The K-ville report

To say I have been a Duke fan my whole life would be somewhat of an understatement. The first love of my life was Trajan Langdon, the Alaskan Assassin, when I was the ripe age of 7 years old.

My Duke Basketball obsession has now become my job: head line monitor. Running the student section I have admired since I was a little girl is in many ways a dream come true: I text my family (also huge Duke fans) every small detail about the work I’m doing and the people I meet. My younger brother thinks that because I’m HLM I’m super cool, which is hilariously inaccurate, but hey, I’ll take it.

My job is incredibly rewarding but also requires hours of behind-the-scenes work and preparation. I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to myself, the line monitors and the work we do to manage the wonderful world of K-ville for the Cameron Crazies. This is my K-ville report.

1. I do not actually go by Gabrielle Elizabeth as Facebook may have led you to believe. But it is pretty funny when y’all call me that.

I am so lucky to have an amazing and dedicated group of line monitors; the crew began working in July to get things going. Beginning with a website launch (kvillenation.com!), we hit the ground running, revamping our policy based on student feedback from last year. We are striving for improved communication and transparency with the Crazies. We have a very active Facebook group, and you can always email me! At the end of the day, our goal is simply to provide the best possible Cameron experience through our work. Sometimes we mess up, but we always try to learn from our mistakes!

3. We hate turning people away from games.

Cameron is a fantastic place holding 9,314 of the greatest and craziest fans in the world. But 9,314 is never enough seats. Please accept my apology if you are unable to make it into the game. Even though I don’t like that we do it, tickets are sold according to anticipated student attendance, and sometimes this number is off. I am the students’ advocate within Duke Athletics and for every game. From exhibitions to Carolina, I work hard to ensure that, if you come by doors opening, you will have a seat. We all realize Cameron sounds its best when it is full of students!

4. Enforcing the rules is a necessary function to keep K-ville a reality.

Keeping order in the (honestly fun) chaos is a necessary part of my job. The tenting and walk-up line policy is designed to make the process as fair and equitable as possible. Without rules there would not be a successful line up and Duke would switch to a lottery system for tickets, which students have overwhelmingly rejected. So please take time to familiarize yourself with the policy; it’s never fun to send someone to the back of the line!

5. We are doing everything we can to take student feedback into account and constantly improve K-ville.

We hear you. Some changes from last year that everyone should be aware of: We know you hated the black tenting race to the secret spot; we aren’t doing that again. There will be break times for the Carolina walk-up line so that, at designated periods, people can leave, go get food, go to the bathroom and not lose their spot in line. Tents will be allowed for Michigan. Programming will include more s’mores nights, more free food, more music and hopefully more sense of community in K-ville. The popular 1/3 rule from last year is being continued. I love getting feedback!

6. My pet project this year is a watch party in Cameron for the away Carolina game.

So excited. Stay tuned.

The line monitor organization is continually changing and evolving. I am working hard to restructure the organization to be as helpful and approachable as possible, and I look forward to serving the Crazies this season. Any mistakes made in the past serve as learning experiences moving forward. This Duke team looks like one of the most dynamic yet! So pumped for the season, and hope to see y’all in Cameron! GTHC!

P.S. Please don’t bring bags to Cameron. (Love, Security)

Gabrielle Hodgins is a Trinity senior and the head line monitor. Her column is the twelfth installment in a semester-long series of weekly columns written by members of Duke Student Government. Send Gabby a message on Twitter @DukeStudentGov.