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Getting Duke students to dress in their Sunday best and
attend a party in droves is a relatively easy thing to do.
It requires a university art museum, a popular student jazz
ensemble, trays of "mini chicken biscuits with roasted garlic
aioli," and a well-stocked cash bar. Oh, and don't forget
the company of President Brodhead, other top administrators,
and more than a thousand of your closest friends.
On a recent Thursday night, 1,500 of us boarded East-West
buses and pulled the "stop" cord at the intersection of Campus
Drive and Anderson Street for just that medley of consumables,
companions, and atmosphere. Our destination: the Nasher Museum
of Art. The occasion: the Nasher Noir party, planned by the
Nasher Museum Student Advisory Board. That night, students
joined administrators and faculty and staff members to party
amidst the eclectic collections of the Nasher Museum.
Nasher Noir had all of the trappings of an art opening in
New York, but it took place at the heart of Duke's campus.
It was extolled in five articles in The Chronicle over the
next several days, one of which was entitled simply "More
Noir!" And beyond its unprecedented turnout and rave reviews,
Nasher Noir had an important ancillary effect on the Duke
community.
For one night, the classy environment of the Nasher Museum
displaced off-campus clubs and on-campus housing sections
as the hub of Duke social life. The Chronicle's editorial
board said the Noir demonstrated "that it is possible to
hold events open to undergraduate students without the fear
of irresponsible binge drinking and destruction," and, indeed,
no one went to the hospital emergency room. (The event included
a cash bar and free alcohol for seniors.)
As Duke takes a hard look at itself in the wake of the events
of last spring, the characteristics of events like the Noir
that make them both popular and positive are especially pertinent.
What made Nasher Noir so successful was not any exorbitant
amount of planning, money, and publicity that went into it.
What made it successful was the fact that it fit the model
of many other successful events, including President Brodhead's
Homecoming Ball, jazz concerts at the Mary Lou Williams Center
for Black Culture, and socials hosted by the Pratt School
of Engineering, among others. Their main attractions are
programming and other features that appeal directly to students;
if alcohol is present, its purpose is to supplement the event,
not define it.
Unfortunately, the regular events associated with Greek organizations
and selective living groups that currently dominate the social
scene are quite different: They often revolve around the
excessive consumption of cheap alcohol, and attendees imbibe
accordingly. It is unreasonable to eliminate these events
outright, but many of us, including many fraternity and selective-living
group members, want something better. We want our drinking
noir.
Consequently, shifting the focus of social events at Duke
away from alcohol (while not necessarily ridding them of
it) has great potential to improve the student experience
and elevate our "campus culture" at the same time. It might
involve (among other things):
Creating more venues on campus for student groups to host
social events featuring entertainment, food, and (yes) alcohol
if so desired, similar to venues that exist off campus. This
would improve the diversity of on-campus events by allowing
student organizations that do not have housing sections to
host events, and provide outlets for legal, responsible drinking
on campus. (The Hideaway was closed in 2001, and nothing
has taken its place.)
Increasing the number and quality of student-driven arts
events, particularly those occurring on nights and weekends.
This could be accomplished by augmenting the funds that support
student-group programming or by directly funding concerts,
speakers, and non-alcohol-centered social events (à la Nasher
Noir) that could play a more prominent role in the on-campus
social scene.
Engaging Greek and other organizations and providing them
with additional resources to diversify their existing events.
Making existing social events fit a more positive model does
not involve restricting them in any way, only augmenting
them to include high-quality programming, decorations, and
other elements that will shift their focus away from drinking.
Supporting worthwhile alternative activities that could fill
students' free time. Students have suggested to me that we
build everything from a mini-golf course in the Duke Gardens
to a climbing wall in Wilson Recreation Center. The possibilities
are endless, and it is likely that the more time students
spend in extracurricular or academic activities, the less
time they spend partying.
In Duke terms, these ideas would be fairly inexpensive to
implement; the money spent on the new West Campus Plaza,
for example, could fund a Nasher Noir every weekend during
the school year for the next fifteen years. Such inexpensive
provisions should be undertaken simply for their positive
effects on the undergraduate experience. They also happen
to be some of the most effective ways of promoting a safer
student social life and positively influencing the culture
of the university.
Wolf '08 is president of the Duke Student
Government and a member of the Campus Culture Initiative.
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