Whenever I am in 301 Flowers, one of my favorite things to do is read the print papers from decades ago that hang on our walls. The history etched in our paper never fails to give me goosebumps — always serving as a constant reminder of the incredible mission we are on and culture we are so lucky to be a part of. The Chronicle was there then, and we will continue to be there in Duke’s future.
Abby Spiller, Vol. 120 Editor-in-Chief
By Lucas Lin University News Editor
Although Duke is celebrating its Centennial this year to mark the 1924 transition from Trinity College to Duke University, the institution previously recognized 1938 as its Centennial, commemorating 100 years since the founding of Brown’s Schoolhouse.
In 1838, Duke’s first president Brantley York founded Brown’s Schoolhouse, a private subscription school in Randolph County, North Carolina. Once a humble log cabin with a single room and a handful of students, the University has since changed in nearly every way.
In honor of its first Centennial celebration, the University reflected on its past while expressing aspirations for the next century. President Vincent Price similarly reflected on the 2024 Centennial as a “historic opportunity to recognize Duke’s extraordinary past, communicate the impact of the present and look toward the potential of Duke’s future.”
“It is a tremendous honor to be President of Duke University as we celebrate our Centennial, marking the 100 years since James B. Duke’s Indenture of Trust set in motion the transformation of Trinity College into Duke University,” Price wrote in a Sept 11 email to The Chronicle. “Our Centennial is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the people who have contributed in so many ways to the University’s growth and impact, while also reflecting on our history and learning from our past. It is also a moment to sharpen our focus on the work to come, as we look ahead to the extraordinary promise of Duke’s second century.”
The opening ceremonies
The University kicked off its original Centennial year on Oct. 6, 1938, with a series of keynote addresses in Page Auditorium featuring President William Few, Gov. Clyde Hoey, Robert Flowers, vice president, secretary and treasury of the University, and A.S. Brower, executive secretary of the committee on the Centennial.
Delivering the ceremony’s opening remarks, Flowers traced the evolution of the University
from “a little brown schoolhouse in Randolph to the University of today.”
This was followed by a speech by Brower, who spoke about Centennial events to come, and Hoey, who briefly discussed Duke’s importance in the state and lauded the four upcoming symposia.
Few concluded the event by emphasizing the need for students to educate themselves and think critically, while also encouraging them to “participate fully” in the year’s opportunities.
“If you are here, as I hope most of you are, to educate yourselves in this larger way, it will not be enough, high as that goal is, for you to learn how to think. Your ideas must be given personal and moral power through feelings and sentiments, admiration, faith, love and that strange precipitation of theme which we call the will. These are the things that make mankind,” Few said. “If you can understand that, you can understand the larger significance of the Duke Centennial.”
In 2024, the festivities began with a Centennial Celebration Kick-off, which took place Jan. 9 in Cameron Indoor Stadium and served as the first of a series of events commemorating the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Duke endowment. The ceremony was attended by thousands and included performances by student dance groups and appearances by select Duke figures.
Hosted by actor and comedian Ken Jeong, Trinity ‘90, Lisa Borders, former Women’s National Basketball Association president and Trinity ‘79, and former men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, the event alternated between speeches from the hosts and videos highlighting the stories of Duke students, faculty and staff members.
In his address, Price remarked that the University represents an “improbable story of success,” having overcome challenges and achieved significant milestones in the last century. He also expressed gratitude to the many people who have made an impact on the University and the Duke community over the years.
“Our Centennial is a gift to us,” Price said. “It’s a chance to pause and reflect on our past. It’s an opportunity to appreciate the present and to plan for the future. And in doing so, we should be grounded by a sense of humanity, honesty [and] humility.”
As blue and white balloons and confetti fell from overhead, the celebration came to a close with performers and speakers celebrating on the court and the audience singing along to Duke’s unofficial anthem, “Everytime We Touch.”
Symposia
Durham made its mark on the national map when it brought in prominent world leaders across various disciplines for a series of four Centennial symposia from October 1938 to March 1939. Each symposium spanned two to three days and consisted of speeches, lectures and discussions led by experts in leading disciplines.
The four themes addressed in the symposia included “The Future of American Medicine,” “The New Economic Base of the South,” “Law in Modern Society” and “Women in Modern Society.”
For the first installment in the series, a crowded Page Auditorium heard debates on Oct. 13, 1938, over the future of medical service in America and the potential of professional groups to cooperate with government health agencies. The discussion for the remaining two days centered on thenmodern diseases such as anemia, pellagra, amebiasis and malaria and featured notable physicians such as George Whipple, 1934 Nobel Prize in Medicine laureate. Few and his wife hosted a reception in the evening for symposium guests and their spouses.
Over 500 Southern physicians reportedly attended the sessions, which were “closely watched by medical authorities throughout the world.”
The University welcomed a range of specialists from across the South, including economists, bankers, industrialists, chemists, sociologists and
THE CHRONICLE COINS THE BLUE DEVIL
By Ryan Kilgallen Associate News Editor
Duke is instantly identifiable by its iconic Blue Devil mascot and deep blue color. Yet, at its inception, such imagery was entirely absent from Duke’s predecessor Brown’s Schoolhouse — later renamed Trinity College.
It took over 50 years for Trinity College to claim its “deep dark blue,” and another 30 years for the first Blue Devil to appear on Duke’s campus.
After hiring then-President John Franklin Crowell, Trinity founded its first football team in 1888. Crowell assumed the role of coach and led the Trinity team to its first game against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that same year. The game also marked the first athletic competition between the two teams, who would later be coined as the Tobacco Road rivals.
While the origins of Duke Blue are disputed, one account traces the color choice to the alma mater of a new president.
Honoring Crowell, a Yale University graduate, the Trinity College football players sported dark Yale Blue uniforms that contrasted with UNC’s light blue apparel. Trinity triumphed over UNC
and roll it off in this fashion: ‘Rah! Rah! Rah! / For the deep dark blue! / Hoop la! Hoop la! / We beat.’”
While the color white never received an official designation, it quickly became a common accent to the blue, and the pairing became strongly linked with Trinity College.
By the early 20th century, Trinity College had incorporated its blue and white colors into many cheers and songs.
The first discussion of a “catchy name” to represent the school came in a September 1921 edition of The Trinity Chronicle. The Chronicle’s campaign sought to identify and propose a name that could “become incorporated into our campus songs, our yells and our department of publicity.”
Students nominated a variety of names, such as the Catamounts, Grizzlies, Badgers, Dreadnaughts and Captains. Yet, the paper’s editors determined it essential for the mascot to embody the school’s dark blue color, so the pool of names was altered to include the Blue Titans, Blue Eagles, Polar Bears, Blue Devils, Royal Blazes and Blue Warriors.
