​Reform LDOC

As the second to last full week of classes draws to a close, students are counting down the days remaining until another Last Day of Classes. For the twenty years since its 1997 inception, LDOC’s bacchanal has consumed main quad with massive crowds, a morning to evening programming schedule and unofficial daylong drunkenness. But as fun as it is to let loose before finals, our designated day of campus-wide music and celebration is in serious need of reform.

The official LDOC wellness page reminds students that the “C stands for class” when in reality, classes are cut and attentions diverted because of the hype that consumes campus. Professors have an obligation to teach their classes, and many use the final week’s lectures to introduce advanced concepts or explore nuanced applications of course materials. Students in turn should feel obligated to respect their professor’s time without prematurely checking out from the semester. However, LDOC is an unquestionable distraction for students. Accordingly LDOC should not be held on class day given how it dominates the entire day. It should instead be planned for the day after with an extra day added to reading period or moved to the Saturday prior. Even if the event’s name must change, classes should not be made to compete with the celebration.

But LDOC does more than disrupt class: it sanctifies daylong, campus-wide drinking. Between a new sorority member’s hospitalization earlier this semester, the ending of Tailgate years ago due to a severe alcohol incident with a minor and numerous EMS transportations during Orientation Week, excessive drinking is not to be taken lightly. Beyond abuse itself, unhealthy drinking habits are closely tied to other campus issues such as sexual assault and physical injury. While LDOC and events like DevilsGate have clear alcohol policies, enforcement is lacking and student attitudes are no help during the day’s self-proclaimed “marathon,” with the worst decisions often occurring behind locked dorm and apartment doors.

As a guest column pointed out last December, many students do not come to Duke with a drinking background and overestimate how many of their peers drink excessively. Based on national data, Jeff Kulley, associate director for clinical services at CAPS, wrote last spring that “somewhere around 10 percent of Duke students will likely meet the criteria for a substance use disorder at some point in their lifetime, if not now.” The culture of binge drinking that plagues colleges across the country along with underage access to alcohol on these days corroborate this prediction. Ritualizing daylong alcohol consumption for students seems far from a step in the right direction.

This is not to say that LDOC, Old Duke, Heat Wave and other large events do not have value for students. In a social scene dominated by fraternity parties and affiliation-exclusive events, these blockbuster social events are alternatives. But as we articulated in our DSG vice president of social culture endorsement this week, parties and concerts are in no short supply. It would seem more appropriate for Duke to place equivalent emphasis on extant subtler social programs or to expand initiatives like Duke Conversations and Tea with Strangers.

These arguments are not meant to ruin Duke’s biggest event of the year. We simply urge student organizers and their administrative partners to consider how LDOC and other events can be improved to complement and not detract from our University.