It kind of reminded me of a car accident in that it had that "this-is-ugly-and-I-probably-shouldn't-be-watching-but-I'm-going-to-stare-anyways" quality.
It happened two weeks ago today: Walking along the plaza, my friend and I heard chants of some sort coming from Main West. We passed under the arch to see three young men running across the quad away from a crowd of guys about to engage in what I can only imagine was some fraternity's pledge task.
Their target: the innocent tour group obediently following their guide across the quad.
These three young men ran straight in front of the tour group, each shotgunned a beer and-no, they weren't done yet-walked through the group, high-fiving as they went.
Admittedly, part of me laughed. The other part of me felt bad for the few students whose parents, after watching that lovely display of maturity and chugging ability, would never let their children attend Duke.
I couldn't help but notice the blatant grin on one father's face, however. I'm pretty sure he shotgunned a beer or two in his day.
Thinking about it later, I decided most parents would probably still allow their children to attend despite the event. We are a college, after all. Not that that fact in any way excuses underage or excessive drinking, but it does happen almost everywhere. And I think almost everyone in the tour group could tell by the stunned students on the quad that this was far from an everyday occurrence.
'Tis the season for college visits. And whether we like it or not, we're on display for the myriad student and parent visitors frequenting campus; I have to wonder what we look like to people outside the Duke bubble.
For one, we must appear relatively insane. I can just imagine prospective students' parents examining Duke's hefty housing fees, and then walking past K-ville. Although undoubtedly impressed, many of them must be crying a little bit inside-why pay for housing when my child will be sleeping in a tent for two months!?!
Luckily, we also appear studious. The library is occupied every hour, day or night, that it is open. Whether in the Bryan Center, the Alumni Lounge or Alpine Bagel, students are always doing work. Facebook may be open on their computers in the process, but hey, they're making the effort.
And then we have that "fun" factor. Now, I'm not going to get into the whole "Work Hard, Play Hard" mantra, but that little display on the quad a couple weeks ago definitely gave some indication as to what a large part of the student population spends its weekends doing. And well, that's college, folks. It's a sad fact, but a fact nonetheless.
As much as that performance was totally inappropriate and absurd, I think it made a good point. In some ways, we're just your typical college.
We have amazing sports teams, stellar academics and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities like DukeEngage, but I really don't think outsiders can grasp how we meld all of these things together and still have that cherished "typical college" feel.
These are our wonder years, and amid immense pressure both from professors and the upcoming ACC tournament, we still manage to enjoy ourselves.
So somehow, in some twisted way, I feel like those three guys on the quad might have made that particular campus tour one of the best yet. It gave some indication that there is a life at Duke that you can't really comprehend by walking around campus for an hour.
We're not just a top-ranked academic institution. We're not just a top-ranked basketball team. We're some unique blend of spirit and passion for all things Duke. We're just your typical college, but we're so much more than that.
Allie Vergotz is a Trinity sophomore. Her column runs every other Friday.
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