Despite the narrowed field of nominees, none of the candidates received significant support, and the football season passed by that year
Managing Editor Mike Bradshaw decided that the school’s athletics teams would be referred to as the Blue Devils.
“Les Diables Bleus,” which translates to “The Blue Devils,” were an elite force of French soldiers who fought in World War I. The troops first gained recognition for helping to break a trench warfare stalemate in the French Alps, and their courage won them many accolades. The name carried special significance for the Class of 1923 as the first post-war freshman class, with many returning veterans within its ranks.
Despite its meaning, and the belief held by Lander and Bradshaw that it was the best among options, the name “Blue Devils” was widely unpopular in its first year of adoption. The Chronicle was the only publication to utilize the name. Some students opposed the name for religious reasons or because of the method by which it was chosen. Though, opposition never formally materialized in full from student organizations or Trinity administration.
As The Chronicle continued to use the name, it slowly caught on. Today, Duke has seen its “signature” color and mascot each in several forms.
Shortly thereafter, campus leaders from the soon-to-graduate Class of 1923 made plans to officially select Trinity’s mascot name. Given the inconclusive results from the students’ voting process, editors of The Archive and The Trinity Chanticleer — two other student publications — agreed that deciding power
While some alumni remember a crisp, navy blue shade of Duke, others recall more of a royal color. Several graduates from the 1940s remember the University’s blue being nearroyal, possibly due to a football rivalry that the school held with the U.S. Naval Academy at the time.
A Class of 1926 graduate wrote letters in 1964 describing the color as royal blue, while acknowledging dissent among faculty and staff as some believed the blue to be closer to Yale’s grayish navy.
The Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees formally adopted Prussian Blue as the school’s official color on Sept. 23, 1965. The Pantone Color Matching System lists Duke blue as 287-C, while its hexadecimal code is #00539B.
rested with The Chronicle’s
Beginning in the 192223 academic year, Editorin-Chief William Lander and
One explanation for variations in shades of Duke Blue comes from manufacturing limitations. Materials, costs and production equipment are all factors that can influence a decision to pursue hues that vary slightly from Duke Blue.
Despite the varied accounts of their adoption, both the Blue Devil mascot and Duke Blue — now interwoven with the school’s identity — are recognized as being ‘distinctly Duke.’
Duke receives Congressional Resolution commemorating Centennial
By Abby Spiller Editor-in-Chief
Duke received a Congressional Resolution commemorating its Centennial Tuesday, recognizing the University’s accomplishments throughout the past 100 years, according to an announcement from Duke Today.
H. Res. 1100 “celebrates the 100th anniversary of Duke University, recognizes the University’s accomplishments over the past century and encourages North Carolina’s citizens to participate in activities
marking this historic occasion.”
U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee of North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District visited Duke to present the resolution to President Vincent Price and Provost Alec Gallimore. The resolution was passed March 21 by the Committee on Education and the Workforce and has since been entered into the Congressional Record.
“I’m grateful to Representative Foushee and her Congressional colleagues for recognizing Duke University’s Centennial through this resolution,” Price wrote in
RES. 1100
Commending and congratulating the 100-year anniversary of Duke University, in Durham, North Carolina.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 21, 2024
Mrs. FOUSHEE (for herself, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. JACKSON of North Carolina, Ms. ROSS, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. HUDSON, Mr. DAVIS of North Carolina, Ms. MANNING, Mr. NICKEL, Mr. ROUZER, Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina, Mr. LEVIN, and Mr. PETERS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
RESOLUTION
Commending and congratulating the 100-year anniversary of Duke University, in Durham, North Carolina.
Whereas Duke University was established on December 11, 1924;
Whereas Duke University Hospital opened for patients in 1930;
Whereas, since the 1930s, Duke has grown into an internationally recognized academic medical center where researchers and clinicians have made breakthrough discoveries and conducted pioneering procedures for patients locally and across the world;
an email to The Chronicle. “It is a tribute to the contributions and achievements of so many people and a testament to the progress of Durham and of North Carolina over the past century. We look forward to a second century of continued shared success.”
The resolution serves as a timeline for major events at Duke since its founding on December 11, 1924, citing accomplishments that mark the University’s “standard of excellence.” Events mentioned include the opening of Duke University Hospital in
1930, desegregation in 1961 and “legendary coach” Mike Krzyzewski leading Duke men’s basketball to five national championships.
Duke kicked off its Centennial celebrations in January, hosting members of the University community in Cameron Indoor Stadium for the first in a series of events commemorating the 100th anniversary of Trinity College becoming Duke University.
Whereas Duke was admitted to the Association of American Universities in 1938;
Whereas the admission into this prestigious organization of research universities helped to cement Duke’s place among the top tier of America’s research universities;
Whereas the Sarah P. Duke Gardens was dedicated in April 1939 and opened for the enjoyment of the university and community members;
Whereas Duke University was desegregated on March 8, 1961;
Whereas, in 1963, the first 5 African-American undergraduates enrolled at Duke;
Whereas Duke established the Nation’s first physician assistant program in 1965;
Whereas Duke Cancer Center was one of the Nation’s first cancer centers established with the passage of the National Cancer Act in 1973;
Whereas the Cancer Center also developed the Nation’s first outpatient bone marrow transplant program;
Whereas, in 1996, Duke created the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership;
Whereas, in 1998, Duke University Health System was created;
Whereas today, the system includes Duke Regional Hospital and Duke Raleigh Hospital as well as other regional health care providers and serves patients in all 100 North Carolina counties and from across the country;
Whereas, in 2012, Dr. Robert Lefkowitz, Chancellor’s Distinguished Professor of Medicine at Duke University, shared a Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work with G protein-
Photo Courtesy of Duke Today.
3
coupled receptors, and, in 2015, Paul Modrich, James B. Duke Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry, received a Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in mechanistic studies of DNA repair;
Whereas legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski led the Duke men’s basketball team to 5 national championships;
Whereas the University has won a record 7 national championships in women’s golf as well as 3 national championships in men’s lacrosse and national championships in women’s tennis and men’s soccer;
Whereas Duke University has won 130 Atlantic Coast Conference championships across all sports;
Whereas Duke University is the second largest private employer in North Carolina;
Whereas over 16,500 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students attend Duke University;
Whereas Duke has consistently been ranked among the Nation’s top ten universities and its undergraduate nursing program is ranked first in the Nation by the U.S. News & World Report;
Whereas Duke University offers 53 majors, 52 minors, and 23 certificates;
Whereas Duke University comprises eleven schools including Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore as well as Duke Kunshan University in China; and
Whereas with nearly 200,000 alumni worldwide, Duke University remains the standard of excellence for universities: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1
•
(1) celebrates the 100th anniversary of Duke 1 University, recognizes the University’s accomplish- 2 ments over the past century, and encourages North 3 Carolina’s citizens to participate in activities mark- 4 ing this historic occasion; and
(2) directs the Clerk of the House of Represent-
atives to make available 5 enrolled copies of this res-
olution to Vincent E. Price, the current President of 8 Duke University.
