A student-led initiative to enhance interaction next semester seeks to go beyond traditional Friday afternoon drinking games on the quad.
The Interfraternity Council recently won a Philip Morris grant from the President's Common Ground Fund to sponsor "Friday Afternoon Community Hour" six times next fall. Each afternoon will provide an opportunity for students, faculty and staff to interact in a "low-key, non-goal oriented environment," according to the grant proposal submitted by Trinity junior Lex Wolf, IFC president.
"Community interaction is not always done in a healthy way, and the point is to build personal foundations that will allow interaction to take place," Wolf said. "One of the main focuses of the program is to provide fun activities to increase interaction in a low-key setting which will not be out of the way to go to."
In addition to the $1,500 Philip Morris grant, IFC has collected up to $10,000 in pledges from the Duke Student Government, the University Union and various administrators to support the program, said engineering sophomore Chris Kelly, IFC executive vice president and co-coordinator of the program.
Each Community Hour will provide "very good [free] food" and will allow members of the community, such as the Modern Black Mass Choir and Rhythm and Blue, to show off their talents, Kelly said.
"We want to provide a relaxed atmosphere that will hopefully be a catalyst for interaction between diverse groups," he said.
As part of this theme, Wolf said, IFC is working with many student groups, including the Black Student Alliance, the Panhellenic Council, the University Union, Hillel, the Asian Students Association and the Duke Gay, Bisexual and Lesbian Association.
IFC's efforts have received praise from students and administrators.
In a letter to the award selection committee, Linda Studer-Ellis, interim assistant dean for student development, expressed her support for the programs's low-key focus and potentially educational value.
"It would be nice for our students to have another avenue where they can enjoy [activity] that is not centered around alcohol," Studer-Ellis wrote.
"The point of the program is to promote interaction between students from different cultural groups and to showcase student talent on campus," said Trinity junior LaRonda Peterson, Duke Student Government vice president for community interaction and co-coordinator of the program.
"We plan to target freshmen to make sure they get involved in campus life and to promote student interaction because they will be isolated due to campus separation," she added.
Indeed, the first Community Hour will be held during freshman orientation on Sept. 1 with an emphasis on meeting and greeting student leaders.
"It should be a great opportunity for undergraduates to meet faculty and student leaders and give freshmen a sense of life at Duke and campus interaction," said Linda Capers, program coordinator for the Office of Intercultural Affairs.
The Paul Jeffrey Quartet will be providing jazz entertainment and more than 250 student and faculty leaders are expected to be on the quad to greet freshmen. "It will be a real chance for new and returning students to begin getting involved in groups they are interested in," Wolf said.
Two more Community Hours are planned for September, two in October and one in November. Each will feature different activities. Possibilities include a pep rally for a football game, a battle of the bands and a step show, Kelly said.
IFC is also recruiting faculty members and class representatives in the hope of fostering more faculty-student interaction, Kelley said.
"The administration is real excited about this [program], and hopefully we can start a new tradition at Duke."
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