Several hundred Duke students passed on the foam at Shooters II in favor of the fanfare of Duke Royale Thursday evening. The Duke University Union-sponsored event transformed the Sarah P. Duke Gardens' Doris Duke Center into a veritable Monte Carlo with gambling, swing dancing and freely flowing libations. The weather was cold and dreary, but the tables were red-hot. Blackjack and Roulette tables were in place, but classy was the name of this game.
"I've never been behind the gardens, but it's beautiful. I wish I had a girl to dance with." -Zack Asack, senior
"We have events like this at [the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill], but they're not sponsored by the University in such a flashy way. I think we have two different ways of keeping a balance." -Joao Tost, UNC junior
"They had better food last year. I understand it's a recession, but I didn't eat dinner because I thought I was going to come here and have sushi and crab cakes. The rich need to calm down and accept that their quality of life is not going to be 100 percent so the country can survive." -Erin Bell, junior "When you gotta have fun, you gotta have fun. We're not going to let a little recession hold us back." -Nick Elliott, senior
"It's a knockout, a bombshell, Titanic!.... The weather didn't really affect us. We took a lot of smoke breaks without a problem." -Will Hensel, sophomore
"It's a pretty kicking party. It's a nice way to send us off into our desperate careers." -Howie Liu, senior
"It's nice.. I'm just providing revenue to the vineyards." -Alex Todisco, junior
"I'm sorry it rained. It's unfortunate that the weather didn't work out. I like how a lot of people really get into the spirit of the event-to be civil and to be adult." -Bryan Fleming, senior
"The food is good and so is the music. This is one of those events that can link the whole campus, greeks and independents." -Meera Satiani, junior
"Duke's a great looking community.... It's a great time. Free beer, free drinks-I think the community's coming together." -Luke Barthel, senior
"I'm enjoying the free wine. It's really appropriate that I'm wearing my flapper dress. I was dancing-but not swing dancing, just moving." -Amanda Conway, senior
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