UNC Chancellor Disrespects the Crazies

[lpd1982]

UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp, you know, the one presiding over the institution under investigation by the NCAA, tweets today, "Our students are talking about the future and asking smart questions instead of wasting time sitting in a tent."


Disrespecting the team's Crazies! I can't think of better blackboard material for our Blue Devils. Thanks Thorp. Can't you just see Josh being held back by Kyrie and Ryan while he screams."Lemme at 'im, lemme at 'im." Nolan simply drives through the lane and elevates four feet for a slammer dunk and Kyle dives into the 8th row of the stands on a loose ball.

By the way Thorp, when your students ask those smart questions, ours are the ones providing the answers.

[Reilly]

This is actually progress for him: he's been disrespecting higher education in general and his own university with his coddling of Butch Davis, so taking a shot at the rival's fans is pretty tame and innocent, in comparison.

[diveonthefloor]

The most interesting question they could ask:

If UNC-CH still played in Carmichael, would student support this year be sufficient to create a tenting situation? Hmmmmm.....

[Chitowndevil]

UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp, you know, the one presiding over the institution under investigation by the NCAA, tweets today, "Our students are talking about the future and asking smart questions instead of wasting time sitting in a tent."


Disrespecting the team's Crazies! I can't think of better blackboard material for our Blue Devils. Thanks Thorp. Can't you just see Josh being held back by Kyrie and Ryan while he screams."Lemme at 'im, lemme at 'im." Nolan simply drives through the lane and elevates four feet for a slammer dunk and Kyle dives into the 8th row of the stands on a loose ball.

By the way Thorp, when your students ask those smart questions, ours are the ones providing the answers.

As a Duke grad working in academia this statement really ticks me off. Look, Duke and UNC are both great academic institutions. I've taught classes at Duke and have friends on the faculty at both places.

But come on: Duke was #9 in the last USA Today rankings. UNC was #30. According to a data set from Payscale.com, Duke grads have a median starting salary of $55k and a median mid-career salary of $117k. The numbers for UNC are $43k and $83k. These numbers are not from a randomized scientific experiment and so should be taken with a grain of salt. But I wonder how Mr. Thorpe would respond if we told him Duke students spent all that time in tents and still out-earn UNC grads by 20-40%.

I really hope this comment was somehow taken out of context. Speaking as one who has been a part of the Triangle academic community, Duke and UNC have a great rivalry in sports and also great respect and much productive collaboration as academic institutions. For a university chancellor to take cheap shots over something related to the sports rivalry is just plain unprofessional in my opinion.

[Duvall]

I really hope this comment was somehow taken out of context.

Not really. It was a tweet, which he has deleted after an apology.

[Lord Ash]

Eh, who cares? I think anyone who is getting too upset by this is maybe being a little sensitive. Come on, does anyone really believe that Duke students are stupid or lazy or bad students? All in the name of the rivalry, I wouldn't worry too much:)

[killerleft]

lpd1982 says: UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp, you know, the one presiding over the institution under investigation by the NCAA, tweets today, "Our students are talking about the future and asking smart questions instead of wasting time sitting in a tent."

... if they're not getting freebies from agents or cheating on papers! Seriouser, Holden, this particular moment in history is not the time to be touting the scholarship of UNC students. The questions must be along the lines of "Where's Larry and the Wearsy Twins?", or "Why is it so darned hot in Chapel Hill right now?".

Go Duke!

[Greg_Newton]

@Holden, I thought your students were busy writing papers for the football team? Which was so disturbing to you that you suspended a breast cancer researcher? #thecarolinaway...

[DevilWearsPrada]

Once again,
Unc....trashy

Duke....classy

GTHC

[DevilHorns]

@Holden, I thought your students were busy writing papers for the football team? Which was so disturbing to you that you suspended a breast cancer researcher? #thecarolinaway...

Did you tweet him that in reply?

I hope whomever here has a twitter account tweets him something similar to this. He needs to wake up and realize the situation that is stinking around him.

[Greg_Newton]

Did you tweet him that in reply?

I hope whomever here has a twitter account tweets him something similar to this. He needs to wake up and realize the situation that is stinking around him.

Haha nah... I'm not on twitter, unfortunately. I'll submit that to the public domain if anyone wants to use it though!

[jdj4duke]

Given the quality of some of the tweets from the UNC men's basketball team the last two years, I now understand from where they get their inspiration, logic, and rationale.

A rivalry tweet? Nah, don't by it. He attempts to be so serious and academic with "Our students are talking about the future and asking smart questions". That doesn't strike me as a good-humored dig or a rivalry wind-up. It strikes me as a pretentious, defensive, and pedantic.

I would bet the most frequent question about the future being asked around UNC tonight is "Do we have a chance tonight?" And it doesn't refer to getting a job, a date, or into a bar with a fake ID.

What a doofus-

[Mike Corey]

The basketball team is aware of Holden Caulfield's screed.

[lpd1982]

The basketball team is aware of Holden Caulfield's screed.

Thank you, sir. Your are a gentleman and a scholar.

[MCFinARL]

The basketball team is aware of Holden Caulfield's screed.

Holden Caulfield--hmm. Are you suggesting that someone is a phony?

[DukeUsul]

N&O's Campus Notes column has a response from Pres. Brodhead.

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/campusnotes

[Dukeface88]

"Our students are talking about the future and asking smart questions instead of wasting time sitting in a tent."


Only if "Do you want that Big Mac for here, or to go?" qualifies as smart.