Though I dropped out of Krzyzewskiville three days in with a case of mononucleosis, I lived the experience vicariously through the friends I had left behind.
“This is 10,000 times worse than I thought it would be,” complained one tent member on his first night.
Trading a sleeping bag for a warm bed in Randolph proved to be a wise decision. A week later, I not only found myself with newfound free time; I felt completely better. The doctor at Duke Student Health told me it was the mildest case of mono he had seen in his career. My friends—sleeping outside two of every three nights—quickly accused me of playing sick.
K-ville was tough—I figured that much by the way they talked about it. I would never tent, a second-hand experience was enough.
And then I heard that life in K-ville might soon change. New policies, while imperfect, may soon make tenting—and hopefully the lines for all games—a significantly more reasonable process.
The collaboration between Head Line Monitor Zach White and the Duke Student Government in reforming line policy marks a admirable effort to increase student excitement for Duke Basketball. K-ville is in the process of being fixed, but the walk-up line policy remains broken—for now.
“I’m basically looking to see more enthusiasm, more excitement and higher overall attendance,” White said. “We are trying to make things more exciting and fun and less of a [burden] every night…for the average tenter and for the average person that goes to a non-tenting game.”
White will propose to decrease the number of students needed in the tent at night from eight to six, raise the temperature calling for automatic grace, allow tenters to stay out until midnight on Thursday nights and reward students who pick up after themselves with grace. The senior’s ideas would successfully achieve the objective of encouraging former tenters to give it another go and make the process less stressful for first-timers.
“I’m not looking, especially with the [swine flu] going around, to have a bunch of sick people out in K-ville,” White said. “[The changes are] to keep everyone healthy, happy and excited about Duke Basketball.”
However, before the DSG Senate votes on White’s proposal, it is important to note the ways in which White’s ideas do not go far enough, namely the lack of concrete changes to walk-up line policy for non-tenting games.
The expectation that making K-ville a more attractive activity for students will increase November and December attendance or change the perception that games are impossible to get into is unrealistic.
Even without a new tenting policy, K-ville’s 100-tent capacity will be filled as usual. Tenting and attendance before tenting begins are two completely separate, unrelated entities.
I disagree with White when he says: “If people see that these changes [to tenting] are being made…they are basically going to start thinking about [Duke Basketball] in November. They are going to be like, ‘You know, I want to get close to the team that I’m sleeping out for.’ So they are going to want to come and see these games in November and December.”
White is correct that improving attendance early in the year is a problem that needs fixing. Following a 95-42 exhibition win over Lenoir-Rhyne last November, head coach Mike Krzyzewski didn’t hide his frustration that the student section was not completely filled.
“We were good, we played well, but there was something missing and the same thing with the crowd. We should remind all of our Duke fans that we start our season on Monday,” Krzyzewski said. “Every game counts and if you’re not going to come, let us know and we’ll sell the seats. We shouldn’t have an empty seat in Cameron. It’s the way it is. I know I can sell them, I’ll go sell them.”
But K-ville reform alone would not have prevented this mishap, for the matchup against the Bears was nearly a full two months before tenting began in January. White’s ideas as presented thus far also do not help to dispel the myth on campus that games are nearly impossible to get into.
A more complete plan is currently being put together. White mentioned that a new walk-up line policy has been discussed but hesitated to outline the specifics. This development, which White said is meant to make non-tenting games more lively, would certainly strengthen his cause.
Fortunately, as DSG vice president for athletics and campus services Pete Schork pointed out, plans for K-ville have not been finalized and are pending student input.
In reforming attendance policy, White and DSG must adjust their expectations. K-Ville will not drive student interest in November, and improvements in tenting need to be complemented by new walk-up line policy.