Classes have begun, the Crazies are in K-ville and the basketball team is riding an 11-game winning streak; the first potential bonfire is less than two weeks away, and you can almost smell the smoke.
However, although the basics of the bonfire policy were established months ago, much preparatory work remains undone.
It is clear that permits will be sought for five games: the two against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Atlantic Coast Conference championship, the NCAA Regional Final and the championship game of the NCAA Tournament.
But the location of the blazes remains undetermined. The Durham Fire Marshal approved four bonfire sites last fall: two on the Main West Quadrangle and two on the Chapel Quadrangle.
Sue Wasiolek, assistant vice president for student affairs, said the administration is "still in the process of finalizing most plans."
"Our hope was to leave at least some of the planning in the hands of the students," she said, "and I think there's more to be done there."
Duke Student Government was charged with choosing the site, and that process is still not complete, said DSG president Jeri Powell, a Trinity senior. Within about a week, she added, the site and other pressing concerns should be resolved.
"We have to give the administration a sense of what students want," she said, "and I don't think that's something we've determined yet."
Based on preliminary student input, the site in front of House P appears to have the most support, Powell said.
In addition to the location, Powell added, DSG will seek input on how the site should be prepared, who should start the fire and how to find the appropriate balance between planning and spontaneity.
Finding answers to these questions has been delayed, Powell said, because it was impossible to work on them while students were home for winter break.
Later this week, Powell said, she will meet with the members of her Executive Committee to craft a strategy for gathering student input. She said DSG will likely bring together house presidents and work from there to gather opinions.
"This is certainly not a decision that DSG is going to make as an organization," Powell said. "I see our job as orchestrating the plan for the getting the right people together to make the decision."
She added that DSG is not yet considering additional programming such as food or music. "Right now, we want to start from the central issue and move outward," Powell said. "Figuring out the bonfire is a big enough job as it is."
Maj. Robert Dean of the Duke University Police Department said police are also still in the planning stages. Plans for handling the possible bonfire mayhem should be worked out within a week. In the meantime, he said, he did not feel comfortable commenting on specifics such as whether officers from the Durham Police Department will be brought to campus.
Executive Vice President Tallman Trask, who has been overseeing the bonfire policy development, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
All of these plans will be discussed at a meeting of administrators and student leaders scheduled for next week, Wasiolek said.
"I feel like we have a lot of work to do," she said, "but there's time to do it."
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