Students passing through the upper floor of the Bryan Center may have noticed a new addition to the student center landscape.
With an eye to spurring student activity in Durham, the Office of Student Activities and Facilities officially unveiled The Hub, a new source of discounted tickets and gift cards for Duke students. Interest in the initiative was apparent as approximately 25 students waited in line Monday for The Hub to officially open. The program is an extension of Duke Destinations, which offers students access to off-campus events and trips.
Students passing through the upper floor of the Bryan Center may have noticed a new addition to the student center landscape.
With an eye to spurring student activity in Durham, the Office of Student Activities and Facilities officially unveiled The Hub, a new source of discounted tickets and gift cards for Duke students. Interest in the initiative was apparent as approximately 25 students waited in line Monday for The Hub to officially open. The program is an extension of Duke Destinations, which offers students access to off-campus events and trips.
“[The Hub] is very convenient,” sophomore Sonja Sahlsten said. “If you have a question you can come [here] directly, and good discounts are always a good thing.”
Among the discounts offered in September are subsidized tickets to movies, a Carolina RailHawks soccer match and a show by comedian Brian Regan at the Durham Performing Arts Center. The Hub also offers opportunities to attend performances by the Carolina Ballet and to watch a Durham Bulls baseball game.
In addition to events this month, students waiting in line expressed interest in discounted tickets to concerts by musical artists such as The Fray. DPAC season tickets and tickets to The Fray were sold out within an hour of The Hub’s opening, according to the program’s Twitter feed.
Tickets sold at The Hub are expected to be priced at half the value at which the University purchased them, said Kyle Fox, a program coordinator at OSAF and manager of The Hub. A ticket bought by Duke at $118, for example, might be sold to students for $50.
Fox added that “hub” means a “connecting point,” which makes it an appropriate title as it is meant to connect students to Durham. Senior Liz Lawner, who works at The Hub, said Duke students are relatively isolated and might not go into Durham because they do not know what is there or they think it is too expensive. According to its mission statement, The Hub is also meant to foster “meaningful relationships” between students. For example, The Hub buys seats in blocks so that Duke students will be able to sit together.
OSAF created The Hub to add a physical presence to Duke Destinations, which is two years old, Fox said. The Hub also incorporates the Bryan Center Information Desk.
Freshman Jane Li said The Hub was “a very good opportunity to see different arts and performances.”
The budget that Duke Destinations previously used to acquire tickets has been transferred over to The Hub, and the University has not incurred additional costs in creating The Hub, Fox said.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.