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Lauren Smith
Mrs. J. Robinson
AP Language & Composition
April 11, 2008
The Blue Devil Myth
Spoiled, privileged, pretentious—these are all words commonly used to describe Duke
University students. Deemed the “Harvard of the South,” Duke is famous for its elite athletics
program, notably high research expenditures, and an undergraduate division ranked eighth in the
nation (“Duke University”). However, Duke’s reputation as a prestigious academic and research
institution is slightly tarnished by its notoriety as a student body of spoiled rich kids. This
stereotype has gained much traction among the general public and has found itself easily
propagated throughout the media, as in the 2006 Duke Lacrosse case. However, in actuality, the
extent to which it holds true is far from accurate.
Both the public’s reactions and contributions to the prevalence of this myth are
demonstrated quite thoroughly in the media. For example, in response to Duke’s decision to allot
$500,000 worth of iPods to the freshman class of 2004, one enraged blogger posted a rant titled
“Duke University buys thousands of rich kids iPods,” in which he dubbed it a promotion
disguised as an educational initiative (Block). The eTECH Systems Administrator at Arkansas
Tech University agreed, saying the Duke students “already owned similar devices because they
are rich, spoiled elitists” (Mullins). Another more publicized example can be seen in the Duke
Lacrosse case, where stereotypes played a tremendous role in the portrayal of each side to the
public.
The defendants were painted as typical jocks (a completely different stereotype in and of
itself), many of whom were “recruited from tony Northern prep schools” by Duke University,
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“the expensive private college with the championship sports teams and big TV deals” (NBC
Sports). However, the accuser on the other hand was equally subject to judgement. The
privileged white defendants were countered by a black divorced mother of two who was an
escort, prostitute, and stripper. The Durham District Attorney at the time, Mike Nifong, was
accused of intensifying racial tensions in this case by playing off these seemingly antithetical
stereotypes in order further victimize the accuser. While he was punished and heavily criticized
for his exaggerations, he nonetheless riled the public enough to distort the case into a battle of
discrimination, in which he successfully vilified the lacrosse players despite the fact that they
were later deemed innocent.
In order to determine whether or not this stereotype is based on facts, we should examine
this issue at its source: the admissions process. In his book The Price of Admission: How
America's Ruling Class Buys Its Way into Elite Colleges -- and Who Gets Left Outside the
Gates, Daniel Golden dedicates an entire chapter to describing a recent ploy in which Duke
“spread the word among private high schools that it wanted ‘development admits,’ those whose
families had the potential to become big donors, and that strong academic credentials weren’t a
requirement.” Similarly, Brown is said to favor children of fame, while Harvard prefers to assist
“wealthy, well-connected alumni” during the admissions process. Christoph Guttentag, dean of
undergraduate admissions at Duke, denied that this has occurred during his experience, but
acknowledged that they do “consider — ‘for a small number of students’ — the ability of their
families to make contributions (financial and otherwise) to the university,” providing that the
student fulfills academic requirements as well. While this may sound slightly controversial on
the surface, Guttentag further explains, “I don’t think there is a selective private university… that
to one degree or another doesn’t do this, with the understanding that ultimately the university as
a whole and the students benefit from the facilities or financial aid [donated]” (Jaschik).
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Similarly, two of the Duke lacrosse defendants were from private schools in New York
and New Jersey, fueling the stereotype that Duke students are not only rich but from aristocratic
New England schools. However, the undergraduate student body is composed of people from all
fifty U.S. states and 117 countries, forty percent of whom receive need-based financial support
(“Duke University,” “Year in Review”).
In response to the unfavorable reputation of Duke students, one observer asserted a more
viable breakdown: “A private school will have its share of wealthy kids, some of them even
spoiled. But in attracting the academic high-achievers they get a cross section of students with
grants, scholarships and financial aid mixed in with the wealthy” (City-Data). But if this is true,
why do the spoiled kids reign as false representatives of an entire student body? Perhaps a
general distaste for the overly privileged type is ironically what gives them so much weight.
After all, if these students were not in fact of such refined academic potential, the prestigious
reputation of Duke’s undergraduate program would have been disproved by now.
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Works Cited:
Block, Ryan. "Duke University buys thousands of rich kids iPods." Engadget 20 July 2004 09
Apr 2008 <http://www.engadget.com/2004/07/20/duke-university-buys-thousands-ofrich-kids-ipods/>.
City-Data Forum: "The Triangle Area: Is Duke a good option?." [City-Data.com Forum] 12 Feb
2007. 13 Apr 2008 <http://www.city-data.com/forum/raleigh-durham-chapel-hillcary/45404-san-diego-12th-grader-duke-good.html>.
"Duke rape case plays easily to stereotypes." NBC Sports 05 Apr 2006 09 Apr 2008
<http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/12100397/>.
"Duke University." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 12 Apr 2008, 00:04 UTC. Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc. 14 Apr 2008
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Duke_University&oldid=205032524>.
Jaschik, Scott. "Silver Spoon Admissions." Inside Higher Ed 05 Sept 2006 09 Apr 2008
<http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/09/05/admit>.
R.C., Mullins. "Duke University Fails the Final: No Project Sense." 12 May 2005. ITtoolbox
Blogs: Professional IT Community. 09 Apr 2008
<http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/pm/change/archives/duke-university-fails-the-final-noproject-sense-4164>.
"Year in Review: 2004-2005." Duke.edu. 2005. Duke University. 27 Apr 2008
<http://yearinreview.duke.edu/2004-2005/financialaid/faq.html>.