because all faculty members were covered by the university's settlement with the three exonerated lacrosse players, professors have not been held accountable, Larrey said. "It certainly is scary for any student who attends Duke University," he said.