By Jamie Crow | Staff Writer
Since 1925, The Duquesne Duke has been serving the Duquesne community by reporting on the issues that matter. Thanks to the Gumberg Library Digital Collections, our 90-plus year history is always just a few clicks away. With that in mind, here is the third of many dips back into The Duke’s archives.
Surprise, surprise: someone’s comments on Facebook caused a backlash. Even on November 17, 2005, in the early days of the social networking site, people used the platform to post their unsolicited opinions. Oh, how things haven’t changed.
In this particular instance, then-Duquesne student Ryan Miner posted remarks about the LGBT+ community on his Facebook account, calling the relationships between two men “pathetic and foul.” The Judicial Affairs board then decided that his comments were a violation of the student conduct code. After that things really heated up. Miner’s comments attracted both regional and national media attention, and The Duke was heavily involved in trying to help the community make sense of the situation.
Miner actually addressed his comments in an article that appeared in The Duke, where he said he was innocent and that his future career was being jeopardized. In comments to The Duke, he also said that he would oppose a Gay-Straight Alliance on campus which, 11 years later, is alive and well at Duquesne.
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Trying to imagine Duquesne without the Power Center is like trying to imagine only having one Starbucks on campus: tragic. An article discussed the construction plans for the Power Center, which were expected to be completed by the spring of 2008. The Power Center was actually completed in January of 2008, so it was done ahead of schedule. The article also discussed a opening a restaurant with a “college varsity sports kind of theme,” which, of course, would eventually become the Red Ring.
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Duquesne was excitedly getting ready for the holiday season in 2005, with tickets being sold for a raffle on Light Up Night and a “Jazzy Christmas Celebration” concert being performed by the Jazz Ensembles at the end of the month. Even in 2005 we were pushing Thanksgiving off to the side in favor of the holly and the jolly.
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Today Hurricane Katrina is still known for being one of the worst tropical storms in modern history to hit the United States. The hurricane devastated much of the south, but most notably New Orleans, Louisiana. Duquesne students were among the many who came together to raise money for the relief fund and, as reported in this issue, more than $31,400 was raised to help out those affected. Through bake sales, golf outings and other community events, Duquesne was able to raise a substantial amount of money for a good cause while also bringing the students together. Good on ya, Duquesne.
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The satire of The Duke in 2005 may just be one of the best things about this issue. The sarcastic nature of some features of the paper are hilarious, and they offer some levity in contrast to heavier topics. The “That’s Whack” section took a blunt perspective on a Pittsburgh Post Gazette article that discussed new condom types. The piece talked about a daughter instant messaging her mother asking her to buy a new type of condoms for her. This sounds like the preview to a really cheesy 2000s movie, but it really happened. “That’s Whack” also used the third person to refer to themselves, which added to the novelty of the piece. 10/10.
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Flipping to the “Distractions” section of the paper is not recommended for the faint of heart. The section had some pretty outlandish stories from the Associated Press, one of which discussed a bird getting shot for almost ruining a world record in Amsterdam, while another talked about an Indian woman getting her eye eaten by ants. Gross. But, on the bright side, according to the horoscopes, Geminis rule. Although, if you’re a 2005 Pisces, you really need to get yourself together.
