In hopes of fostering a safe alternative to the wild, widely-anticipated Tailgate, Duke University administrators enacted Football Gameday. The event was met with avoidance and concern prior to Duke’s first game of the season against Richmond. The air of (dis)spirit for Football Gameday seemed to foreshadow the later glum arising from the football team’s narrow 23-21 loss. The Chronicle’s Dylan Peterson spoke with students, faculty and staff about their reflections on the day.
"What we experience now is nothing like everyone else had had last year. It seemed most of the upperclassmen were pretty bummed."
—Tyler Nisonoff, freshman
"I had a really good time, but the good thing about Tailgate was going to one place and seeing all your friends at this traditional celebration of Duke spirit, whereas at Gameday, it’s more contained, so you’re hanging out with the people you see everyday."
—Allison Candal, sophomore
"There wasn’t much for freshmen to do. There wasn’t any sort of community aspect."
—Claire McIlvenny, junior
"I obviously enjoyed Tailgate more. However, [Gameday] was a more sustainable event and it’s better than nothing,"
—Stuart Reit, sophomore
"It was very eventful, loud and the kids looked like they were having a good time. The band was practicing so we got to hear them play—that was fun. The lunch was really good too."
—Jacqueline Stewart, Duke Bookstore employee
"It was really segregated and broken up. It kind of turned us into a southern school that’s really 'fratty' where social groups are split up. With Tailgate, it brought everyone together and unified."
—Isalyn Connel, sophomore
"They pushed Duke apart rather than [bringing] it together."
—Elizabeth Turner, sophomore
"Tailgate used to bring [selective living groups] and [fraternities] together.... Tailgate was ridiculous at times with the costumes and whatnot, but it was somewhat controllable because it was centralized in one specific place. Frats will drink regardless, so now people will do it behind closed doors, which makes it difficult to regulate."
—Mark Kayello, sophomore
"I didn’t go out of my way to go."
—Philip Srebrev, sophomore
"I liked Tailgate. [Gameday] was very strange to me.... I feel like they [administration] would rather us do nothing than have Tailgate. It’s such a sad picture [pointing to the picture of Gameday in The Chronicle]—there are only a few kids. I think it would be fun to go to a game the way football schools do it, with a traditional huge Tailgate with everyone in the same place."
—Alison Zinna, senior
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