Once unforgettable, Joe College returned for the second year Oct. 4 after a 30-year hibernation, but was met with what seemed like only mild enthusiasm.
When it first hit campus in 1951, Joe College was a weekend-long event that included the Shoe 'n Slipper formal, a float parade, a musical by Hoof 'n Horn, a picnic on the Main West Quadrangle and a music festival, and became an instant success.
"By the 1960s, Joe College had solidified into a Duke tradition," said this year's Joe College Day Director Karen Chen, a sophomore. Musical greats that came to campus included Duke Ellington, Count Basie, The Beach Boys and The Grateful Dead, to name a few.
Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education Steve Nowicki, who was a teaching assistant at Duke in the 1970s, said Joe College, which used to be in the Spring, was like a bigger version of the revelry surrounding the Last Day of Classes.
"It was a really nice celebration that had the feel of a rock festival," he said. "It had a really positive atmosphere."
Steve Gellman, Trinity '75 and School of Medicine '79, explained with enthusiasm that he chose to attend Duke because of the renowned weekend, which he compared to a mini-Woodstock.
"It took my breath away. It was a total blast and unlike anything any other college in the country was able to host," he wrote in an e-mail. "Those days were the epitome of the phrase, 'Good Times at Duke.'"
By the 1980s, however, the annual Joe College festivities had ended, though the reason why seems unclear. Chen said there is little documentation to explain its demise, as The Chanticleer used to cover the event, but stopped doing so by the '70s.
Nowicki and Gellman both said they assume that students simply lost interest in Joe College.
After 30 years on ice, Joe College warmed up again last Fall, this time as a one-day event. Max Alexander and Max Entman, both Trinity '08, were inspired by their parents' accounts of the music festival, and wanted to reinstate Joe College.
"The event had a lot of potential and scope, as it was something that had already been tried and tested at Duke," said Duke University Union President Chamindra Goonewardene, a senior.
Nowicki said he thought last year's event was impressive, and noticed that it seemed to have already regained much of its popularity.
"The two guys who pulled it off last year did a great job," he said. "My impression was that as soon as it happened, students kind of realized, 'Hey, why hadn't we done this before?'"
But Gellman said the Joe College Day described by his daughter, a Duke sophomore, didn't match the one he remembered.
With a budget of around $30,000-one-third the size of LDOC's-this isn't surprising. Chen explained that being creative with the funds available is key.
"This year our musical choices were based on diversity and affordability," she said. "We wanted to make sure that we addressed the various musical tastes on campus and really got our bang for the buck."
Chen noted that organizers of the event were happy with the turnout this year. She said approximately 2,000 students visited the Main West Quad at some point that day.
But to some students, the turnout, at least during the day, seemed less than impressive.
"Other than the free t-shirt line, there weren't many people around when I was there," sophomore Emma Rovit said.
It wasn't until later, when Shwayze performed, that the quad finally bulked up. "During the day it wasn't crazy, but at night it was pretty packed," sophomore Amalia Sirica said. She and others agreed that Shwayze gave a good live performance and that students seemed excited to participate in it.
Though enjoyed by some, Joe College seems to be lacking much of the energy it once had. But organizers are optimistic about the future of the festival.
"I think Joe College is on the path to being an event of [its former] caliber once again," Goonewardene said.
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