The independent news organization of Duke University
Senior year brought activism, a disappointing basketball season and adjustment to a new normal for the Class of 2021.
The Class of 2021's pre-pandemic year was also remarkable thanks to student activism, campus renovations and basketball games for the ages.
For the Class of 2021, sophomore year saw the renaming of an infamous building, a collection of controversies and a star-studded basketball season.
From the welcoming of a new University president to the softball team’s inaugural season, the Class of 2021’s first year on campus was an eventful one.
Before John Legend takes the stage at Wallace Wade Stadium on Sunday, we’re revisiting Duke’s commencement speakers from the last decade.
President Vincent Price will be presenting honorary degrees to singer, songwriter and philanthropist John Legend as well as four others during the 2021 commencement ceremony.
“When I was a freshman, I looked at the seniors and thought, ‘wow, that is so unattainable,’ and now I’m a senior, and I think if I was a freshman I’d be impressed with myself right now,” senior Chen Chen said.
Most students living or working on campus this summer will be required to undergo entry testing, and all will be required to participate in surveillance testing.
Governor Roy Cooper announced Wednesday that he will lift the outdoor mask mandate and increase gathering limits on Friday.
Duke will confer degrees to about 1,859 undergraduates and 4,040 graduate and professional students who finished their course work in September or December 2020, spring 2021 or the first summer session of 2021. A variety of events will be hosted in the coming weeks for the Class of 2021 and some members of the Class of 2020.
Duke experienced the lowest number of positive COVID-19 cases since August 2020 days ahead of 2021 commencement.
Five states, including North Carolina, will gain one seat in the House, and Texas will gain two. Seven states will lose a seat.
The campus will be 1 million square feet and run on 100% renewable energy, according to Apple. It marks Apple’s first entirely new U.S. campus in more than two decades.
VLearn provides students the “opportunity to connect outside the classroom with faculty, regardless of physical location.” It is analogous to FLUNCH, a program where students can invite a faculty member to lunch on campus free of cost.
Administrators and the chair of the African & African American studies department reflected on the outcome of Chauvin’s trial on Wednesday. Students and other community members gathered on the quad in front of the Chapel to watch.
Former Dean of Students Sue Wasiolek got an award for her dedication to undergraduates on Wednesday—and it happens to be named for her.
Students have long called for commitments from the Advisory Committee on Investment Responsibility (ACIR)—which advises Duke on its investments—to recommend divestment, and the matter was raised again at the committee's November 2020 open forum. Activists at other universities, including Harvard, have made renewed calls for divestment in recent months.
Duke’s positive COVID-19 tests for the week of April 12 to April 18 dipped after a slight increase last week, according to data posted Tuesday on Duke’s COVID-19 tracker.
The singer, songwriter and philanthropist was announced Tuesday morning. Legend, who has been awarded Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards, is also an advocate for criminal justice reform. He is the first African American man to reach “EGOT” status.
Students had received more than 9,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses by April 12, with Duke alone administering the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine to more than 1,800 students, according to Vice President of Administration Kyle Cavanaugh.
