Remake Gameday

The Harvard-Yale football game is one of the most storied matchups of all time. Nicknamed “The Game,” it attracts students, administrators, alumni and a large number of spectators to the host school. Although Harvard University prevailed last weekend, this year’s edition of the game was marred by tragedy. A U-Haul, driven by a student, struck a group of spectators at the pregame tailgate, leaving one woman dead. Although the accident was reportedly due to a malfunctioning accelerator, the incident emphasizes the risk inherent in any event involving vehicles, alcohol and college students.

More than one year has passed since Duke canceled Tailgate, and the alternative—Football Gameday—has yet to become a premier pregame experience. As students and administrators continue to work toward a safer form of tailgating, they should learn from last weekend’s catastrophe.

More so than other universities, Duke has the capacity to make big tailgate changes fast. Duke’s Tailgate tradition spans less than a decade, while alumni at Harvard and Yale have been a persistent obstacle to changing tailgating policies at those schools. In fact, Yale administrators even caved into demands by students to allow student-driven U-Haul trucks into their tailgate, a concession which came back to haunt them following the recent accident.

As an event, a well executed tailgate sparks excitement before home football games and also provides a fun, community-building event for Duke students. Although Football Gameday festivities initially started off strong, the popularity of the initiative faded fast. While many complained that Gameday simply could not replicate the raucous atmosphere of Tailgate, it is probably time to concede that we will not revive it in its original form. There are several steps the University can take, however, to ensure that a new model works.

The University should first figure out how to safely control alcohol consumption. Offering free beer from University-administered kegs would likely boost attendance while controlling underage drinking.

The University should also aim to relocate the new Tailgate to a more confined area closer to Wallace Wade Stadium. Combining the Wannamaker fire lane with Crowell Quadrangle would create a central location convenient to both residential areas and the athletics complex. Using K-ville or the parking lot on Whitford Drive also makes sense, as these locations do not advantage particular house locations. Security personnel could also easily position themselves along the perimeter of the new tailgating zone in order to ensure the safety of all students.

Although we believe all these efforts would help in popularizing the new Tailgate, we ultimately think that any proposed changes need more student input and involvement. Combining administrative power with student input could help legitimize the new initiative, and organizations like Duke University Union and Duke Student Government could even create their own committees to operate the new Tailgate. The introduction of the house model also comes at an opportune time, as each house could register for its own spot in the new Tailgate system. As seen by the generation-spanning popularity of the Harvard-Yale tailgates, the University might also want to consider how to better incorporate alumni into a new Tailgate.

These changes might seem minute, but we believe that each one addresses a key hurdle that Football Gameday must overcome in order to truly be successful.