Duke to open a third campus, Duke Las Vegas, after record-breaking fall break attendance

After it was reported that more Duke students went on their fall break trip to Las Vegas than their attendance-based classes, the Duke administration plans to begin a new campus expansion project. Despite its #6 US News ranking, Duke aims to improve class accessibility with this new location, hoping to produce more successful alumni since there are still dozens of unnamed campus rooms and buildings. 

They were initially hesitant about expanding the Duke campus footprint after spending so much money to celebrate its centennial (thank you so much for Ed Sheeran, Daddy Duke). In addition, offering the same programs at the Kunshan or Durham campuses seemed redundant. So, instead, the administration decided to start with a fresh approach and a brand-new campus. The school deans are excited to develop a new curriculum to better prepare undergrads for the real world. 

Duke students loathe "flipped classrooms," where the professors make the students learn the material at home (which, of course, everyone does) and then discuss it in class. It’s generally seen as the biggest waste of tuition ever, and I’d gladly confront its creator on behalf of all undergrads. That’s neither here nor there, but Duke Las Vegas’s economics flipped classroom is sure to become everyone’s top class. 

In the Vegas flipped classroom, each student is given $10,000 at the start of the semester and has to gamble during each class. The students with money at the end of the term get an A and keep all winnings. Luckily for the students, top economics majors volunteered to lead the flipped classroom, with the stipulation that they get to keep 10% of the purse. 

There is a group of Duke students who are sure to thrive in this new class — those who make up Duke’s underground sports betting ring. Unsurprisingly, 80% of this betting ring is made up of economics majors and all of the frat brothers on campus. The other 20% of the sports gamblers are a cohort of students known as the "WU Crew." These students post up daily in the eating hall, Western Union (WU), and take notes of any athletes on crutches or in casts before placing their bets. 

This will be a hands-on course that, if done successfully, can pay off a few semesters of tuition in only one class! The waiting list is predicted to be longer than the already successful History of Hip-Hop class with 9th Wonder. And, apparently, the seasoned sports gamblers on the Durham campus are in on the Vegas plans. They’re super hot. And really funny. And never break the Duke Community Standard. Full disclosure: They bribed me with a better waitlist spot for this hype, so I don’t know if any of that is true.

Additionally, the Duke Global Education Office is almost as happy about the move as the sports gamblers, as Vegas simplifies study abroad programs. Duke will now be able to open a Duke in Egypt program inside the Luxor Sphinx and a Duke in Paris semester program in the bottom tier of the Eiffel Tower on the Las Vegas Strip. Duke administration is even toying with having housing for the study abroad students in Caesars Palace to provide a multi-country immersion experience.

The new campus promises to boost Duke Arts. With a residency slot opening in the Las Vegas Sphere, the administration plans to host an a cappella sing-off for the coveted inaugural spot. Additionally, Duke Arts wants to partner with the Durham campus’s tour guides to show students famous movie locations. Must-see stops include The Mirage for an "Ocean’s Eleven" heist photo op and the Mandalay Bay Street parking lot, where some random Duke alum jumped naked out of a car in "The Hangover."