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Nominations are now being accepted for the Class of 2019 Duke Common Experience. As a piece of the coming changes to Orientation this summer, we have decided to enhance our Summer Reading program. While we will still have a book the incoming class will read, there will be a variety of programs connected to the book both during the summer and over the course of the fall semester. These will include:

• ​Virtual content sharing of key themes and ideas over the summer months
• Connection with Alumni Affairs in reading the selection
• Speakers and programs during the year connected to the selection
• One over-arching theme that connects the selection to programs here at Duke during the year

However, the biggest change is the format for hosting the author and discussion about the book and what we seek to do over the summer.

October is one of the hardest months of the fall semester, especially for freshmen. Up until midterms, the first few weeks of class are a time for settling in, meeting new people, and trying out new clubs at Duke. After about a month of wavering between friend groups and activities, many freshmen start to wear out and become frustrated with their experience. Around this same time, they are taking their first midterms and writing their first papers, adding to the overall stress of feeling uncomfortable here.

As a junior I thought I was prepared for the upcoming school year, especially in my role as a second year RA on East Campus. I expected my life to be relatively similar to my sophomore year in Bell Tower, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the changes that have come with a new RA team in Blackwell this year. Not only do I have 34 new freshmen in my hallway, but I also have five new RA’s who have become my residence life family.

Duke Dining locations recognized for sustainability efforts!

It isn't uncommon for Fares Hanna, the owner of Twinnie's and Blue Express eateries on campus, to spend time researching user-friendly, compostable to-go containers or rearranging his kitchens to accommodate reusable china and silverware.

Both locations were just crowned "Most Improved" in the Green Dining Awards, which highlights Duke eateries and their sustainable practices every year, since 2010.

Read more.

By the end of freshman year most students have come to love East Campus.  Frankly, I still miss East in a lot of ways.  I miss knowing that almost everyone on the quad was a member of my class.  I wish that I could still count on the fact that it was more likely than not that I would run into someone I knew when getting breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  I will always think that Brodeie is way better than Wilson, and I will feel a stronger affiliation to Southgate than any other place I’ve lived on campus.  For me, East Campus means community.  There is an overwhelming sense that the people you are living with get you.  Everyone comes into freshman year vulnerable, and looking for a sense of belonging.  The East Campus community was deliberately designed to foster that very sense of belonging, and was directly tied to where you live.

http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2013/11/08/how-duke-does-dining?utm_source=Duke+Chronicle+Newsletter&utm_campaign=d7ebcf189a-Duke+Chronicle+Daily+Newsletter+2013-11-08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c4087a59c7-d7ebcf189a-41702061

I must have been asked at least a hundred times so far, “So Casey, why did you come to Duke?”  And my answer is always the same. I tell the story of being on the wait-list and receiving a surprising phone call from the admissions office. I wish I could finish the story by telling people I jumped with glee at the exciting news, but the truth is I had already decided to go to Drexel.  Although I wasn’t overly anxious to live in Philadelphia, I wanted the process of choosing a college to be over. I was also upset that Duke hadn’t accepted me sooner than mid-May. But no matter how sour I was over my college decision, I just couldn’t say no to Duke University.

Shortly after the World Trade Center complex was completed, acrobat Philippe Petit tight-roped across the gap between the two buildings, a quarter mile above the New York City streets.

Duke Dining made it to the Food Network Cooking Channel's "Best College Eats Bracket Battle!" Check out the article, fill out your bracket and vote for Duke Dining's Greek Devil Gyro from the Greek Devil Food Cart! Vote for Greek Devil Food Cart HERE!

This blog was written by Laura Neubauer ('13).