Prisoner's Dilemma

All is not rotten in the state of K-ville, but perhaps the experience could be a bit sweeter for everyone.

Current tenters are very satisfied with their tenting experience: In a survey recently distributed among first-semester tenters, those responding said unanimously that the line monitors were doing an acceptable or better job than last years'. Very few arguments have broken out over line order, and tenters perceive this year's line-up as orderly and efficient.

Despite the general satisfaction, there are still some concerns. This year's policy was written to discourage students from returning early to procure the top spots in line; however, an unprecedented 100 tent groups were represented by Monday-and Duke Student Government is still not involved. This situation raises questions about the efficiency of a system which must serve two clear partitions of the student body-the hard-core tenters and the passionate but not as "crazed" fans.

The situation is partly due to the campers' zeal. Debates about tenting can become so passionate and defensive that sometimes it seems tenting is no longer a fun activity. Case in point: The tarps that several groups currently use to shield themselves from the weather. As a typical tarp resident can tell you, The American Heritage College Dictionary defines a tent as "a portable shelter, as of canvas, stretched over a supporting framework of poles with ropes and pegs." The second definition of a tent-"something resembling such a portable structure"-points out that this has all gotten a little silly. A tent is a tent, even if it's made of a tarp. Although Duke basketball is a priority, K-ville is supposed be fun and relaxed, which means that converting the K-ville experience into a bonanza of hair-splitting legal interpretation is not a good idea.

Some students complain that they don't tent because they do not know anyone who lives locally and are unwilling or unable to come back early from vacation. These students need to realize that in the past two years, only one regular season game-North Carolina-has completely filled the student section, and each student has had an opportunity to attend to the majority of games with a nominal sacrifice of time. At a school such as Duke with a diverse student body, however, all students should have an opportunity to attend. Perhaps a better system is to allocate the student seating for two student groups.

The first section, with first choice of seats, would be designated to the "hard core" tenters, and they could set up whenever they want-when 10 tents are up, DSG would start conducting official tent checks. The second half of the line would consist of a tent lottery for interested groups-the "winners" of the lottery would tent for only 10 days including occupancy and personal checks, a more leisurely occupation time. Bumped tents from either group would be replaced by waiting lists established by a list and a lottery for the respective groups. This process would give students with different priorities the opportunity to tent and ensure that the best seats go to the most-dedicated fans.

Tenting at Duke is a cherished tradition. Although other basketball schools give their best seats to influential alumni, the University makes sure the most dedicated students get the best seats. There is a reason that announcers say that Cameron is the greatest place on earth to watch a basketball game-the administration permits this craziness. Any changes should preserve the wonderful traditions of Cameron and K-ville.