When one thinks of Duke's campuses, a few select landmarks leap to mind. The Chapel. Cameron. Baldwin Auditorium. And, somewhere down the line of memorable sights, perhaps, the SAE bench.
The bench of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity is undoubtedly one of the most infamous benches on campus, due in no small part to its highly visible location and its brazen shade of deep purple. However, the bench also has a long history attached to it.
It is currently the campus's largest single bench; the ATO and SPE benches are bigger overall, but they are actually two separate benches pushed together. The SAE bench also boasts the oldest framework of all Duke's benches; although the exterior boards, which are most of what one sees when looking at the bench, have been replaced regularly due to burnings, the framework dates back approximately 15 years.
"In my four years here, I would say the bench has been burned about twice a year and has been stolen twice," claimed Trinity senior and SAE Ken Harris. One of the times it was stolen, the culprits managed to cut through a chain that the fraternity had used to secure the bench to prevent such crimes from happening. In its place was left a miniature replica of the bench measuring a foot or two across, complete with a miniature chain fastened to it. "It was actually quite a skilled piece of artwork," Harris remarked.
During fall break in 1991, the bench was stolen again. A few SAE brothers were driving along Interstate 85 North to return to school when they passed the water tower of Gaffney, South Carolina, whose domed top is painted to resemble a giant peach. There at the foot of the water tower sat the SAE bench, completely intact. The fraternity later figured out who had stolen and transported the bench and demanded that they bring it back to Duke. "Unfortunately, I can't tell you who stole it--it's a fraternity secret," Harris said.
Bench burnings are even more frequent. "It's been a tradition to burn the SAE bench every year for the Final Four," said Trinity sophomore and SAE brother Scott Cole. "A lot of it is because the bench is so old and so large, but the general animosity towards SAE is also part of it," he said.
During the 1990-91 school year, the bench was badly burned late at night after a basketball victory. A photographer for the Chronicle took a snapshot of the event. Expecting the picture to appear in the next day's paper, the brothers of SAE worked through the night to reconstruct the bench. The next morning, they calmly sat on their bench reading the Chronicle, which ran the picture of the singed bench on its front page.
Attempts to burn the bench have become rarer in the past couple years for different reasons. First, most bench bonfires are now held on the Clocktower Quad, far away from the SAE section. Second, when the basketball team does win huge victories, SAE brothers often guard the bench from potential arsonists. And third, "a lot of times people have tried to burn the bench but the brothers in rooms facing Main Quad have smelled the fire and put it out," Harris said.
The fraternity is angered that their property is not respected more, by fellow Duke students, Public Safety, or the administration. "People just assume that it's okay to do this to private property because we're a fraternity," Harris said. "Basically, this bench is an object of serious vandalism all the time."
Lately, the SAE bench has been a site for some serious chess matches. Engineering sophomore and SAE Quin Mallette is an avid chess buff and has his own chess set. He plays regularly, either with other brothers or friends outside the fraternity.
"I think seeing chess on the SAE bench surprises some people walking by, but I also think that that's pretty sad and shows a blatant dependence on stereotypes," Mallette said. "I mean, we are at Duke, we're very smart people; why can't fraternity brothers be intellectuals too?"
----Rose Martelli
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