Excepting Cameron Indoor Stadium, war is hell.
As the sun slowly rises this morning over the eastern horizon, those sick fruits of battle will still linger rotten on the ground before Clocktower Quad, scraps of paper and tape and cloth strewn across the burnt grass like shards of broken dreams. A single, silky feather blows lonesome in the wind.
And while there are no more stakes in the ground, no more cries of anguish and yelps of delighted pain, the night will live on forever--in our minds, for certain, and in the Guinness Book of World Records, in all probability.
One thousand and seventy-six brave souls brandished pillow and pajama Thursday night to wage war on history, unofficially winning the title of World's Largest Pillow Fight and annihilating the previous record, a recent bout at the University of Warwick drawing 967 legionnaires.
The First Baptist Church of Durham sponsored the event, which cost approximately $1,700, alongside Rick's Diner, Northgate Mall, University Ford, and Apple Realty, feeding on the revelry of Krzyzewskiville to bring a healthy sense of pugnacity back to campus.
"This is awesome," said Jordan Capps, Trinity '02, co-organizer of the event with senior John Brennan and First Baptist parishioner Andy Lynch. "Andy saw the article about some Oregon State kids beating the record back in November, and we thought it'd be a great thing to do at Duke."
The verification process is extensive: Guinness requires two independent witnesses--Durham police officer Mike Byers and Bucky Waters, vice chancellor for special projects at the medical center, did the honors--color photographs and video footage of the event, a log of all activity, an official timer and the signatures of all participants. About 20 students volunteered to keep things sane.
But out in the trenches, things got ugly fast.
"You want to know my secret?" asked freshman Joseph Babcock. "Come over here." He jumps about and flails his pillow around and around his arms and legs, like a glowstick-ridden raver, offering a field of destruction for anyone nearby.
Tactics varied widely from camp to camp, ranging from the prudent duck-and-cover to the ever-popular hit-them-below-the-belt to the traditional all-out blitz.
"We thought about doing the flying V, but we changed it to form a phalanx," said sophomore Rob Tipton. "We'll have some cavalry in the back. It's very standard practice."
With the booms of a barrage of cannons, nine students simultaneously smacked their knees with pillows just before the starting whistle blew--a sort of scare tactic, said ringleader Paul Nestine, a junior.
Others smothered a young woman to the tune of "Happy Birthday."
"I'm going to simply bludgeon the other person until they start to cry," promised sophomore Marc Reeslund.
Junior Noel Bakhtian advised an attack on the back of the legs, while Stefan Redon and David Prigent, two post-doctoral fellows at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, vowed to defend the women.
"I'll probably use my pillow more as a shield!" cried a terrified Lisa DeObaldia, a freshman.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.