Duke is in many respects very difficult to defend. But I think there no other top university like it in terms of contradictions. To understand the school requires a capacity to hold more than one thought at one time.
I do think the school is arrogant - that is indeed how it has risen to the top in terms of ranking and prestige. Academics tell me that the school is ruthless in terms of bidding for top tier faculty.
It is a socially competitive place with lots of wealth - just not an easy place for a poor person.
The education within the four corners of the classroom is excellent. In terms of rigor and intensity, just a shade bit shy of Princeton (my daughter attended Princeton). Get rid of all the social politics and arrogance posturing and the education is excellent. My professional school experience, where I did as well as one could possible do, was considerably less difficult than the honors program at Duke.
Wash Duke owned slaves (although history reflects just one or two). He started the family tobacco business with a five dollar gold coin Lincoln gave to newly released Confederate prisoners. He walked home from New Bern to save money. One of the most amazing American success stories, yet caught up in the ugly social structures of the old South.
The Dukes dominated the global market for tobacco, a poisonous product. Yet with the Duke Medical Schools, they have saved the lives of hundreds of thousands if not millions. Another contradiction is that if you have appendicitis, find a way to get to Durham General, but if you are sick with any serious cancer or something of that type - go to Duke.
The Dukes were part of the racist South, yet nowhere near the worst offenders. They endowed Johnson C Smith university in Charlotte and the land on where NC Central sits was donated by the Dukes.
The Dukes felt the so-called backwardness of the South and took great strides in supplying power to the southeast. The machine rolled cigarette plant - and machine rolled cigarettes were uniformly believed to be deemed to fail - was in Lynchburg due to the availability of hydroelectric power.
When Duke won its NCAA basketball championships in the early 90's, I surmised that the nation's most hated and yet best college basketball player landed at Duke and it was no way an accident. It was difficult to defend Laettner's conduct at times but every school wished he was on their team. And again, that was a team where the working class kids were white and the upper middle class kids like Grant Hill were black. The place is always a mass of contradictions.
I mention this not to defend Duke. I have regrets about attending there, but at the end of the day received a very good education. I would counsel anyone to really understand what they are getting into before enrolling, and this is a neutral statement. For some, it works out well. Personally, the ability to wade through all of Duke's contradictions served me well in the long run; it was not as enjoyable as I though it would be. Then again, I came from the worst of the worst in terms of broken homes (or at least at the age of 18) and I don't think an enjoyable college experience was in the cards for me anyway.
people who grow up accustomed to a certain amount of sunlight year-round tend to have less vitality when they move to a locale with significantly less sunlight relative to what they're used to at that time of year
put simply: a moderately high and relatively steady solar irradiance year round tends to be best for athletes
manhattan beach gets 17% more global horizontal irradiance than durham; 5.18 kWh/m2/day v. 4.43 kWh/m2/day. higher highs and higher lows.
That might be the issue if she moved to Michigan, or WA, or New England. But NC is considered the sunbelt and Manhattan Beach is often cool and overcast near the ocean.
i mean yes but no. yes brosnan is a great coach but mia specifically mentioned it was also because of the location. California is hard to leave once you've grown up there your whole life.
Think again. The 2 female transfers he got over the Christmas break chose UCLA specifically because Brosnan is the coach.
that is incorrect, they came to UCLA because THEY ARE FROM LA. All of their best friends from high school are already attending UCLA and also because McDonnell's coach left for Florida.
If Brosnan was coaching in Idaho, there is a ZERO percentage chance Barnett and McDonnell follow him to Idaho.
Hey everyone! The "duke coach" or the "woman coach from Duke" has a name. Her name is Angela Reckert and the fact that this thread is six pages long and no mention has been made of her name speaks to the sexism of this space. We do not call Jerry "the BTC coach" or Brosnan "the UCLA coach" or Mike Smith "the NAU coach". They all have names and we use them routinely on here. Angela deserves the same level of respect. If you have specific criticisms of Angela beyond one athlete (who grew up in CA) transferring back home to a CA school, please be specific and otherwise move along.