Pancakes, poetry and performances: A glimpse into Duke’s last day of classes celebration

Duke’s last day of classes was a cause for celebration.

Whether it was rising sophomores celebrating their first successful year at Duke or graduating seniors looking back on the last four years spent on campus, students braved brief spells of rain to participate in the various activities organized to commemorate LDOC.

From Dancakes and tote bags to Chapel climbs and the Poetry Fox, here are some of the scenes across campus from Duke’s last day of classes.

Bryan Center Plaza, 9:16 a.m.

LDOC kicked off with a story of true love.

Dancakes, a pancake art company that creates students’ requested designs in colorful pancake batter, set up on B.C. Plaza in the early morning hours. Junior Sofia Hletko and her younger sister stood in line to receive their artsy breakfast.

Featured on their pancake were Lego Batman and Lego Joker, holding hands with a heart above their heads.

Hletko said her sister chose the design because she thought the Lego characters would be easy to recreate in pancake form.

Abele Quad, 9:47 a.m.

Bottles of sparkly colors, acrylic paint and pony beads welcomed LDOC early birds excited for the day full of festivities. 

Before the morning sun fully illuminated the Duke Chapel, students gathered at arts and crafts tables to decorate cowboy hats and the stained glass window graphic printed on free LDOC t-shirts. 

Senior Kate Brownstein was walking her therapy dog Sherwood when she was enticed by the growing crowd before her 10 a.m. class. She decided to stop by and paint a cowboy hat for Sherwood with his name and year in case he graduates as a service dog.

Wriggling his body and swiftly shaking his head, Sherwood resisted Brownstein's multiple attempts to make the human-sized hat fit him.

While some students sat on the Chapel lawn coloring their hats, others raised their phones for a selfie with their friends, sporting their freshly painted hats.

Junior Issy Carey's cowboy hat features a blue letter "D," adorned with surrounding hearts.

“It's a lovely day [and] it's gonna get even nicer, so we need to get a hat to keep us shaded,” she said.

Senior Ryan Mitchell woke up early for this first event of the day, noting that he wanted to make his last LDOC “special and memorable.”

“Right now I just have a little array of hearts to express love,” Mitchell said of the hat he was decorating. “I don't know what I'm going to do with the rest of it. I'm just really just winging it at this point, letting my creative juices flow.”

Dozens of students lined up by the popcorn and cotton candy table in front of the Chapel’s entrance as Juan José Hernández, director of the Duke Catholic Center, offered them sticks of cotton candy while engaging in conversation.

The celebrations at Chapel Quad were organized by several religious leaders and student groups. For Hernández, the Chapel serves as a central hub for many students who “participate in [and] feel identified with” religious life on campus.

“It's a great way to continue to make [students] feel at home on their last day of class,” he said.

Bryan Center Plaza, 11:24 a.m.

By 11 a.m., Dancakes still had a crowd of students wanting their own pancake painting. However, a bubble machine set up on the B.C. Boardwalk soon began to attract a different crowd.

Two curious squirrels inched nearer and nearer to the bubble machine, and one brave squirrel eventually went up to investigate.

A large bubble popped on the squirrel’s face, prompting it to jump straight up in the air and let out a noise somewhere between a squeak and a screech. It landed on its side before scrambling to its feet and rejoining its friend on the periphery of the boardwalk, safe from any more bubbles.

Duke Chapel, 11:41 a.m.

For graduating seniors and juniors, the Chapel climb ranked high on their bucket list — and what better occasion to do it than on LDOC?

However, with each trek capped at 15 people, some students left in disappointment for other activities upon learning they were required to register online in advance.

Senior Trevor Helm and junior Jonathan Esponda shared their experience climbing the Chapel for their first time. They said that even though the Chapel staircase can be very narrow, they appreciated the architecture and towering view over the campus.

“It's not the easiest climb. You're definitely gonna get some cardio. You might get a little dizzy, but it's worth it,” Helm and Esponda said. 

Meghan Merenich, a second-year master’s student in the department of biomedical sciences who was participating in her second Chapel climb, was surprised that everyone maintained a consistent pace — one after the other.

To Merenich and her friend, who graduate in May, the beautiful view atop the Chapel justly commemorated their time at the University.

Abele Quad, 12:02 p.m.

As LDOC continued in full swing, a line of eager students wrapped around Chapel Quad, waiting to receive their screen-printed tote bags. 

Each bag, hot off the presses from the tent in the middle of the quad, was adorned with a signature LDOC design.

“The tote bags are fire,” said junior Joy Buchi-Ahiabuike, happily displaying her freshly pressed bag. “They understood the assignment.”

The line showed no sign of slowing, with many students clamoring for the bags as others played cornhole on the quad.

Sophomore Sanjana Kalagara expressed her excitement for LDOC and the later concerts with her new tote bag in hand.

