It did not materialize for the first game of the season, but New Tailgating will appear in a revised form for the next football home game.
The New Tailgating event announced this summer would have taken place in a field near Koskinen Stadium this weekend. This celebration was delayed, however, for the first home game, against Florida International University Sept. 1, and the administration supplied cookouts on East, West and Central Campuses in its place. The first tailgate, before the Sept. 15 home game, has moved to a new location on the West Campus Main Quadrangle after difficulties in contracting security for the event.
While planning for New Tailgating, Duke contacted two security companies who contract for most of Duke’s events, Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta wrote in an email Aug. 29. However, both refused to take on the job due liability concerns after serious incidents on college campuses nationwide, such as the 2011 accident at Yale University where a truck struck and killed a woman at a tailgate celebration.
“It was an uphill battle to get anything done for this season,” said Duke Student Government President Alex Swain, a senior.
The relocation to Main Quad has reduced the number of staff needed to host Tailgate, though there will still be Duke University Police Department officers overseeing the safety of the event. No cars will be permitted on the Quad, as they would have been in the original field location. The University alcohol policy will be in effect, as in the Last Day of Classes celebration—this includes a six-pack per person rule, a no glass rule and a ban on common distribution of alcohol.
Members of the Office of Student Affairs have been receptive to the revised New Tailgating model, said junior Neil Kondamuri, DSG vice president of social culture, adding that DSG will receive funding from the Office of the Executive Vice President and the administration.
The former Tailgate, held in the Blue Zone parking lot, was canceled in November 2010 after a minor—the younger sibling of a student—was found unconscious in a Porta Potty at the end of the event. Student Affairs replaced Tailgate with Football Gameday in Fall 2011. This event decentralized pre-game gatherings by having registered student groups host individual barbecues on the Main Quad.
After several months of negotiations, student leaders and administrators created New Tailgating to bolster the sense of community on campus through one centralized event, Swain said.
“We’re trying to create our own Duke culture around supporting our football team,” she said.
DSG, Selective House Council, the Interfraternity Council, the Panhellenic Association, Duke University Union and unaffiliated students collaborated on the proposal, Swain noted.
The new Tailgate seeks to strike a “chilled-out” atmosphere, with student DJs and centralized sound and music, Kondamuri said. The new location will make the event more accessible for students and groups, he added.
“Logistically, it will be much easier for everyone to register and attend,” Kondamuri said.
Senior Andrew Bentley, the president of the IFC, said he was excited about the potential for student groups to come together and interact with one another.
Groups will begin to register for the 15-16 spots on the Quad this Tuesday, Swain said. Those who do not get spots can use the areas outside their sections.
DSG is establishing a Tailgate Team that will meet weekly along with administrators to discuss the success of each Tailgate and how the program can be improved, Swain said. The team’s goal is to create a lasting tradition on campus.
Moving forward, the success of New Tailgating will be decided by the students, Bentley said.
“This is an opportunity for leadership, to turn this into a Duke tradition,” he said. “If the students get behind the model, it will be really successful.”
Margot Tuchler contributed reporting.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.