Gazing up at an almost cloudless blue sky in form-fitting, golden yellow, zip-front jump suits, senior Paul Slattery, George McLendon and Terry Sanford, Jr. were bubbling over with nerves and excitement as they prepared to skydive Wednesday.
"[This] probably isn't the dumbest thing I've ever done, but it's in the top 10," said McLendon, dean of the faculty of Arts and Sciences. "For me, this is completely reasonable-Paul's going through his midlife crisis early."
Duke Student Government President Slattery, a senior, McLendon and Sanford, son of the former University president, were preparing to leap to the track of the Duke Center for Living from a height of 13,500 feet. The men were among 10 Duke students and faculty who participated in tandem skydiving with the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team in an event sponsored by Duke's Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program.
Students and administrators were paired to bring the campus together in a unique form of social interaction, said Lt. Col. Mark Tribus, a professor of military science.
"We really wanted a good cross-section of students and faculty, people who represent Duke well," he said.
To recruit jumpers, Tribus contacted deans, coaches, the Iron Dukes and the Department of Athletics, who referred him to specific students. Tribus said most people agreed to jump "on the spot," and added that he even had to turn some away.
The event was also designed to raise money for the Duke Children's Hospital. The goal was to raise $10 for each second of free-fall per participant for a total of $6,000, and Tribus said the figure will be reached by next week.
Sophomore Shari Baker, a Baldwin Scholar, said she signed up for skydiving primarily for the experience, but predicted that the potential to make a difference would help her overcome her fears before her jump.
"The charity is what's going to make me physically jump, knowing that it's for the kids," Baker said. "If it were just my choice, I'd probably chicken out."
Sanford said he thinks the charity component gave him license to act a little bit recklessly.
"When people ask me, 'Why would a 50-year-old man jump off a plane?' I'll say, 'So I can give money to Duke [Children's] Hospital.'"
The students and faculty crouched into a small aircraft with just over four feet of vertical cabin space for their flights, their ears popping and their bodies vibrating from the whir of the propellers as they ascended to peak altitude. After taking the plunge, jumpers experienced free-fall for about 60 seconds.
"The first five seconds were just turbulence and disorientation. And then I saw the plane moving away from me," Slattery said.
After their instructors pulled the ripcord, the Blue Devils soared over West Campus and the treetops of the Duke Forest before coasting to the ground.
"It's even weirder than being on top of the Chapel," Slattery said. "I wasn't exactly surveying my kingdom, I was just falling from an airplane screaming like a baby."
Upon landing, the jumpers and their loved ones toasted their accomplishment with nonalcoholic champagne in U.S. Army canteen cups. Each participant received a set of blue dog tags engraved with their name, "Drop Zone '08" and "Duke Blue Devils" and a DVD recording of their jump.
Once grounded safely, McLendon reviewed the footage of his dive with his wife, Terry.
When the moments before McLendon took off flashed on the screen, Terry asked her husband, "Was there any part of you that just wanted to not go?"
"Nope," McLendon replied with a smile.
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