So much for sleep on a school night.
On the eve of FDOC, dozens of freshmen returned to East Campus with visions of foam and a mechanical bull dancing in their heads after disregarding their mothers' better advice and preparing for the start of classes at Shooters II.
"I'm not too worried about the first day of classes, and I don't think my mom would be either," freshman Lee Royster said from the foam. "As long as I got to class fully aware, she's OK."
The antics are not suggested by any of the guidebooks, but college towns around the nation have been booming in the first days of Fall. Because courses, books and roommates can be selected with the click of a mouse, some University administrators have observed that new students have little to do to ready themselves for college once their extra-long sheets are snug on their beds-and they are becoming oriented to the local bar scene with all their free time.
Brown University is among a crop of institutions that have opted to slash the length of their welcome weeks from six days to three, and Michigan State University is another institution contemplating changes that pack each hour with programming and minimize the down time in which their students dabble with unsanctioned ice breakers.
Duke's Associate Dean of Students Todd Adams said the University will not be adopting a fast-moving approach to freshman orientation anytime soon.
He noted that administrators have several strategies to keep orientation parties in check-upperclassmen move-in day is slated for several days after freshman arrival, and groups on campus cannot register to host events during the first week-but added that social acclimation is a necessary component of the freshman experience.
"We want and expect [freshmen] to get to know upperclassmen and get to know Durham as well," he said. "We hope that they make appropriate choices, but they are adults."
Freshman Caroline Machemehl said she attended a wide range of orientation activities, but noted that the discussions she was most drawn to were centered on life beyond the classroom. She went out every night of orientation and said she considers the evening romps to be every bit as educational as the Duke-hosted forums.
"[Orientation] is a good way to get used to the college social life before classes actually start," Machemehl said. "I feel ready for school."
Kim Cates, manager and owner of Shooters, said she can always sense the arrival of a new class of Dukies when sales at the bar plummet and the pitchers of water are drained at a record pace. But the first three weeks of August are some of the busiest of the year for the saloon, and Cates said she takes it upon herself to look after the new arrivals.
"We try to give them something safe to do," she said. "We have foam and a bull. This is a safe haven."
Sophomore Rachel H anessian came to Shooters eager for a freshman-free social interaction-and left disappointed.
"The night before classes started last year, I was in bed watching Grey's Anatomy," she said. "Why would I have gone out?"
For some, the decision to make the walk to Shooters, albeit on an important night, was easy.
"We've been three times this week," one freshman said. "We're so hyped about it. The upperclassmen are amazing, and most of the time they're here. And we really like to dance, no joke."
But with an evening curriculum of section party-hopping and cage dancing, some freshmen struggled to beat the learning curve as Dukies by day.
Elbowing his way onto an elusive C-1, his bubble of personal space shattered but the infamous bull nowhere in sight, freshman Jason Palmatary found that the daily grind of life as a Duke student can pose special challenges.
"This is worse than Shooters," he muttered under his breath.
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