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The Chronicle T H E I N D E P E N D E N T D A I LY AT D U K E U N I V E R S I T Y
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2016
WWW.DUKECHRONICLE.COM
ONE HUNDRED AND TWELFTH YEAR, ISSUE 6
DevilsGate looks to ignite football pride on campus Samantha Neal The Chronicle This year’s DevilsGate tailgate aims to improve upon last year’s event and foster a football culture on campus. The Gatekeepers—a group affiliated with Duke Student Government that is responsible for organizing DevilsGate before home football games—have planned to include live music, food and giveaways. The event has been moved to K-Ville from Abele Quadrangle but will continue to emphasize student safety after a 2010 incident when a 14-year-old was found passed out in a porta-potty. “We want to give people the idea that we’re trying to take this to next level,” senior Sophia Khan, co-director of the Gatekeepers, said. “We want to give people a variety of options to come together as a community instead of just drinking. We’re looking forward to revamping football culture.” Saturday’s event is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. and will feature live music from G3—a stage name for senior Gilbert Brooks—as well as food from Jimmy’s Famous Hot Dogs and a tank top giveaway, said Kahn. There will also be vegetarian options. The alcohol policy at DevilsGate will be the same as the Last Day of Classes event, which does not permit more than six individual drinks or hard liquor. “Our number one goal is to make sure students are having fun in an environment that is conducive to safety,” said Moses Wayne, a junior and
Han Kang | The Chronicle The newly-renovated Wallace Wade Stadium now features a new student section located at field level and the Blue Devil Tower, which includes suites and a new media area.
co-director of the Gatekeepers. With the threat of inclement weather from Hurricane Hermine, the first DevilsGate may be called off if the game is delayed or cancelled. That decision will likely be made by athletics administrators, Wayne said. Last year’s DevilsGate featured a concert by pop singer Andy Grammer. Khan said that future tailgates will partner with fraternities to hold service
events, student dance groups and a cappella groups. Khan added that there will be fireworks prior to game time to get students in the stadium and excited for the game. Some of the recent policy changes and renovations to Wallace Wade Stadium will also alter the student experience at Duke football games. Once inside, students will be able to experience the
game up-close from a new field-level student section. “They are the closest stands in the entire stadium to the game action on the field,” Director of Football Marketing Chris Alston said. “It works out well. It gets our loudest fans right down on the field and gives them that ability to make a difference inside the stadium.” And instead of swiping a Duke ID to enter the stadium, students must have a game ticket—which can be obtained at the Duke ticket office throughout the week leading up to a home football game—in order to enter Wallace Wade. Using physical tickets will permit students to use any entrance. “There’s one extra step for students, but it allows a lot more flexibility on game day to enter the stadium quickly,” Alston said. Wayne added that students will no longer be allowed to re-enter Wallace Wade Stadium after leaving, unlike in previous years, and cannot bring bags into the stadium. “I think it’s something that is necessary to do given all of the security risks at larger venues,” Wayne said. “A lot of the things we’re adopting with the football program are things we’ve been doing with Cameron [Indoor Stadium] forever.” Although the renovations to the student section and other parts of the stadium have been completed, the Wallace Wade project will continue over the course of the football season, with some construction still incomplete on See DEVILSGATE on Page 3
BDU president aims to make campus more inclusive Claire Ballentine The Chronicle Amidst the controversy surrounding House Bill 2, which was been widely regarded as discriminatory toward the LGBTQ+ community, The Chronicle spoke with senior Steven Soto, president of Blue Devils United, about his goals for his tenure. The Chronicle: What do you hope to accomplish this year as president? Steven Soto: We had a recent executive meeting and laid out some big ticket items. I think at first we want to see how we as an organization can be not just a welcoming community—I think kind of baseline, if we’re not doing that, we shouldn’t exist—but question more what kind of community are we welcoming people into. I
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hope that we can work with more intersectional groups on campus than has been done historically. So whether that’s partnering with Mi Gente on more events or [Black Student Alliance] on more events, I think that’s really important to make sure that Duke is a safe place where all students can feel welcomed, safe and affirmed.
in order to call in traditionally marginalized groups to BDU. I think by keeping an eye out for groups that traditionally don’t feel safe and then having events where they can feel a community from within the large community is really important. And I don’t think that’s something that has been done well historically in BDU.
TC: What kinds of events do you plan on hosting this year? SS: We are planning to host Jim Obergefell, which is going to be really cool. Jim Obergefell is the name in the [landmark marriage equality case Obergefell v. Hodges]. We’re also holding an event with Mi Gente. Another thing is that we’re doing a better job of kind of picking categories of events. For example, we have specific feminineidentifying, female-presenting events
TC: Do you have plans to make the organization more inclusive? If so, how? SS: I think not just the organization, we also have to make Duke more inclusive. And I think one way to do that is to pick up where the University left off on the president’s task force on bias and hate issues. That’s something that is important to not let fall by the
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INSIDE — News 2 Sports 4 Classified 5 Crossword 5 Opinion 6
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See BDU PRES on Page 3
Serving the University since 1905
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Special to The Chronicle Senior Steven Soto previously served as the vice president for Blue Devils United before becoming president in April.
@dukechronicle
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© 2016 The Chronicle