Residents of the Krzyzewskiville tent city often claim to be the most "hard-core" part of the student body, annually facing inclement weather, long lines and early-morning wake-up calls.
But in a winter with unseasonably low temperatures and complaints about wristband distribution, tenters are experiencing particular challenges this year and some say they are disgruntled at the thought of living in K-ville much longer.
Last week marked the halfway point between the Jan. 8 beginning of tenting and the Feb. 5 game against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and temperatures dropped below 15 degrees throughout the week. The average high and low temperatures for January in Durham are 49 and 28 degrees, but temperatures have dropped well below that range due to a cold front that hit the entire East Coast.
Head Line Monitor Jeremy Morgan is responsible for assigning grace periods to tenters for cold weather. Over the past couple weeks of tenting, he said tenters have had to sleep out only about half the time, and he plans on continuing to assign grace periods when the temperature falls below 30 degrees.
Morgan has received the brunt of complaining from tenters who initially questioned his ability to juggle all of his commitments, which also include positions as Interfraternity Council president and Head First-Year Advisory Counselor Co-Chair. Some students cited Morgan's half-hour lateness
"If [Morgan] is going to make commitments to all of these different student organizations, he must keep his commitments, especially to the tenters. When he doesn't show up when he says he's going to, he could really make people angry," said freshman Nick Vivion, captain of tent 20.
When Morgan finally showed up to give out wristbands, tenters booed him and began to chant "Skidmore," the last name of Morgan's predecessor.
"Last year, [Head Line Monitor] Greg Skidmore had been a K-ville tenter. Since he did that, people gave him more respect," said sophomore Derek Womak, a resident of tent 5. "This year, tenters are making a lot of unreasonable demands and are citing [Morgan's] inexperience [as a reason to complain]."
Few tenters have expressed concern about the incident since Morgan apologized that night and gave tenters an extended grace period. Khalid Kurji, a sophomore in tent 38 who chanted along with the crowd that morning, said, "[Being late to hand out wristbands is] the only real mistake he's made all year. I was really angry then, but I'm not as angry anymore."
Many tenters have expressed concern that several sorority parties for new members fell on weekday tenting nights, during which eight of 12 tenters were expected to be in each tent between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. Morgan said he received between five and 10 e-mails a day requesting longer grace periods during the weeknights, but that he could not grant them.
Last week, Morgan, a senior, addressed the tenters during a tent check. "The only reason I made some comments is that there has been a lot of people asking for grace for lots of social reasons, and I was making it clear that that is not going to happen and that I cannot make exceptions," he said.
In general, however, Morgan said he is happy with the way things have been going at K-ville.
Sophomore Dan Southam, a resident of tent 8, cited the many grace periods-due to cold weather throughout the past week-as a reason for the complaints. "When you're given a little bit of freedom, you want more and more. Since he gave a little grace, he has been getting more complaints," Southam said.
With three weeks of tenting over and over a week ahead until the UNC game, it is easy for K-ville residents to become cold and disgruntled. However, many tenters who began during the Blue Period--those students in the first 50 or so tents--were relieved partially Sunday, when White registration began and tenting rules changed.
Despite the cold and missing out on sorority parties, most students continue to say that, in the end, the experience will be worth the effort.
"What people must realize is that the longer you stay out here, the better the experience at the UNC game," Southam said.
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