Duke Settles Lawsuit on Grade

By Andrew Dunn : The Herald-Sunnews@heraldsun.comMay 14, 2007 : 11:17 pm ET

DURHAM -- Duke University has settled a lawsuit brought by a former lacrosse player against the university and a visiting faculty member. In the suit, former player Kyle Dowd alleged that visiting assistant professor Kim Curtis had discriminated against him in the aftermath of the since-dismissed Duke lacrosse sexual-offense case for being a team member.

Dowd, who graduated last year and was never implicated in the case, received an original final grade of "F" from Curtis. Curtis specializes in political theory with a concentration in feminist theory, according to her online university profile. As part of the settlement, Dowd's final grade was changed to "P," or "Pass." The university had earlier said the final grade had resulted from a calculation error and changed it to a "D."

"This lawsuit has been settled through mediation to the mutual satisfaction of Kyle Dowd and his family and Duke University, and without any admission by any party of legal liability," the statement reads. It also states that the settlement terms are confidential and that Dowd's official transcript now reflects the changed grade.

Curtis was one of 88 faculty members, commonly known as the "Group of 88," who signed an ad that appeared in The Chronicle, Duke's student newspaper, shortly after lacrosse allegations were made public last spring. The suit stated that the ad, titled, "What Does a Social Disaster Sound Like?," supported the accuser. The lawsuit also stated that Dowd and another lacrosse player had been passing Curtis' "Politics and Literature" class before the scandal. But those two ‰? -- the only two in the class, the lawsuit says ‰? -- earned a failing grade on their final assignment. The failing grade would have prevented Dowd from graduating. After Dowd and his parents protested, the university allowed additional transfer credits Dowd had earlier accumulated at Johns Hopkins University, to count toward his Duke degree, allowing him to graduate. Dowd transferred to Duke in 2004 and received a partial athletic scholarship. He now lives and works in New York.

In a May 10, 2006, meeting between Curtis and Dowd, Curtis said the "F" grade on his final course paper -- which led to his overall failing grade in the class -- came because Dowd had "made strong statements in the paper without backing them up," the suit stated. Dowd said he was later told by university officials that the "F" was assigned because, in his paper, Dowd had confused the main characters in a book about which he was writing.

Dowd, whose parents were also listed as plaintiffs, specifically named Curtis and Duke University and charged them with breach of contract because of a clause in the university's undergraduate bulletin stating that the university does not discriminate on the basis of many factors, including programs or activities. The suit also alleged that the defendants, Duke and Curtis, had perpetrated fraud, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Now my 2 cents - this is a good thing, and hopefully we'll be seeing more lawsuits against radical left-wing professors and their discriminatory actions toward students that don't "think" as they do. Universities can't afford to have much of this going on, so perhaps they'll take note that students are getting sick and tired of their liberal rhetoric.

This type of thing happened at UNC last year. It involved a female sociology professor that lowered a student's grade by one whole grade point because he made the statement, "I don't feel comfortable around homosexuals" in a class discussion. He didn't make disparaging remarks about gays, but merely stated his feelings about being in their presence. With UNC being a state institution, this went to the state legislation after faculty ignored his complaint. They took action against the professor. They didn't go so far as to fire her, but she was put on probation for a length of time. This avoided a lawsuit, and the student's original grade was reinstated for record.

These professors (many left over from the '60s and never relocated themselves to the real world outside of the fantasy of academia) are causing a backlash in a way they haven't intended.