Is There a 'Duke Effect'?

Since last year's Duke team got caught in a national scandal, men's lacrosse programs at colleges across the country have stayed out of trouble--except, reports the Daily Orange, the team at Syracuse University, where two lacrosse players were suspended indefinitely this month after police arrested them for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

The strong discipline might have been a result of something the Daily Orange calls the "Duke Effect": "Every time a high-profile athlete makes headlines for the wrong reason, images of three Duke players are evoked," the Orange writes. "The perception isn't a college student gone off course, but instead college athletes with discipline problems." Another example: Last fall, when an athletics director at Syracuse discouraged athletes from posting too much information on social-networking websites, he cited Duke lacrosse rape allegations as a cause of his vigilance.