Despite occasional rain throughout the day, this year’s Last Day of Class festivities was safer and more accessible for Duke students.
Sophomores Morgan Bird and Andrew Oliver, LDOC committee co-chairs, wrote in an email that LDOC was a hit despite the weather. The rain affected the massages and the inflatables, but most daytime programs continued as scheduled, they wrote. Bird and Oliver also commented on the success of Marc E. Bassy’s performance.
“Students really enjoyed Marc E. Bassy’s show, and they were incredibly excited by his performance," Bird and Oliver wrote. "Many students stayed for the duration of the concert."
Bassy, an R&B and rap artist, was hired after the previous headliner GoldLink cancelled his appearance just days before LDOC.
Electronic dance music trio Seeb, pop artist Quinn XCII and indie pop band Smallpools also performed at the concert.
Sophomore Sara Idris said that though she did not stay for Bassy’s performance, she enjoyed listening to the other artists, adding that Seeb was her favorite.
“I’m a fan of Quinn, but I didn’t know Seeb at all, and [I] ended up having a lot more fun during that performance,” Idris said.
Bird and Oliver also highlighted how the presence of an American Sign Language interpreter at the concert this year made the LDOC music experience more accessible to all students. The concert accommodations also included an accessible venue section.
Bird and Oliver indicated that they hope these accessibility initiatives continue at future LDOC events. The co-chairs also noted the lack of students transported from the event due to health-related issues this year, which is an improvement over last year's two transports.
“Between the start of the daytime programming activities and the end of the concert, there were zero EMS transports and only a handful of EMS calls with most of these calls being non-alcohol related,” they wrote.
Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, described this year’s LDOC as “extremely well organized and fun” in an email to The Chronicle. He applauded the LDOC committee, Student Affairs staff, the Duke University Police Department and others who “worked extremely hard” to make LDOC a success.
“Every year LDOC gets better and better and but for a few students who make poor decisions about their need to drink excessively, we are fortunate to have such a terrific student body enjoying the camaraderie, the music and, of course, the pizza finale,” Moneta wrote.
Nathan Luzum contributed reporting.
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