Duke University’s Presidents
William Few
Robert Flowers
A. Hollis
Terry Sanford
Keith Brodie
Courtesy
Duke President
Students participate in the bench burning tradition after defeating the University of North Carolina’s men’s basketball team 73-68 (February 13, 2013).
in January of 2016.
Students engage in a pillow fight on the quad the night before the home men’s basketball against the University of North Carolina (March 5, 2004).
Comedian Pete Davidson visits Duke
Former
Richard Brodhead, former head coach Mike Krzyzewski and the 2015 NCAA title winning basketball team visit former President Barack Obama at the White House in September 2015.
The Duke men’s basketball team honors Nobel Laureate Robert Lefkowitz at the 2012 Countdown to Craziness event.
Students walk out of the 2024 commencement ceremony in protest of commencement speaker Jerry Seinfeld.
A sign taped to the statue of James Buchanan Duke to call attention to police brutality following the death of Eric Garner in 2014.
A Robert E. Lee statue on the portal of the Chapel was vandalized before being removed in 2017.
A group of students practice social distancing while having a masked conversation outside in 2020.
Students play with a puppy in the Fall 2020 Puppy Kindergarten class.
Graphic by Karen Xu / The Chronicle
Oprah Winfrey delivers the commencement speech in 2009.
Duke won its first NCAA national championship in 1991 at Indiana’s Hoosier Dome. The victory came 11 years into Mike Krzyzewski’s tenure as head coach in a 72-65 defeat of Kansas. Christian Laettner scored 18 points, Bobby Hurley scored 12 and Grant Hill put up 10 on 66.7% shooting.
The same legendary core won the Blue Devils their second title just a year later, this time at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. The game against Michigan brought significantly less stress to Duke fans, who watched Hurley, Laettner, Hill, Thomas Hill and Antonio Lang beat down the Wolverines in a 71-51 smackdown. More notable than the championship itself was the East Regional final against Kentucky, where Laettner made “The Shot” from the free throw line at the end of overtime, giving Duke a 104-103 win.
The 2001 national championship game saw the Blue Devils defeat Arizona 82-72 in a showdown highlighted by Mike Dunleavy Jr.’s 21 points and Shane Battier’s 18. The former made five baskets from behind the arc while the latter was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player.
In 2010, now-head coach Jon Scheyer helped lead Duke to its fourth title. It was the Blue Devils’ 15th appearance in a Final Four and their 10th title game. Butler’s Gordon Hayward nearly connected on a half-court heave at the buzzer, but it rimmed out to give Duke the 61-59 win.
It has now been nine years since Duke’s most recent national title. Tyus Jones led the Blue Devils to victory in their 68-63 defeat of Wisconsin at Lucas Oil Stadium. His 23 points were accompanied by 11 from Justise Winslow and 10 from Jahlil Okafor. Grayson Allen brought the Blue Devils back into the contest with a crucial second-half run.
SOME DUKE THINGS NEVER CHANGE . A LITTLE.
Dining spot offering a whole foods menu free of common allergens. Located by the Bryan Center, it’s open daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Center, and a mystery spot. Record your story and create a unique video postcard.
Inside C.B. Claiborne’s trailblazing role for Duke men’s basketball
By Vishwa Veeraswamy
Associate Editor
Spectators in Cameron Indoor Stadium often look in awe at Duke men’s basketball’s five National Championship banners, won on the backs of numerous legendary Blue Devils. Eddie Cameron, the stadium’s namesake, built the program and brought the university into the ACC. Coach Mike Krzyzewski made Duke into a national brand, earning all five banners and a whopping 13 Final Four appearances. Christian Laettner, perhaps the greatest college basketball player ever, led the team to two National Championships and four Final Fours. With all of these Blue Devil legends, one important name often goes undiscussed: C.B. Claiborne.
Born in Danville, Va., in the late 1940s, Claiborne spent his entire childhood in the Jim Crow South at the height of racial segregation. In 1966, Claiborne notably became the first African-American basketball player to suit up in Duke blue. Besides overcoming racial barriers to enroll at Duke and play for the basketball team, some truly extraordinary circumstances
led to his appearance on the court. Vic Bubas, head basketball coach at the time, suspended nine of his players for unspecified violations, paving the way for Claiborne to earn his first minutes against Penn State and make history.
During his time at the university and with the team, Claiborne was frequently mistreated due to his race. As a result of this discrimination, Claiborne spent most of his time in Durham at nearby N.C. Central University, an HBCU.
However unwelcomed Claiborne felt at Duke, he understood the importance of his role in integrating the Blue Devils and college basketball as a whole. In a 2013 interview, Claiborne noted that playing for Duke was a rare opportunity that not only benefited him, but also created chances for others in the future. He later emphasized his belief in basketball as an avenue for social change and thanked Bubas for allowing him to be a force towards that change.
“The first thing that [Duke] did was really made me more aware of a larger world and a larger perspective of the world,” Claiborne told The Chronicle. “Those experiences going to California and going to New York
as part of the basketball program were absolutely eye opening.”
While Claiborne’s impact on breaking racial barriers can be compared to the likes of Bill Russell, his playing career did not reach the same heights. Claiborne averaged 4.1 points per game over his time with the Blue Devils, during a period in which Duke was not yet a juggernaut of college basketball. However, he did have some memorable moments, including a 13-point outburst in a comeback victory against Clemson, which The Chronicle covered at the time.
The success of the program, and in many ways the university as a whole, cannot be discussed in full breadth without mentioning C.B. Claiborne. Countless Black players have starred for the Blue Devils in the half-century since Claiborne’s first game. From Grant Hill to Jay Williams to Zion Williamson, many greats have reached national stardom in part due to the foundation Claiborne set all those years ago.
While Claiborne will always be remembered for his basketball career, he felt the education he received was the most important
part of his time with the Blue Devils. Claiborne graduated with a degree in engineering, the first of his four total degrees. Claiborne prides himself on teaching and now serves as a professor in the business school at Texas Southern University, another HBCU.
“[Duke] really opened my eyes about the potential [of] what you can do in life, the kinds of people to be associated with,” Claiborne said. “It had a profound experience on my growth.”
Duke has recently made a concerted effort to commemorate Claiborne’s impact on Blue Devil basketball. In 2023, all Duke players donned the number 23 in pregame warmups in honor of Claiborne, and at the 2024 Commencement ceremony, Claiborne was granted an honorary doctorate for his longtime commitment to social justice.
