Provided the stars are in alignment and the men's basketball team wins the NCAA Tournament, a bonfire, as students have insisted, will illuminate the campus. And the administration, in an abrupt about-face from its previous position, will support it.
Following Tuesday night's student-initiated burning of nearly all of the West Campus benches, key administrators held a two-hour meeting with about 20 student leaders late Wednesday afternoon. After listening to several rounds of suggestions from students, administrators made two decisions.
First, Executive Vice President Tallman Trask will procure a permit from the City of Durham for a bonfire to be held March 30, the night of the NCAA championship game.
Trask stressed that the bonfire would have to be student-planned and constructed. In order to obtain a permit, however, he must know the intended location and must be able to assure the City of Durham that certain safety standards will be met. For instance, the fire must be 50 feet from any structure and must be overseen by someone competent in fire control.
Duke Student Government is working on a proposal that would meet the city's standards, Trinity senior and DSG president Lino Marrero said. Several other students at the meeting noted that if a DSG-sponsored proposal proved insufficient, they would take it upon themselves to develop one.
Administrators and student leaders remain unresolved about how bonfires prior to the NCAA championship game would be handled.
Administrators also acknowledged student concern about the heavy police presence following Saturday's game, and Trask said they would work to avoid such serious conflicts in the future.
In a second decision also intended to quell student dissatisfaction, administrators lifted the ban on bench rebuilding. Students interested in rebuilding their benches now need to go through the standard channels: After developing a design, they need to have it approved by Office of Student Development and the Fire Safety Division of the Occupational and Environmental Safety Office-a process that usually takes about three weeks. For more information, see page 35 of the University's Information and Regulations Bulletin.
The announcement reversed a Monday decision made by the Office of Student Development. In an e-mail to the presidents of the 14 dormitories whose benches had been charred or rendered structurally unsound by Saturday night's activities, student development officials had stated that no new benches could be built until April 1.
"Our perception was that if students wanted to rebuild their benches, it would be better to do so after the basketball season," explained Barbara Baker, dean of student development and residential education, noting that benches sometimes are burned against the wishes of dorm members.
Student leaders, however, argued that the benches were crucial signifiers of community and spirit and that, by removing the ban, administrators not only would permit students to continue an important tradition but also would do much to repair the University's waning approval rating among the student population.
This later concern, administrators stressed, is an important one. Many people at the meeting spoke about the contrast between Tuesday night's events and Saturday night's events. Because of the absence of alcohol, some students argued, the dangerous behaviors that led to the initial ban on bonfires largely were absent. No injuries were reported Tuesday night, and only five students were arrested on minor charges, Duke University Police Department officials said.
Many administrators and students, however, also noted that they were struck by the extreme degree of anti-administration sentiment that fueled the night's events. Administrators explained that they hoped the two decisions would check this swelling divide.
"We don't want to be in battle with the students," Vice President for Student Affairs Janet Dickerson said. "We're concerned about safety, as we think most students are, and now we want to refocus our attention on where it should be-the team. We shouldn't get too bogged down with fighting each other that we lose sight of our collective goal."
Trask expressed similar sentiments. "It's clear that we're doing more damage than good with our current policy," he said.
Special Assistant to the President Judith White added that President Nan Keohane, who was out of town at the time of the meeting, supported efforts to generate a bonfire that was not administration-led, but administration-approved.
Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Sue Wasiolek concluded the meeting by saying she would contact student leaders at a later date for further input.
Jessica Kozlov contributed to this story.
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