Blog

Thank you Rubens for agreeing on being our featured student for the month! As a Karsh Scholar I have been able to appreciate your openness to new students and willingness to help everyone and before you leave I want to share your story with everyone!

Families can play a critical role in the health and well-being of their college students. Your wisdom, guidance, and relationships help inform students’ decisions throughout college. We believe that parental conversations about alcohol, in particular, contribute to increased student safety, student ownership of their actions, and healthier and more positive experiences in college. 

Parent and Family Programs and DuWell (Duke’s health promotion and wellness unit) developed the following video to spark conversations about alcohol use and social decision-making before your student arrives to Duke: https://youtu.be/kPd3vfKpzjM. 

We suggest addressing the following in your conversations with your student:

Dear Duke Class of 2023 Parent,

We are excited to welcome you and your student to Duke. While you may feel both excited and anxious, we want to share some information that may help put your mind at ease. 

• The safety of students involves many people working together: parents, students, the campus police, Student Affairs, Office of Institutional Equity, Transportation, faculty and staff, etc.  We all have a role.
• Duke has a low level of crime and serious crime is rare.  Theft of unattended items is the most common crime on campus.         

Messages to share with your student:

Duke Families,

Welcome to the Duke community! We are incredibly excited for the incoming Class of 2023 and having you as part of our community! Each year we are thrilled to welcome your sons and daughters to Duke University; their energy and passion inspires our community. Much of our newsletter information will be shared on our social media platforms; however, we do encourage you to read each edition for additional insights, context, and official University response.

The island of Mauritius, part of the Mascarene Islands, is just east of Madagascar, southeast of Seychelles, and northeast of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. The areas of the country id 790 square miles, 1200 miles off the southeast coast of Africa.

Mauritius was a British colony from 1810 till 1968 when it achieved independence, it was also previously colonized by the Dutch and French. The largest city of the island and also the capital is Port Louis.

The island of Mauritius, part of the Mascarene Islands, is just east of Madagascar, southeast of Seychelles, and northeast of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. The areas of the country id 790 square miles, 1200 miles off the southeast coast of Africa.

Mauritius was a British colony from 1810 till 1968 when it achieved independence, it was also previously colonized by the Dutch and French. The largest city of the island and also the capital is Port Louis.

During the final weekend of March, the Division of Student Affairs hosted their spring semester Duke Parents Advisory Council (DPAC) meeting.  Friday evening approximately 25 families and their students joined us at the Washington-Duke Inn for an opening reception, highlighted by welcoming remarks by the Pratt School of Engineering's, Dean Bellamkonda. He shared his appreciation for the volunteer role our parents and families play in providing feedback on critical student issues.

Narrator: You are listening to the Duke University Parent and Family Programs podcast.

Maggie: Hello, this is Maggie Peterson from the Office of Parent and Family Programs at Duke University. We are here today with Tatum Riley. Thank you for being here to chat with us today, Tatum! Could you please start by telling us your hometown, major, and class year at Duke? 

Tatum: Hi! I’m from Phoenix, Arizona. Currently I’m decided that I am probably going to major in public policy and psychology. I’m going to do an interdepartmental major, and I am a freshman at Duke—class of 2022.

Maggie: Great, thanks! So today I’d love to chat about your reflections on your first year at Duke. Let’s start by talking about move-in day. So when you moved into your dorm in August, what emotions did you experience?

Chile is a South American country occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far south. Southern Chile is rich in forests and grazing lands, and features a string of volcanoes and lakes.

This week let’s explore the country where you can ski in the morning and swim in the afternoon of the same day!

Lebanon is located in the rocky area of West Asia known as the Levant, surrounded by Syria and Israel. The country is divided in 4 main geographical regions with the capital city located in Beirut. The other famous cities are Tripoli in the north and Tyre in the south. The name Lebanon means “white” in Phoenician, referring to the snowy mountains.