Prentice Hall Student Success SuperSite

Campus Camp-out

The other day, I got an email asking exactly what "tenting season" was. I was shocked. I figured this was something widely known and accepted, like hunting season or football season or stuffing-your-face-full-of-turkey-and-sugar-plums season. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that some lost souls may still be in the dark, even in these progressive times. My duty to educate calls.

Some might see the cluster of tents now pitched on the lawn of Cameron Indoor Stadium as a sign that the dorms are too terrible to live in. But the enlightened ones know it has nothing to do with living conditions and more to do with life (which is quite nicely defined on a t-shirt -- "Duke Basketball is life. The rest is just details.") Yes, we students are obsessed enough with basketball to subject ourselves to the cold, wind, and cramped conditions of tent life just so we can get a good seat in Cameron.

For the past week, thats exactly what I've been doing. I am currently one of the fifteen residents of Tent #5, otherwise known as "Will's Thrill" (after Will Avery, our smooth freshman point guard who also happens to be #5.) I didn't have to work that much for most of the week -- just a few two-hour shifts here and there so someone would always be babysitting the tent, since all the tents have to house at least one resident at all times, aside from the 48 hours before the game. But don't think those 48 hours are just a time to desert the tent. No, all fifteen residents have be around for the random checks conducted by Duke Student Government.

Last Thursday, the 48 hours began. DSG was nice enough to do one check at 7:00 in the evening, and we all filed out of camp to various concerts, parties, and restaurants for a three-hour grace period. At 10:00, we all had to come back, so we sat around in the tent and waited for the next check. And waited. And waited. It didnt happen until 2:45 a.m. Ugh. The next night, I only had to make one more check -- three out of five is enough. I swore I'd never say anything bad about DSG again if they did the check around 7:00, and they did (darn, I unwittingly censored myself!) So things actually didn't end up being that bad. Tent parties abounded, everyone bonded during that long night, and hey, I gained about twelve new friends from the experience.

The Countdown 8/25
Moving in 9/1
Going to Class 9/8
Rated PG 9/15
Athletes Foot in Mouth 9/22
Shaken Not Stirred 9/29
Sleeping with the Enemy 10/6
Withdrawal Symptoms 10/13
Why Duke? 10/20
Par-ants Weekend 10/27
Halloween 11/3
Who Am I? 11/10
Travel Guide 11/17
Give Me a Break 11/24
Thank You 12/1
Campus Camp-out 12/8
Apply Yourself 12/15
Rushing Back to School 1/26
Chi-Omega Land 2/2/a>
Apply Yourself #2 2/9/a>
Three Month Itch 2/16
School Daze 2/23
Politics and Popularity 3/2
They Came They Saw, They Choked 3/9
Dating at Duke 3/16
Weekly Update 3/30
Beep Beep 4/6
Extra,Extra 4/13
Room to Move 4/20
End of the Innocense 4/27
Help Me 5/1
The Last Hurrah 5/8

But was the hassle worth it? That's what I kept thinking Saturday morning as I stood in line waiting for admission, the reward for all that tenting. It was cold, we were tired, and the game didn't start for another two hours. But somehow, no one was complaining. Giddiness prevailed. And when they opened the doors, it was all we could do not to hop, skip, and jump right into Cameron.

The game was ridiculously lopsided (103-59) as we schooled Virginia for our ACC opener. A friend of mine was playing for the UVA team, and it felt just like old times when I screamed the same cheers I had directed at him when he played for my high school's biggest rival. And whenever Trajan nailed a three, or Burgess whacked a ball away from UVA, or Wojo gave the other team a pounding headache with his courtside antics, we Cameron Crazies went... well, crazy. Out of nowhere, I began to feel an exhilarating wave of energy, and everyone else was feeling it too. Finally, we were able to be the "Sixth Man" for our team. And it felt great.

Would I do it again? Absolutely. The better question is, when am I doing it again? Answer: tomorrow night. Ill be spending the night in the tent so I can yell at Villanova on Wednesday at 7:30. Watch for us all on ESPN -- and if you want the full experience, pitch a tent in your living room.