Students share ‘indifference’ to the end of fall semester Wednesday Night Shooters

Shooters wiII no longer be open for “Wednesday Night Shooters” during the fall semester, according to a Friday Instagram post by Shooters II owner Kim Cates.

Although Oct. 2 was the final WNS for the semester, Cates noted that the nightclub will reopen on Wednesdays in the spring semester. Shooters II will remain open Friday for “Grad Night” and Saturday from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Cates did not respond to The Chronicle’s request for comment on the decision to end WNS for the semester. 

Shooters, a nightclub off of East Campus, is a popular hub of Duke’s social life. Known for its saloon-esque aesthetic — complete with a mechanical bull, cage overlooking the dance floor and rows of beer pong tables — the nightclub has been a notable part of the Duke student experience since 2004.

Sophomore Pranav Hooda shared that although he does not think the end of Wednesday Night Shooters will have a significant impact on social life, the closure is significant because of “what it stood for.”

“I think it's just a quintessential part of the Duke experience and Duke culture,” he said.

Hooda noted that when he was applying to Duke, the WNS tradition was “lowkey a huge reason” why he was excited to go to Duke because of the students’ “tradition of going out on Wednesdays to their college bar.’”

Sophomore Caroline Gallagher said that she’s “very much indifferent” to the closure since it “doesn’t impact [her] social life.” She also noted that she does not think Duke’s social scene will affect the upperclassmen experience and will “maybe” affect first-years.

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