When people think of Duke University, their minds often jump to Blue Devil basketball; the two go hand in hand. Duke as an institution would not be the same without its iconic basketball program, and the Blue Devils would not be what they are without C.B. Claiborne.
Zoe Kolenovsky contributed reporting.
Abigail Bromberger | Staff Photographer
C.B. Claiborne was honored at halftime of Duke’s February 2023 game against Louisville.
How two international students catapulted Duke women’s golf to success
By Abby DiSalvo Assistant Blue Zone Editor
Candy Hannemann grew up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — 4,650 miles from Duke University Golf Club. Her teammate Virada “Oui” Nirapathpongporn joined the Blue Devils from Bangkok, Thailand, 8,994 miles away.
The distances didn’t stop either athlete from launching the Duke women’s golf program to new heights at the turn of the century. When the duo clinched individual NCAA golf championships in back-to-back years, they set the Blue Devils on an unprecedented path of success.
The University’s first women’s golf team was founded in 1974 by Jane Lloyd, who led the program to four wins in her five seasons as coach. She was succeeded by Ron Schmid, an assistant pro at the Duke Golf Course and assistant men’s golf coach. During his four years at the helm, the Blue Devils clinched their first ACC title and played in their first NCAA tournament. Though these early successes hinted at the potential of the program, there was still more to come.
In 1985, Dan Brooks took over as head coach of the program, leading Duke to three wins in its first five events and clinching the first of what would eventually become 21 ACC championship titles. Team success fluctuated for ten years before the Blue Devils hit a hot streak in 1996, when they began to dominate the ACC and took home the conference title 13 straight years.
It was in 1999 when Hannemann stepped foot onto Duke’s green for the first time. She was warmly welcomed by the team, especially the senior captains. As she helped the program to ACC and NCAA titles as a freshman and another ACC title as
a sophomore, Hannemann quickly established herself as a powerhouse on the links.
It was in 2001, however, that she demonstrated just how well she could play. During her junior campaign, Hannemann recorded a four-day score of 75-72-6969=285 to clinch the NCAA individual championship title in a Florida playoff round. On top of the Division I college crown, her efforts also earned her the Honda Award — an honor annually bestowed upon the top player in the nation. She was the first golfer in Duke’s history, male or female, to win either title.
Meanwhile, Hannemann’s freshman teammate Nirapathpongporn was eyeing similar successes of her own. She had finished the 2001 season as an ACC Freshman of the Year and tallied the second-best stroke average for a freshman at Duke. In her sophomore campaign, she was determined to deliver the program another record accomplishment.
When the 2002 NCAA Championships rolled around, Nirapathpongporn golfed a 68-69-71-72=279 to beat out Hannemann, tie the NCAA tournament record and secure the second NCAA Individual Champion title in Duke’s history. The feat earned her a Honda Award of her own. Nirapathpongporn’s new stroke average of 73.21 also placed her third in Blue Devil history. Meanwhile, Hannemann’s team-low score of 68 propelled the program to its second national title in the team championships.
Together, the two athletes demonstrated the potential of Duke women’s golf and propelled the team towards future success. By helping the Blue Devils to titles and accolades that had previously seemed out of reach, the pair transformed an impossibly
high bar into the starting point for Duke’s young players.
With the help of 2005 individual champion Anna Grzebien, the Blue Devils coasted to additional NCAA victories in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Ever since, Duke’s women’s golf program has been known as “the trophy team” for its impressive collection of hardware: seven national championships, 22 ACC titles, four individual NCAA victories and 12 national players of the year.
Both Hannemann and Nirapathpongporn spoke highly of their time at Duke, recalling a close-knit team culture and fond memories that cemented their love of the sport. After graduation, they stayed active on the links and continued to support other young athletes.
Hannemann went on to play in the LPGA Tour for 10 years before picking up a career in sports marketing. She currently serves on the Board of Directors at the
American Junior Golf Association, where she focuses on diversity, equity and inclusion work and mentors young Brazilian golfers.
Nirapathpongporn continued her golfing career, becoming the first Duke alum to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2003. She also competed on the LPGA Tour for several years, where she secured two tournament victories. In 2011, after 15 years of living in the United States, Nirapathpongporn moved back to Thailand. She continues to golf while advocating for more female and Asian representation in the sport.
Hannemann and Nirapathpongporn left a lasting legacy on Duke’s women’s golf program, making a name for the Blue Devils and shattering previous ceilings of success along the way. After traveling thousands of miles to join the team, they discovered a new home, a new purpose and new success.
Retelling the history of the Duke vs. North Carolina football rivalry
By Ranjan Jindal & Dom Fenoglio Sports Editor, Sports Managing Editor
The Cameron Crazies tent every year for a chance to see Duke and North Carolina face off in Cameron Indoor Stadium, but the game on the gridiron is full of rich history, too. The two rivals have competed every year since 1922, and The Chronicle has covered the matchup every step of the way.
The Victory Bell, first earned by North Carolina in 1948, is the prized traveling trophy given to the winner. The series was initially back-and-forth, and although the Tar Heels took a commanding lead in the latter half of the 20th century, the Blue Devils have made the rivalry more competitive in recent years. Here are some of the game’s biggest moments for Duke.
1922
The first meeting documented by the Trinity Chronicle came in 1922, when then-Trinity College traveled down Tobacco Road for a meeting with the Tar Heels. Anticipation for the game was high, as North Carolina was coming off a strong showing against powerhouse Yale and the Blue Devils were prepared to put on the fight of their lives.
Before the game, The Chronicle wrote: “Interest in the game which has been smoldering ever since the game was scheduled last year has reached the fever point and now is the sole topic of conversation on the campus.”
Despite a rousing pep rally and a well-traveled crowd, though, Duke fell 20-0 to the Tar Heels. The lopsided score still provided a moral victory for the Blue Devils, as they were expected to lose by four or five touchdowns. The Chronicle took an optimistic stance, printing “Trinity holds crack Carolina team to three touchdowns.”
1962
The Bill Murray coaching era brought enormous success to
Durham. The Blue Devils were the premier ACC program in the mid20th century.
Murray, who was hired in 1951 and stayed at the helm until 1965, brought Duke to win six of the first 10 ACC championships. Although there was no formal conference championship game until 2004, the Blue Devils won three straight crowns from 1960-62, determined by regular-season round-robin play.
In that final season, Duke defeated North Carolina 16-14 to clinch the league championship. This capped off an undefeated ACC slate for the team. Kicker Billy Reynolds connected on a game-winning 20yard field goal with 46 seconds left, one of three for him in the contest. The Tar Heels led 7-6 going into the final quarter, but the Blue Devils went down the field on a 92-yard drive to take the lead.
The Chronicle’s Bill Wood wrote that the drive “featured a steady ground attack mixed with two important passes from [Walt] Rappold to Mark [Leggett].”
