"K-ville" has taken on a whole new meaning.
The famous tent village usually reserved for honoring Coach Krzyzewski was transplanted to the academic side of West Campus' main quad Sunday night to draw the attention of President Nan Keohane.
Tents that may not have gotten much use this winter were dug out of dorm closets to shelter determined student protestors outside the Allen Building and serve as billboards for the students' cause: the changing face of student life and Keohane's role in those changes.
The tents -- sporting such slogans as "Expanded Quadrangle" -- remained in front of the Allen Building until late afternoon Monday. Students had also gathered more than 1,200 signatures from fellow students and about 10 p-frosh on a petition calling for Keohane to meet such requests as:
reinstating seniority in the housing lottery;
phasing out student housing on North Campus;
reducing the cost of the mandatory Central Campus meal plan from $750 to $350 per semester;
ending the re-expansion of dormitory rooms;
improving communication between the administration and student body;
eliminating the mandatory three-year housing contract for incoming freshmen;
reducing the number of meals freshmen are required to eat on East Campus from 10-12 to a maximum of five per week;
considering a rent reduction for Edens Quad housing.
Braving the clammiest weather the University has seen all month, student protestors stood huddled under umbrellas while soliciting signatures from fellow students on the quad. Ironically, the protest hit its peak during the harshest drizzles of late morning, said Trinity junior Julie Brashears, an organizer of the event, when students stood in line to add their names to the petition. Students lingered around the quad throughout the day, sharing stories and suggestions with protestors.
"It really got to me, how sympathetic students are to what's going on," Brashears said while packing up tents at around 3 p.m. Many students who weren't affected by the housing changes attended the protest, she said. "It was great to see people who weren't going to be affected by the changes helping out with people who are being screwed."
In addition to rallying their fellow students, protestors also piqued the interest of p-frosh and parents passing by. A few tours funneled down the quad between mid-morning and the afternoon, as the regular admissions office tours were augmented by "Blue Devil Days," a prospective freshmen weekend event that includes campus tours.
Trinity junior Jim Graziano, who led a tour of about 25 high school students and their relatives past the protesters' campsite around noon yesterday, said he did not alter his usual tour route to avoid the protest, but instead explained what was happening beforehand, "just as I would if there were a speakout. Actually [the tourists] thought it was a neat, kind of collegiate thing to do. I don't think it impacted negatively on them at all, and the protestors weren't rude or obnoxious."
Some protestors agreed that the reaction from p-frosh was somewhat unexpected. "They actually seemed pretty amused. I don't think they fully realized what we were trying to do," said Trinity junior Christine Luong, a planner and participant in the protest.
Brashears said that the protestors did not intend to alienate or attack p-frosh or tour guides. Mostly, protestors casually conversed with the prospective students, Brashears said. "This isn't a reason not to come to Duke, but we wanted the p-frosh to realize that as a student, you need to work hard to get things to change around here," she said.
Trinity senior John Tolsma, Duke Student Government president, did not lend support to the protestors. "My real hope is that the student body will start using its creative energy towards making this residential plan work," Tolsma said. In addition, he claimed that the protestors were misinformed about some parts of the residential plan. For example, seniority has already been reinstated to the housing lottery, he said.
Meanwhile, some p-frosh said they appreciated students' efforts to organize and participate in the protest. "I don't really know the specifics of what they're upset about, but it must be pretty serious if they've gone through putting up with the weather and making the petition and the signs," said prospective freshman Madeleine Bryant.
Protestors had hoped to confront Keohane when she arrived at her office in the Allen Building at 8 a.m., but learned late Sunday night that she would be out of town until sometime Tuesday or Wednesday.
Still, the petition will be presented to Keohane by protest organizers Wednesday morning, along with a cover letter containing other suggestions from petition-signing students, Brashears said. Protest planners will also send copies of the petition to members of the Board of Trustees.
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