Many students would gasp in disbelief at the possibility of being denied the right to order and savor a slice of Papa Johns Pizza during "late night" hours. But administrators are warning that this nightmare could become reality if students continue to harass delivery people, as they did in the Wannamaker fire lane two weeks ago.
A Papa Johns delivery person reported Sept. 27 that students poured soap on his windshield, stole cigarettes and a lighter and threw a bottle at his car as he departed outside of Wannamaker after delivering pizza to Crowell. Wannamaker residents were informed in an e-mail from Resident Coordinator Terry Lynch that delivery to their dormitory would be suspended if a delivery person were provoked again.
Matt Guinn, manager of Papa Johns Pizza, said this threat is not substantiated and has continued delivering pizza to Wannamaker since the alleged incident.
"As far as I'm concerned we're going [to deliver] to Wannamaker," said Guinn, who admitted seeing evidence of the incident on the driver's car after he returned to the restaurant. "Unless you were outside with an Uzi, I would probably deliver to you."
Director of Dining Services Jim Wulforst said he was not aware of the incident outside Wannamaker and added that he is usually notified if merchants' ability to deliver to campus has been hindered.
"If a vendor has a problem with the student, they notify my office because of their contract with Duke," Wulforst said. "They're very diligent with letting me know about it."
Guinn said the contract between Papa Johns Pizza and the University means that the University should provide a safe environment for his delivery personnel, especially on West Campus, which can be rowdy on the weekends. Although Guinn acknowledged that pranks on a college campus are a part of university life, he said "the invasion of personal property, breaking into another car and vandalizing isn't my idea of a lot of fun."
Senior Jennifer May, who works for Devil's Delivery Service, a student-owned and operated delivery company, said the University should first and foremost ensure the safety of its students. Delivery people and students alike are threatened by students who behave recklessly, she added.
"If these students are out of control, they're posing a problem to the Duke students in general," May said.
Sophomore Jacki Price agreed, saying that students do not differentiate between other students and delivery people when their judgment is impaired. "Students harass each other," she said.
May said she believed the harassment in the fire lane was an isolated incident, and she has not encountered any similar cases involving student drivers who are employed by DDS.
"Duke students are friendlier to student drivers than to drivers from the community."
Some students said friendliness towards fellow Duke students is not the only reason why students treat DDS delivery people better than those from outside the University.
"If the delivery man is not speaking English, it'll be grounds for a Duke student to not speak to him with respect," senior David Green said.
Kenny Mantel, also a senior, agreed that students are less likely to respect people who have dissimilar backgrounds. "[There's] a large difference between a certain population at the University and the ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds of the drivers."
But students still demand pizza, regardless of who delivers it to their door. "A lot of people order from Papa John's," said senior Karen Ubell. "It threatens people who enjoy the luxury of eating pizza."
Mantel said consuming Papa John's pizza is an experience in and of itself, and he would punish anyone who would take away his "late night nourishment."
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