The headline from the game comically read, “DUKE 16, institution in chapel hill 14.”
1989
Duke football struggled in the aftermath of Murray’s departure, going through 20 years of medio-
cre seasons and finding itself at the bottom of the league it once dominated. However, that all changed when Steve Spurrier took the job in Durham in 1987.
By 1989, the Blue Devils had a chance to clinch a share of the ACC title, which would be its first since the aforementioned 1962 season. Once again, the Tar Heels stood in the way.
Although the 1962 game was a last-minute win, this one involved total domination. Duke traveled to Chapel Hill and trounced North Carolina 41-0, the team’s first shutout in 11 years. The Chronicle’s Rodney Peele covered the event.
“It was a good win,” Spurrier said after the win. “We were a little better team than North Carolina. This team set a bunch of very high goals at the end of spring practice last year and we hit every one of them.”
Blue Devil wide receiver Clarkston Hines had a standout day with 162 receiving yards, securing his third straight 1000-yard reception season — the only player in history to lead the ACC in receiving for three consecutive seasons.
2013
The most recent Duke-North Carolina game with a trip to the ACC championship on the line took place in 2013, when the 24th-ranked Blue Devils played
in Chapel Hill with a chance to win the ACC Coastal division. Led by quarterback Anthony Boone and future NFL wideout Jamison Crowder, Duke pulled off a nail-biting 27-25 victory.
Boone returned to lead the Blue Devils to an ACC title game appearance after missing the early part of the season with a broken collarbone. In his absence, Duke got off to a 2-2 start and seemed an ocean away from a 10-win season. However, the Blue Devils rattled off eight straight wins to close out the regular season. The Tar Heels were Duke’s 10th victims.
“One of David Cutcliffe’s messages to his team at the beginning of the 2013 season was to play games to win, rather than playing to avoid losing,” wrote The Chronicle’s Nick Martin. “Ten victories later, the Blue Devils head coach’s words ring as true as the Victory Bell.”
Unfortunately for the team, Duke’s rise to the top would end there. Its 45-7 loss in the ACC championship game to Florida State would be followed by a comeback defeat at the hands of Texas A&M and Johnny Manziel in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. The Blue Devils have been searching for another 10-win season since 2013, and they still are, now under head coach Manny Diaz.
Chronicle File Photo
The Victory Bell is given to the winning team in the annual Duke vs. North Carolina football game. Currently, the Tar Heels have a five-game winning streak against the Blue Devils dating back to 2018.
STRONGER THAN EVER: Blue Devils claim first-ever national championship in 2010
By Andy Moore V. 106 Sports Editor June 1, 2010
BALTIMORE—Once again, it came down to the last series, the last shot, a game-winning goal.
Unlike the semifnals, there was no game of cat-and-mouse, like when Ned Crotty stood dancing near the goal before finding senior Max Quinzani for the winning score. Instead, defenseman CJ Costabile cleanly won the faceoff to begin the overtime period, barreled down the center of the field with the ball firmly tucked in the netting of his 6-foot stick, and, while never venturing past the vaguely recognizable center hashmarks of the painted-over football field, made it in front of goalie Scott Rodgers.
Stick up. Shot good. Bedlam.
The longstick midfielder, who battled ankle injuries during the regular season and was scoreless entering the NCAA Tournament, had scored on one of the biggest, baddest goalies in the sport. “Everyone thinks about that shot [as a kid],” Costabile said.
“To actually have it come through, it’s fairy-tale stuff.” It was only fitting that a shot worthy of myth would cap off one of the most dramatic five-year stretches for any sports team in history.
it all, the looming specter of the 2006 scandal.
But Monday at Baltimore’s M&T Stadium, there was redemption — Duke won its first ever national championship. On the sidelines were former players Zack Greer and Matt Danowski, reminders — along with fifth-year seniors Crotty, Mike Catalino, Tom Clute, Sam Payton, Steve Schoeffel, Devon Sherwood and Dan Theodoridis — of the program’s tumultuous recent history. All involved were fully aware of the win’s magnitude.
“They were all crying,” head coach John Danowski said. “It meant so much to them. For me, the same thing. It’s been a very emotional time, but a very cool time.... There was so much emotion those first two years... And [they] walked on that field today and [felt] good.”
“To go these five years with the fifth-years this year, it really is amazing,” said Schoeffel, who had two goals in the game. “Those guys, the years ahead of us that didn’t win, they were all just as much a part of this, getting to this point. We won it for the guys on the team this year, but also for the guys in the past.”
They were all crying ... it meant so much to them. For me, the same thing.
First came the canceled season and the questions about the program’s future. Then, the heartbreaking loss in the national title game to Johns Hopkins in 2007, and two more missed chances at the title in the Final Four. And, through
JOHN DANOWSKI DUKE HEAD COACH
But after the game, in the safety of the locker room, the players did not think about the overarching significance. It was time — finally — to celebrate.
“We turned on the music and we danced around that trophy like it was a voodoo doll,” said Quinzani, who signed with Duke even when the program’s future
was in question four years ago. “It was crazy, but that’s just elation.”
The game will go down in the history books as the lowest-scoring title game in NCAA Tournament history. The Irish, eager to stifle the high-powered Duke offense, were able to control the tempo and ensure that every Blue Devil shot had to be earned through bruising defenders and perhaps the nation’s best goalie.
rifled a shot with 1:12 left in the quarter past Wigrizer to bring the two teams to a tie going into the final period.
We won it for the guys on the team this year, but also for the guys in the past.
STEVE SCHOEFFEL
MIDFIELDER
“It wasn’t the game that people saw the other night with Virginia, but we certainly hoped it wouldn’t be,” Notre Dame head coach Kevin Corrigan said. “We didn’t think we would be in good shape in a game like that, but we thought we could win a game like this.”
Duke was able to only muster 13 shots in the first half, while the Irish had 19. Part of this was due to a deliberately sloweddown Notre Dame offense, which limited the number of possessions for both teams and created long stretches of scoreless play — in the second quarter, for example, neither squad scored until there was 1:24 left in the half. The lack of offensive fireworks in the first half didn’t change for Duke when it came out of the locker room with a 3-2 lead.
Notre Dame, however, found a quick spark. The Irish erased their deficit quickly with a diving shot by David Earl that fooled freshman goalie Dan Wigrizer with only 1:19 gone from the clock. Aerial acrobatics by Zach Howell, who would finish with two goals, put the Blue Devils back on top, 4-3, at the 9:30 mark. But the lead proved to be short-lived, as Notre Dame midfielder Zach Brenneman
Coming out of the gate in the fourth, a quick series of shots by Justin Turri, Quinzani and Howell all failed to get by the hulking Rodgers, who finished the game with 15 saves. The Irish took possession, and with 11:56 left in the game, took their first lead since the beginning of the first quarter with a Sean Rogers goal.
