As more students and groups are allowed to make the shift toward living on Central Campus next year, administrators and student leaders are hoping to change the campus' dynamic.
Earlier this month, Campus Council announced an initiative that would give sophomores the option to live on Central. Additionally, Ubuntu-a new selective living group focused on civic engagement-will have a section near the sophomore block on the middle campus and SHARE is currently in discussions with Residence Life and Housing Services to move its section to Central in the Fall.
"What I hope it will eventually do is Central won't seem like it's the worst place to get stuck-it's just an alternative that has some advantages over West Campus," said Steve Nowicki, vice provost and dean of undergraduate education. "One of my overarching desires is providing more flexibility and options for Duke students. Some students like living on Central, for others it seems like not a choice but a punishment. It will add to the choices Duke students make so they can think, 'I'll live here on Central because there are things on Central, there are amenities I can have that I can't have on West."
The University is also negotiating with fraternities and other SLGs to discuss moving sections to Central, Nowicki said. At a Campus Council meeting in November, however, most fraternity and SLG representatives said they would not be interested in moving.
"We see both [SHARE and Ubuntu] as being positive beacons of adding to the whole social and activity scene on Central, so it's really part of the Duke campus," Nowicki said. "If we make it a little more connected, fix it up, add amenities, improve security, it's actually a pretty nice place."
The first step in generating more enthusiasm for the campus is creating more of a community, perhaps through more sponsored social activities like discussion dinners and speakers, said Ubuntu President Eddie Zhang, a sophomore.
"Right now it's kind of perceived as in the boonies and in the ghetto," he said. "So I think with the addition of sophomores to Central and SLGs like Ubuntu and SHARE, I think ultimately there will be a more vibrant intellectual social community where there's a lot more programming and where it's not just perceived as where people live."
Similarly, the sections may lead to more cohesiveness, creating small neighborhoods from the different groups living there, said Campus Council President Molly Bierman, a senior. What Central lacks in fostering unity, however, are common areas for the groups, she added.
"You see it on East, you see it on West, you see it in bays-it's something that is lacking in the current Central and hopefully that will be reconciled in the new campus," Bierman said.
What may alter morale on Central is the assumption that sophomores and SLGs who elect to live on Central prefer living there, she noted.
"Hopefully it will have a less 'I was forced here' mentality. I think it'll draw certain types of people," Bierman said. "I can't speak definitively to what the demand will be, but I've lived here for two years and I've perfectly enjoyed my experience though it gets a bad rap. Administrative support as of late will be helpful in just improving student life out here to make it seem less of a downgrade from West."
SHARE members are not characterizing the campus as a downgrade. Although Zhang said Ubuntu will be located on Central because there were no other options, SHARE President Colin Lewis, a senior, said the group's intent to move to the campus was motivated by the desire for more space and independence.
For other students and groups, however, Lewis said the fundamental issue keeping people away from Central lies in the aesthetics of the campus.
"At the moment, I can say that there's not a whole lot of interest among people I know," he said. "Part of it's just going to debunking the myth that Central's an unclean, dangerous place to live. It's not totally a myth-where there's smoke, there's fire. I read somewhere that a few years ago there were bats on Central-that's not exactly good publicity to get people to want to move there."
Ultimately, the campus is still far from main West-where most dining options and classrooms are, and students still may tend to shy away from opting to live there, he added.
Although Central is not slated to be a permanent part of the Duke landscape, it will remain a part of Duke for at least another decade-when construction of New Campus will begin, Nowicki said, although previous reports have said progress is as few as four years away. Until then, the goal is to mitigate the stigma associated with Central Campus.
He added, however, that he hopes to make the campus more attractive and less distant by launching a new bus route that would go straight to Central. Plans to enhance security and add a diner are also on the table.
"It's a transition for how we deploy Central-an investigation now to diversify housing options for students and making adjustments to the West Campus housing experience," said Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta. "It's a first step toward ways to optimize both the West and Central Campus experience-how to make the New Campus opportunities most effective. It will give us valuable feedback into ways to design New Campus in ways that will benefit the entire Duke community."
The initiative is a one-year approach that will be evaluated next year to decide whether the programs should be continued, Moneta said.
"We're going into this with our eyes open, with an open mind," he said. "We'll get a really good examination of all the options to make sure we do New Campus right."
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