"Grace period until 5 p.m. tomorrow due to weather. Tents will not be checked during the Superbowl. Lunar eclipse precludes tent checks until the next new moon. Please rely upon rumors for future notices."
With announcements such as these coming from Duke Student Government concerning "camping out" for places in line for home basketball games, one is left to wonder if this is even camping at all.
Many of the changes in policy from years past have left tenters confused. For instance, by eliminating the rule prohibiting tents from being pitched more than 10 days prior to a game, DSG has exacerbated the very problems that were supposed to be alleviated. Additionally, by selectively disseminating news of the policy change, they further compounded the confusion.
Under the old policy, which forbade tents from being pitched more than 10 days prior to the game, no one would have arrived on campus Jan. 3 to pitch the first tent. Nor would there have been several dozen tents up by the time dorms opened.
Needless to say, this is absurd.What does this say to avid basketball fans who live thousands of miles away? Imagine their dismay upon returning to campus after a relaxing break and finding K-ville nearly 40 percent populated. What about students who would like to support their basketball team, but can't attend games because other people chose to cut short their vacations, return to campus and pitch tents?
The policy, however, neglects the vast majority of students: those who do not wish to forfeit the first half of their semesters waiting in line for six basketball games. The new policy has allowed tenting to become more competitive and cutthroat than the majority of the Blue Devils' opponents. DSG is sending a clear message to the student body: If you didn't get in line before school started again, you didn't care enough about Duke basketball to earn the privilege to support your team in person.
Under the extremely forgiving tent-check policy, which allows tenters to miss four checks before completely losing their place in line, it is highly unlikely that those not already in tents will be able to attend any of the remaining games.
Maintaining K-ville is probably the most visible and tangible thing that DSG does. There are some procedures that could be initiated to help avoid disasters such as this season's tenting. Some semi-permanent policy should be created, in addition to a committee to oversee the tenting process.
This committee, whose chair could be elected, would be responsible for maintaining the policy and creating a schedule-ideally by the time of Midnight Madness. The policy and schedule should be consistently located on a single web site; letters to the editor should reinforce the schedule and policy, not define them as they did this year. Additionally, the head line monitors should have some experience, so that administrative nightmares such as this season's do not occur repeatedly.
The administration should trust the students to work out a feasible line policy, and it is incumbent upon DSG to come up with a system that works.
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