Turri quickly tied it up, and neither team could take the lead during the contest’s final eight minutes.
In overtime, it all came down to the first faceoff. Costabile, who was part of a three-man rotation at the X along with Payton and Terrence Molinari, got the nod. He did not fail to deliver.
“[Faceoffs] were a battle throughout the game,” Costabile said. “To come out clean, to get my hands in there and pull it out really quick — the ball popped out in front of me, it was awesome.” Danowski was realistic about the break that Duke got in winning the faceoff, and the quick goal that came from it.
“Winning — it’s awesome,” Danowski said. “But you also know that if the faceoff went the other way, I wouldn’t be sitting here, maybe, and it’d be 6-5. I’ve been around long enough to know that, too. It goes both ways.”
Danowski had been on the wrong end for several years at Duke. But Monday, he, along with the rest of his squad, finally got to see what it’s like on the other end of the draw.
ORANGE CRUSHED: Duke takes home second national championship
By Andrew Beaton V. 108 Sports Editor May 27, 2013
PHILADELPHIA—If it felt like No. 1-seed Syracuse barely had the ball after it nurtured a 5-0 lead against seventh-seeded Duke, it’s because the Orange barely did.
Blue Devil faceoff specialist and tournament most outstanding player Brendan Fowler won 13 consecutive faceoffs in the second through fourth periods, allowing Duke to dominate possession en route to a 16-10 victory and the program’s second national championship.
“I told John [Danowski] after the game to buy his faceoff guy a big steak because he deserved one,” Syracuse head coach John Desko said. “We just couldn’t get the ball in the second half.”
The Blue Devils brought home the trophy for the first time since 2010 after reaching the championship weekend for seven consecutive seasons — all under head coach John
Danowski and since the 2006 season was cancelled amid false allegations of rape.
Although the Blue Devils came out of the gate looking “tight” in the words of Danowski, they went on a 12-1 run in the second through fourth periods to secure a lead and the win.
The Orange built a 4-0 advantage in the first period, even though Duke won 3-of-5 faceoffs. Fowler was 2-for-4 in those while getting whistled for a penalty and adjusting to the style of the referees.
“I let it get to my head a little bit,” Fowler said. “Once I cooled down a little, and just stuck to what I do every day, I got into a groove.”
The junior then won 15-of-16 faceoffs in the second and third periods as the Blue Devils narrowed the gap and eventually took the lead. He finished the game 20-of-28.
“We would say maybe this would be the week Brendan doesn’t win 65 percent of his faceoff and we figure
out how to compete, how to win if he doesn’t,” Danowski said. “That day almost never came.”
Jordan Wolf broke the ice for Duke to make it 5-1 in the second period and scored again with 1:51 left in the half to bring Duke within one at the break, trailing 6-5.
The Orange struggled even more in the third period to gain possession as Fowler won all seven faceoffs in the 15-minute span. Paced by two goals each from seniors Josh Offit and David Lawson in the third period, Duke took a lead it would never relinquish and entered the fourth up 10-7.
The offensive onslaught continued in the fourth, though Duke only won 4-of-10 faceoffs in the quarter while Fowler faced a new adversary.
Senior Orange defender Brian Megill, who leads the team in groundballs and rarely spends time at the faceoff X, had some success pushing Fowler around
and giving Syracuse some much needed possession.
“I just wish I went out there two quarters earlier,” Megill said.
Finishing with two fourthquarter goals, Wolf paced the team with four scores while Josh Dionne and Josh Offit both added hat tricks. The Blue Devils finished the game scoring 10 of the last 13 goals.
In the game, Fowler extended his single-season record for faceoff victories to 339 while also finishing the season second in Division I history with 209 groundballs.
But Fowler was a diamond in the X for Danowski, who said he did not recruit Fowler and that the Chaminade High School product got into Duke “on his own.”
Danowski didn’t meet Fowler, who also plays football at Duke, until August of his freshman year. As a sophomore, Fowler broke his collarbone in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, a 12-9 win against Syracuse.
Chronicle File Photo
The Blue Devils dogpile after claiming their first-ever national championship against Notre Dame.
Chronicle File Photo Duke lacrosse poses with its second national championship trophy in 2013.
Stunning upset leaves Vol-in-tears
By Nick Tylwalk Sports Staff Writer
March 23, 1999
GREENSBORO — From the very first day of the 1998-99 season, Duke women’s basketball coach Gail Goestenkors insisted her team’s ultimate goal was winning a national championship. The players, too, felt they could play with any team in the country.
Not everyone agreed. With Tennessee aiming for its fourth consecutive title and armed with the best player in the land, many observers wondered, could the Blue Devils really beat the Lady Vols?
Wonder no more.
Despite shooting 6-of-25 from the floor in the second half, Duke never trailed after halftime and claimed the East Regional title with a 69-63 victory last night at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Duke (28-6) shot 60 percent from the floor in the first half to stake a 35-24 lead. But Tennessee (31-3) stormed out of the gates to
points to cut the lead to 41-39 with 13:11 remaining.
Tennessee got within a single point three times over the next seven minutes, the last time coming when a 12-foot jumper by Holdsclaw made it 48-47. Duke made just one field goal during that span — and saw leading scorer Michele VanGorp pick up her fourth foul — but never surrendered the lead.
“I knew I never wanted them to have the lead, because I thought the crowd would go crazy and it would give them more confidence,” Goestenkors said. “Every time they came close, we made the tough play, got the rebound, did something we needed to do.”
Schweitzer and Nicole Erickson carried the Duke offense down the stretch, scoring 13 of the team’s last 19 points. Down by as many as nine and forced to foul, the storied careers of Lady Vols’ seniors Holdsclaw and Kellie Jolly came to an end when both fouled out in the last minute.
And Holdsclaw wasn’t the only player in orange to have trouble finding the net. Catchings managed 13 points but hit just five of her 14 attempts, and Tennessee shot 37.7 percent as a team from the floor.
“They did a better job on Chamique and Tamika for the most part,” said Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, whose last loss in the NCAA tournament was in 1995. ‘’They put their quickest and most athletic players on them, made it a lot harder for them to get the ball.”
Compounding the Lady Vols’ woes was their inability to convert from the foul line. After going just 2-for-9 Saturday against Virginia Tech, Tennessee followed up with an 8-for-18 night yesterday. “We had some opportunities,” Summitt said. ‘’We went to the free throw line and we came up short too many times. That really took something out of us.”
Randall was one of the few Lady Vols to find her shot, leading her team with 18 points on 8-of-
Duke also committed just four second-half turnovers, a key to avoiding the transition baskets that symbolize Tennessee’s uptempo attack.
