DURHAM, N.C. — While Duke students aren’t allowed to attend in-person classes until Jan. 18 at the earliest, another sold-out crowd of 9,314 is expected to pack Cameron Indoor Stadium Tuesday night to watch the No. 2 Blue Devils play basketball.
Such a situation, with COVID-19 cases on the rise again both nationally and locally due to variants like omicron, isn’t sitting well with some on campus.
“Students are incredibly frustrated by this apparent hypocrisy of an educational institution such as Duke prioritizing athletics over an exceptionally expensive education,” Christina Coleman, a graduate student at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, wrote in an email to The News & Observer on Monday.
However, the school is following the policy presented to the students, faculty and staff last Friday when the decision to delay in-person classes was announced.
According to a letter distributed via email and on the school’s website, all school facilities are to remain open.
“Events and activities may continue as originally scheduled at the discretion of the sponsoring department or unit,” the letter stated.
The letter was signed by Duke provost Sally Kornbluth, as well as executive vice provost Jennifer Francis, vice president of administration Kyle Cavanaugh, vice provost for student affairs Mary Pat McMahon and vice provost for undergraduate education Gary Bennett.
Duke tries to mask up, move forward
Last season, before vaccines were widely available, Duke did not allow any spectators to attend men’s or women’s basketball games at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
This season, the school implemented a mandate saying anyone entering Cameron must show proof of vaccination or a negative test result from a sample taken within 72 hours of entry.
In addition, a mask mandate is in effect. Signs are posted throughout the arena reminding of the mask rules. During Duke’s most recent men’s basketball game, on Dec. 22, security personnel monitored adherence and threatened to remove spectators who weren’t following the rule.
The school also added additional guidelines for students to attend upcoming home games, beginning with Tuesday’s 9 p.m. game with Georgia Tech, according to an email sent to students on Monday.
As students are being asked to sequester upon returning to campus until they test negative for COVID-19, they must present a sequester release email, indicating they’ve tested negative in 2022, upon checking in at the Bostock Gate to attend Tuesday’s game.
The alternative is to present proof of a positive COVID-19 test within the last 90 days (on or after Oct. 6) but not within the last 10 days (prior to Dec. 25). Without the sequester release email or that proof of a positive test between Oct. 6 and Dec. 25, the student will not be allowed to attend the game.
Students who clear these additional protocols will receive a wristband from ushers allowing them to proceed with check-in.
Those mitigation strategies, Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski said Monday, have him still of the opinion the school should “definitely have fans.”
Of course, during the same press briefing via Zoom, Krzyzewski said COVID-19 ran through his team over the past two weeks such that ACC games at Clemson (Dec. 29) and Notre Dame (Jan. 1), were postponed. This is despite the team being fully vaccinated and some, like Krzyzewski, also being boosted against COVID-19.
“Who knows where all of this is gonna go?” Krzyzewski said.
More restrictions on the horizon?
Duke’s administration left open the possibility of more restrictions should the latest wave of infections not abate.
“This is an uncertain time for all of us,” last week’s letter said. “We have to make decisions with the best information we have, and that sometimes means quick and potentially disruptive changes.”
Both last month and on Monday, Krzyzewski asked the ACC to implement testing protocols for before and after games to cover all 15 teams. Such rules were in place last season but were not renewed this season.
“It would be good to know if the team that you are playing against has tested,” Krzyzewski said.
For the time being, Krzyzewski said, he may have his team skip the traditional postgame hand-shake line to avoid an interaction that could spread the virus.
Last spring, Duke implemented a vaccine mandate for students, faculty and staff, with certain exceptions. Being vaccinated is a condition of employment at the school. Everyone must also be boosted by the end of January or as soon as they are eligible under federal health guidelines.
A campus-wide mask mandate for indoor spaces remains in place as well.
While spectators are allowed to attend games under those guidelines, the school’s famed practice of students camping out in tents to get basketball tickets to the home game against rival North Carolina, is currently on pause, the Duke Chronicle student newspaper reported, until in-person classes begin later this month.
Some students don’t think basketball attendance should be allowed until that date either.
In the meantime, the school’s administration is asking everyone to work together to get through this latest pandemic challenge.
“For the past two years, the Duke community has demonstrated extraordinary resilience, determination, and a collaborative spirit in the face of many unexpected challenges,” the Dec. 31 letter stated. “We are confident that working together, as a Duke united, we will overcome this latest challenge and have a successful spring semester.”
