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DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Students at North Carolina Central University rallied Monday in support of a classmate who told police last month she was raped by three men at a party hosted by members of Duke University's men's lacrosse team. An N.C. Central student working as an exotic dancer reported to Durham police on March 14 that she was raped by three men who restrained and choked her as she struggled to free herself from a bathroom. Last week, Duke president Richard Brodhead suspended the highly ranked lacrosse team from play until the school learns more about the accusations. No one has been charged in the case, which has resulted in almost daily protests and rallies at Duke's campus and in the neighborhood where the party took place. Monday's event was the first large, public gathering at N.C. Central related to the allegations. About 250 people attended the rally outside a dormitory at N.C. Central, a historically black public university about four miles from Duke. About two dozen speakers urged participants to demand justice in the case while allowing police investigators to finish their work.
"It is important that we support her. Because if we don't show that we care, then no one else will care," said Karmen Brock, an N.C. Central freshman from Raleigh. The state crime lab is expected to complete its analysis of DNA samples taken from 46 of the lacrosse team's 47 players this week. The team's lone black member did not provide a sample because the dancer, who is black, said her attackers were white. N.C. Central Chancellor James Ammons issued a statement Monday calling the allegations "disturbing, inhumane and insensitive." "While we await the outcome of the investigation, we are taking steps to express our support for the victim and we also are appealing to the NCCU community to be patient and give the legal system an opportunity to bring this to closure," Ammons' statement said. | 