“It’s just a really fun day to celebrate the last day of class,” she said.

Perkins Library, 12:13 p.m.

As the day progressed, LDOC celebrations began to pick up across campus.

However, the Link classrooms in Perkins Library lent themselves to an air of silence, punctuated by occasional soft whispers, the shuffle of pages turning and the faint click of pens being pressed.

Seated at cubicle-like desks, two students pore over their class notes for multivariable calculus. Going over the practice exams question by question, one of the students expressed her frustration: “I didn’t get that…”

Huddling over their laptops, the students moved from academic discussions to chatting about events and food options in the afternoon, plans over reading period and excitement for the concert.

Brodhead Center, 12:31 p.m.

Taco Bell? No, that’s the crunchwrap from Sazón. 

To commemorate students’ last day of class, each of the vendors in the Brodhead Center offered a special dish. The limited-edition menu items ranged from bang bang shrimp skewers at JB’s Roast & Chops to French toast and bacon at Skillet and miso salmon at Ginger & Soy.

Between Café’s affogatos and Il Forno’s apple strudel, the LDOC specials were a huge hit. By 12:30 p.m., the pretzels and beer cheese were already sold out from Devil’s Krafthouse, and the crunchwraps were nearing their end.

Bryan Center Plaza, 1:02 p.m.

B.C. Plaza is usually a bustling hub of student activity, but on LDOC, it was busier than ever. Students gathered in clusters around the University Store to listen to a performance by Jazz@Duke, Duke’s student jazz ensemble.

“I know people up there and I didn’t know they could perform like this,” said senior Hayden Waters. “It’s amazing to see.”

The air was replete with the sound of jazz and cheers from the crowd. Passersby stopped to watch, swaying to the beat and nodding their heads to the music. 

“I’m so impressed,” said sophomore Abby Melton. “I love the activities. I’m having a great time.” 

Even as a gentle rain began, students gathered around a tent on the plaza to have their caricatures drawn. First-years Roshan Sundaram and Paul Rosu stood in line, eagerly anticipating their turn at the caricature station.

“He’s doing a really good job,” Rosu said, glancing at the artist’s drawing.

When asked how he feels to have made it to LDOC, Sundaram responded, “Relieved. Very relieved.” 

As the day drew on, the line continued to extend. Sophomore Faith Caesar beamed as she walked away from the tent, having just received her custom caricature. 

“He drew my duck earrings,” she said. “It was so sweet, I love it.” 

Caesar also shared her excitement to explore the other LDOC festivities, including the photobooth and food trucks.

Keohane Quad, 1:29 p.m.

Away from the festivities on the main green spaces of campus, Keohane Quad was decked out in inflatables and a photo booth to celebrate the inaugural victors of the Quad Cup.

A QuadEx-affiliated initiative launched in January, the Quad Cup is a campus-wide competition “designed to cultivate a robust and resilient campus community through a diverse array of events.” Quads received points for having high attendance at HRL-sponsored events and social gatherings hosted by their Quad Councils, as well as for competing in challenges.

Keohane Quad came out on top in the competition’s first year, and as a prize, Duke Housing and Residence Life threw the quad a party, where the Quad Cup Trophy was on full display.

Brodhead Center, 2:05 p.m.

Anybody up for a poem?

The Poetry Fox visited Duke to add a creative flair to the LDOC festivities, live-composing custom poems based on a word given by a student.

The Poetry Fox said that over the last four hours, they wrote 80 poems without a break. They said that they don't get tired from the extensive writing, even when they have multiple back-to-back events in a day.

“I always love writing at Duke’s LDOC. Everybody’s always so happy to celebrate their accomplishment,” the Poetry Fox said.

Meanwhile, casino games and fingernail painting were going on just outside of Devil’s Krafthouse. Students at the nail painting station had the chance to get their photo taken with a sign reading: “I got nailed, LDOC 2024.”

Keohane Quad, 2:30 p.m.

Back at Keohane, the Quad Cup celebrations were in the process of giving way to a cookout hosted by the Black Student Alliance.

“I’m hoping that it picks up,” said senior Isaiah Hamilton, who set up the grill for the event. “As of right now, I’m trying to enjoy what we’ve got [even though] the weather’s not holding up the best.”

Attendance for the Quad Cup celebration remained sparse, but passersby enjoyed themselves on the inflatables as the rain subsided.

In the interim, a band played to the enjoyment of approximately 40 people on a patio overlooking Keohane Quad.

Abele Quad, 2:33 p.m.

A stuff-a-critter station was set up near the Chapel. Students had their choice of a variety of animals to stuff and take home.

Event staff said that they would continue until 4:30 p.m. or when they ran out of stuffed animals. The line was over 100 people long, approaching the entrance to WU as students waited patiently for the chance to stuff their very own critter.

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