Rental trucks, RVs, tents and more than 1,400 graduate and professional students took over several of the Blue Zone parking lots this weekend in an attempt to earn something that millions of people buy every day: a lottery ticket.
These tickets, however, are no ordinary lottery tickets—each represents the chance to win one of 700 season ticket cards for men’s basketball games. To distribute the tickets fairly, the Graduate and Professional Student Council held its annual 36-hour campout. The students who remained camped in the Blue Zone at the 36th hour were entered into a lottery, and if their names were drawn, they had the opportunity to purchase a season ticket card for $150.
To maintain their lottery entries, graduate students had to be present for all of the random attendance checks the organizers called—a process that is similar, but not identical, to that of undergraduate tenting in Krzyzewskiville.
“There’s no grace here,” said Jeff Kovacs, co-chair of the GPSC Men’s Basketball Ticket Committee and a fifth-year graduate student in molecular cancer biology. “If you miss a check, you’re done... no one else can represent you.”
Co-chair Andy Baraniak, a fifth-year graduate student in molecular genetics and microbiology, and other event organizers estimated that between 80 and 100 students would lose their spots in the lottery as a result of the random checks.
To fully relocate for the weekend and avoid elimination, graduate students brought along televisions, stereo systems, electrical generators, couches, party lights, grills, food, alcohol and in some cases even their own children.
“It definitely builds a community,” said Natalie Goodpaster, a third-year graduate student in economics. “You get more into the spirit of the sport and meet people from different schools.”
From 7 p.m. Friday until 7 a.m. Sunday, the Blue Zone became the setting for a graduate student mixer, bringing together students from various fields of study.
Two tiers of the parking lot were lined with RVs and rental trucks, while the field below housed the majority of the tents. During nights on the vehicle tiers, the sounds of music and whirring generators were the backdrop for several groups playing drinking games and watching television. During the day, groups of students played frisbee, relaxed in front of their camps, and the occasional student stretched out in the sun next to a biology textbook.
The weekend was not, however, just one big tailgate party. “I’m definitely partial to K-ville—I liked K-ville a lot better,” said first-year business student Jason Darling, Trinity ‘99, who tented in K-ville as an undergraduate. “This hurts—it’s very tiring. It’s fun to party and have a good time, but it’s exhausting.” Darling and his wife Meghan, also a first-year business student, were two of many campers who got together with a group and rented a truck to sleep in and store their belongings.
Campers who tired of watching television could also enjoy a basketball shoot-out for charity or a massage table provided by physical therapy students. Student Health Services, the Alumni Association and the Iron Dukes also made appearances. Community service was one of organizers’ themes for the campout, as all students were required to bring at least one canned food item for charity in order to participate.
The GPSC campout is not as extensive as Krzyzewskiville, but to graduate and professional students, it is as close as they can get to craziness until the season starts. As Kovacs said, “there’s nothing like this anywhere.”
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