“Our focus was definitely to take care of the ball,” Duke’s Peppi Browne said. “We actually ran some plays so we wouldn’t have to dribble so much — I think we were dribbling a lot in the first half. We just got the ball inbounds, pass, pass, pass to get the ball down the floor.”
As the Blue Devils’ journey goes full circle to San Jose — where Duke’s season began in November — women’s basketball fans face the almost surreal occasion of a Final Four without Tennessee. Though some are already calling yesterday’s game the most stunning upset in NCAA tournament history, one group of people who aren’t shocked are the players and coaches who pulled it off.
‘’We honestly believed if we stuck to the game plan and we
Benches and bonfires: The origins and
and history of a devilish tradition
Jon Scheyer during the 2009-2010 season.
2017 Countdown to Craziness
Jon Scheyer cuts down the nets after winning the 2023-2024 ACC Championship.
The 2015 Duke Men’s Basketball team poses for a photo after winning the national championship.
Above: Christian Laettner
The 2010 Duke Men’s Basketball team celebrates after winning the 2010 ACC Championship.
Former Duke Men’s Basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski cuts down the nets after the team’s national championship victory in 2010.
Former Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski shakes hands with former Indiana Head Coach Bob Knight after breaking his win record of 902 wins.
Above: Duke players celebrate after winning the 2015 Men’s Basketball national championship.
Below: Duke fans hold up “1K” signs after head coach Mike Krzyzewski reached 1000 career wins.
Duke’s student section, the Cameron Crazies, during the 2001-2002 season.
Duke Men’s Basketball presents Former President Barack Obama with a commemorative jersey in 2010.
Duke Softball poses for a photo after advancing to the 2024 super-regionals.
Chelsea Gray drives for a layup against UConn.
Above: Lee Corso kisses a Duke football helmet during College Gameday.
Below: Duke students storm the field after a historic win against No. 9 Clemson in 2023.
2022 Mac Hermann Trophy winner Michelle Cooper advances the ball against UNC in the 2022 ACC Championship final.
Members of the 2014 Duke Men’s Lacrosse team celebrate a goal.
Tewaaraton award finalist Jordan Wolf.
Former Duke pitcher Marcus Stroman winds up.
Above: Duke swimmer Shae Nicolaisen competes in the 400 meter individual medley.
Above: Duke Cross Country runs in the Adidas Invitational.
Duke Outside Hitter Kerry Keefe spikes the ball against Florida International.
Duke wrestling competes in a meet against the University of Virginia.
Duke Women’s Rowing.
A member of the Duke Women’s Fencing team celebrates a victory at the 2019 Duke Invitational.
Graphic by Morgan Chu / The Chronicle
Above: Duke Women’s Golf after winning the 2014 ACC Championship.
Below: Duke Men’s Lacrosse celebrates after winning the 2014 national championship.
Why Duke needs The Chronicle, and why The Chronicle needs you
By Jake Satisky
Volume 115 Editor-in-Chief
June 5, 2019
I remember my first interview as a reporter for The Chronicle like it was yesterday.
For months, as I applied to different colleges and scholarship programs, I sat on one end of the table, answering questions for interview after interview. Now the tables had turned, and I was the one asking the questions to a professor who had just written a book on America in the age of Trump. I stammered through my questions and breathed a huge sigh of relief when I was finished.
Flash forward to this past May, and I’m interviewing none other than President Vincent Price with the ease of a seasoned journalist — or so I’d like to think.
Journalists, and journalism more broadly, for that matter, aren’t perfect. It’s really difficult to get the whole picture, the complete story. It’s easy to mess up somebody’s name, forget a detail, miss the forest for the trees. Student journalism is even messier. With constant turnover, important and complicated stories are written by students learning to be reporters— and just like that, those new reporters become editors, and then maybe they become Editor-
in-Chief with two years of journalism under their belt (@yours.truly).
But that’s why student journalism is so important, especially here at Duke. It’s clean and simple to put out public relations materials, and trust me, this university is overflowing with it. It’s more difficult to do real reporting, but it’s so necessary. In case you haven’t followed, there’s a lot of dirt that Duke just doesn’t want to be dug up.
That’s where The Chronicle comes in. Just this past year, we’ve looked into some shady investments Duke made and the reaction to housekeepers being made to work weekends. We asked who really killed Durham’s light rail, and after the news that a professor warned Chinese students not to speak Chinese became a national scandal, we broke the news that she had done the same thing months before.
Why can we do this? Because we are independent of the University, and we don’t have an agenda. If Duke does something praiseworthy, we’ll report it. In fact, The Chronicle loves publishing feel-good articles, whether it’s about Duke’s sports teams, an incredible student story or groundbreaking research. We want to paint as complete a picture as we can of the University while
giving people the truth—not just what they want to hear.
Don’t worry though: we aren’t normally this self-serious. We rate avocados and profile the dankest food truck in Durham. In our cozy office in 301 Flowers, we watch basketball games, make CookOut runs and host Chronicle formals. I can’t tell you how many thoughtprovoking conversations I’ve had up in the office. And to relax our minds, a group of us even went to Beach Week together this year.
I joined The Chronicle to be a better writer. I stayed because of the family I’ve found here.
Student journalism, whether it’s news, sports, arts, photography or opinion, can be messy and challenging. But it’s also one of the most rewarding activities you can do on campus, even if you’re not interested in journalism as a career — which, newsflash, is true of most Chronicle staffers. And if you do want to go into journalism, there’s no better way to learn than by doing.
I speak for everyone at The Chronicle when I say please help us further our mission to hold Duke accountable and tell its best stories.
Editor’s note: This article was edited and condensed for print.
Administrative bureaucracy threatens a student-oriented university
By The Community Editorial Board March 22, 2022
While we all painstakingly wait for the bi-weekly Qualtrics survey that promises Amazon gift cards, Duke should be involving campus organizations in their administrative decisions. Instead of adulating anonymous, unreliable survey data, administrators should consult those affected by their decisions — namely Duke students. This consultation should include direct conversations between the administration and groups of students who can provide a student-orientated outlook on the problem. Duke University governs by consolidating decision-making power into the hands of a small number of executives. While this small body of bureaucrats may improve efficiency in enacting policy, officials can lose touch with university groups and fall victim to serving large university donors and annual college rankings.
Shouldn’t such well-paid administrators be more beholden to those who are paying for their education? This lack of a studentcentric mindset among the administration has resulted in hypocritical COVID-19 decisions, a hostility towards Greek Life leading to negative community repercussions, the decision to re-invent campus life with QuadEx and the mismanagement of Bryan Center student spaces.
