Homecoming was a burst of Duke culture, and everyone on campus cheered on a win football win against Tulane Saturday. Alumni flooded Duke campus homecoming weekend to return to the place of happy memories and carefree times. Cases of beer and cameras for souvenir pictures in hand, they returned to their old dorms, classrooms and professors. The Chronicle's Arden Kreeger talked to Dukies about their opportunity to witness a bridge between old and new.
“I think it was a great weekend. We had a lot of alumni come back. We had different academic sessions during the day that visitors could come to. It was a nice varied offering of educational discussions, and I think we had a great turnout. And Duke won its football game, so that’s always a good thing.”
—Susan Berndt, senior regional director of development
“It was funny to see some of the alumni. I don’t know if they didn’t realize Tailgate is over—or maybe they wanted to bring tailgate back—but some people definitely missed the no Tailgate memo. While it was great to see a Duke win, it was still disappointing how few fans were in the stands. The camera man had to pan over the same sections a couple of times because there just weren’t enough all blue sections, probably because of the weather.”
—Anna Knight, freshman
“My fondest memory was during [President Broadhead’s Homecoming Dance], when I got on stage and sung ‘Proud Mary’ with the seventies band. I think that wraps up the [Homecoming Dance]. It’s weird, because there were a lot of older people on campus. For freshman, it’s more like, ‘ooh, free food!’”
—Fedner Lauture, freshman
“I didn’t go to the events just because I had other things to do, but it’s really cool to have the entire fraternity from all the old years come back. We ran into a bunch of alumni at McDonalds in the middle of the night one night and just hung out and talked about funny stories that people had.”
—Billy Baumgartner, sophomore
“I thought homecoming was a great opportunity to have all the graduated seniors back, and it felt good to have them here. It felt more normal, honestly. I went to the Hoof 'n' Horn homecoming cabaret. It was awesome. We had several alumni return, including alumni from the 70s so that was pretty awesome.”
—Lindsay Samuel, sophomore
“I think homecoming is a great way to connect past students and past alumni leadership. It was a nice way to bridge the gap between leaders in the alumni community, recent graduates and current students. The alumni had several educational sessions in the morning, and I think [current students] really appreciated that. And the President’s Ball was a really big success in that it didn’t rain, and they also had a new set up this year, so I think it worked out a lot better logistically.”
—Beth Gordon, junior, alumni relations intern
“I love how the Homecoming Facebook event always appears [first] during spring semester. This year's ball was both exciting and nostalgic. It was cute to see the freshmen all dressed up. As seniors, my friends and I couldn't help thinking, ‘Wow, in one year we'll be back as alumni—if we're lucky enough to get off of work!’”
—Jean Gan, senior
“Returning to campus for homecoming is an emotional touchstone that allows us to reconnect to a place and time of friendships, learning and amazing experiences. We all share this incredible experience called ‘Duke,’ and while the campus and the [people] change, it remains a place where we began our adulthood and formed into the us that we are today…. Duke is a very special place made special by the unique and amazing people that pass through the gothic wonderland. While many return for the academic experiences and the campus tours, homecoming to me is sharing this time with my classmates and re-connecting with them and the lives they live today. Whether it be at the football game or the homecoming dance or class gatherings, spending time with fellow Dukies is always a special time.”
—Shep Moyle, ’84, director of the alumni association
“I went to the game and the dance.... The dance wasn’t really as great as I thought it would be, just because the music wasn’t as good as I’d hoped it would be. In terms of noticing people, obviously we just stuck to ourselves, the freshman. So I didn’t get as much as kick out of it. But I know my friend—she saw Zoubek—and that made her day.”
—Caroline Hermann, freshman
“I really wasn't involved in any of the homecoming activities. My only incidental involvement occurred when one of our majors from about five years ago came over to my office and we had an interesting discussion about his intellectual pursuits since graduation.”
—Michael Ferejohn, professor of philosophy
“Highlight of the night was [Brian] Zoubeck, obviously. I spazzed. That was amazing…. At first I thought he was Ryan Kelly, because I was caught off guard. But no, it was Zoubeck. It was a lot more emotional in the moment, I was almost crying.”
—Nicholle Romero, freshman
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