For instance, when students were able to attend basketball games, but not inperson class, what kind of message did this contradiction send to parents and students? Even now, students and professors cannot take full advantage of the traditional Duke classroom experience. Masks prevent proper social interaction and facial expressions are not as easily conveyed. Professors, too, have complained that masks make lecturing more difficult and prevent effective communication and education. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), for example, lifted its mask mandate within classroom settings. If students and professors alike recognize the benefits of going maskless, what is holding Duke back from being consistent with mask policy? Why are administrators making decisions
that don’t reflect the beliefs of the student and faculty body? A conversation between officials, professors, and students would help to align priorities on such an issue.
When seven fraternities disaffiliated from the Duke Interfraternity Council, these fraternities cited a lack of consultation from Duke surrounding changes to their rush process. Furthermore, the administration decided to move these living groups off of West Campus’s main quads, further alienating Greek Life. While this disaffiliation of the fraternities may have been seen as a victory for Duke administrators, particularly Vice Provost Mary Pat McMahon who successfully diminished Greek Life at Tufts, it certainly has had adverse effects.
The shift of social events from oncampus venues to off-campus houses has had unfavorable outcomes within the Durham and Duke communities. Recently, Durham residents attempted to ban fraternities from residential neighborhoods, complaining that the houses were “public nuisances.” Furthermore, separating student social life from the university disconnects fraternities from Duke’s sexual assault prevention safe drinking habit resources.
Greek Life is undoubtedly responsible for unsafe behavior. However, the Duke administration must realize that a significant portion of the student body is involved in Greek organizations and that without a viable alternative to social life on campus, Greek life will continue to exist in the Durham community. Only time will tell whether Duke’s solution to the problem, QuadEx, will successfully revamp campus social life.
The decision to adopt the new residential model called QuadEx in Fall 2021 was shocking to many in the undergraduate student body. The Class of 2025 even matriculated without knowing that they would be the first class to experience the new living system. In this case, the administration only consulted students after the decision had been announced. When “Scan this QR code to share your feedback on QuadEx!” posters began appearing around campus, it seemed almost like an afterthought by the Duke administration. The futile attempt to gather student input
after a major decision had already been made was blatantly ineffective and out of touch, leading to an immediate backlash among freshman and sophomores.
Another example of Duke officials acting without student input was when Vice Provost Mary Pat McMahon’s vacated office was given to the Career Center last semester. Despite “previously promising the space to multiple student groups who have been demanding more space for decades,” administrators seemed to have other plans. This decision was made behind closed doors and without any consultation from underrepresented cultural identity groups, such as Latinx students, Black students and Native American students. The disjointed nature of communication between officials and the student population further exacerbates what seems to be an alarming misalignment of the Duke administration’s priorities and its students’ priorities.
Managing Duke’s student body, workforce and bureaucratic divisions is certainly difficult, and we do not expect the administration to consult every student, professor or employee on decisions. Additionally, we recognize that Duke officials have attempted to receive student input, such as through the town hall that was held on December 9, 2020 pertaining to QuadEx. However, it is important to note that these actions were only conducted after significant decisions had been made, not before or during.
As members of the student body, we expect the Duke administration to actively seek out conversations from the relevant student groups before making decisions that will have overarching implications on campus life. It is important, too, that university leaders speak with a diverse group of students that reflect the values and beliefs held on campus. Administrators who talk to students that simply echo their own personal convictions may only gain a one-sided outlook. By speaking to students directly rather than posting anonymous surveys, Duke will inevitably enact changes to university policy that are representative of student goals – not simply the wills of donors or individual officials.
The Allen Building The second founding
Building Takeover: founding of Duke University
100 years of
art at duke
A BRIEF HISTORY OF RECESS
By Zev van Zanten
For as long as Duke has been Duke, there have been art and art-related activities on campus. And although The Chronicle has documented those stories for 120 years, the way the arts and culture department has looked and functioned has changed over time.
Early Days
On January 7, 1925, The Trinity Chronicle — the precursor to The Duke Chronicle — published a story about a major donation from James B. Duke to Trinity College, the same donation that resulted in Trinity College renaming itself Duke University. Under the headline proclaiming this donation is a short story about the creation of a chapter of Theta Alpha Phi (a national dramatic fraternity) on campus. This is the perfect example of what arts coverage was like during Duke’s early years.
During this time, while The Chronicle kept up with the arts on campus, its coverage was limited to significant events like celebrity visits and performances by campus groups. Rather than being relegated to a particular section of the paper, these stories were presented alongside the rest of The Chronicle’s content, often being given firstpage placement.
Arts coverage would continue to be treated as just one part of The Chronicle’s broader news coverage through the 1970s and for most of 1980. Though the number of stories and their prominence ebbed and flowed between
and within different decades and volumes, arts coverage continued to be a regular part of The Chronicle. This paper regularly had arts editors on staff who were responsible for writing and editing arts stories.
R&R
However, starting in the 1981-1982 school year, The Chronicle’s arts coverage underwent some significant changes. While arts stories would continue to regularly appear in the regular paper — especially when they were of high interest to the student body — entertainment coverage was brought under the purview of a new weekly zine called R&R.
First released on Sept. 10, 1981, R&R was billed as a weekly arts section. Every issue contained a mixture of previews, reviews, interviews and essays on culture, as well as advertisements for local restaurants and shows. Compared to previous arts coverage, R&R was far more substantial, with the standard edition usually containing five or more articles. The content was also more diverse, with news-like stories accompanied by other pieces that would not have previously been found within The Chronicle.
Ultimately, R&R would run for 16 volumes, concluding April 23, 1998. Along the way, it covered everything from the sci-fi film Gattaca to the alternative band The Smashing Pumpkins.
R&R was retired for two main reasons, according to Timothy Millington, Trinity ‘00, who helped replace R&R and served as the second
Recess Editor. The first was that in the summer of 1998, the outgoing and incoming editors felt it was time to revamp the magazine. The second was that over time, R&R had morphed into an indie zine that focused on alternative bands, experimental and arthouse films and other media that wasn’t particularly well-known or popular. As a result, it had acquired a reputation as something so alternative that most of the Duke community didn’t widely read it.
The Rise of Recess
R&R was replaced by a new magazine, Recess, that strove to to make coverage more relatable, fun and oriented towards pop culture instead of alt culture. In the first year, it was run by Adam Winer, Trinity ‘99, and focused primarily on entertainment and art, though with commentary on broader cultural issues. Recess also put together a special edition in December of 1999 that looked back at the most significant cultural touchstones of the decade. Recess would continue to publish print magazines for some years.
Today, Recess is still around. And it is still is responsible for covering all things entertainment. Along the way, it has also become responsible for covering more news-adjacent art stories that were traditionally the perview of other departments. And as The Chronicle overall has changed, Recess has changed with it. First, moved from a magazine to just another department of The Chronicle. Then, as paper went digital, so did Recess.
We’re so excited for another century of coverage on Duke’s arts. We hope you’ll join us.
