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Duke is a medium-sized student body on an veritable estate of a campus, located in Durham, North Carolina, an old, tired tobacco town that contrasts dramatically with Duke's image of elitism. Like many colleges, Duke is very much a bubble; life in the "Gothic Wonderland" really couldn't be farther from the real world, but many students are actually politically, environmentally, or socially engaged to an impressive extent. There are enough undergraduates to know half of campus, but still meet new people all the time, which keeps things from getting too stale. The student body is somewhat diverse, but in general it is highly affluent (an alarmingly low percentage on financial aid) and self-segregation is a notorious issue. After the recent lacrosse scandal, the administration has made a lot of ruckus about the "campus culture," and though a lot of policy-making definitely facilitated dialogue surrounding issues of race and gender, the only thing that has really changed is the school's rank. However, morale is back up— it's hard to get down when your team is winning, be it lacrosse, basketball, or biomedical engineering. Duke pride is very powerful thing, and for one to say they go here seems to hold increasing clout in the real world.

Academics are Duke's true selling point, with most departments improving constantly and many boasting some of the world's top scholars in their field. The school sees itself as a "peer" of the Ivies, and its reputation and brain power are certainly moving in that direction. I chose Duke because I was looking for a liberal arts education, yet didn't want to give up the resources and opportunities of a major university. After three years, my academic experience has been phenomenal, thanks to some inspiring professors and genuinely interesting classes in which discussion and participation is emphasized. Though classes can be huge, most professors care about teaching, regardless of their research, and individual attention is not hard to come by: the professor of my 100-person lecture took me out to lunch today, and I did most of the talking.

Duke is not known for having a strong Art History department, but with its distinguished scholars and the recently- opened art museum's impressive programming, it has really become a destination for the arts. As an art history major, it's great to be able to take advantage of on-campus resources like the gothic chapel or an exhibit in the museum. It's also an exciting privilege to be learning from faculty that make you want to go to class. One of my favorite professors told stories of performing with Yoko Ono; I've seen another featured on the National Geographic Channel. The "textbook" I have most enjoyed was a Duke grad student's account of her field work as a stripper. So there is nothing dull or predictable about academics at Duke, and for many students, learning is a lifestyle, quite literally: an engineer I met today lives in a high-tech, green home he helped build. That said, it is widely understood that a Duke degree means a job, and a high-paying one. The focus on making 100 grand the year after graduation seems to dictate the academic choices of many students and intensify the pressure we put on ourselves, with too many smart kids dreaming of futures as Wall Street clones.

Duke's rigorous academics and high tuition attract a population of high achievers; to get here and stay here does take hard work. Many students are from the East Coast, with some Californians and a lot of international students thrown in for good measure. Racial diversity does seem to be greater than the school gets credit for, but socio-economic diversity is more limited and self-segregation— a ubiquitous Duke-ism— creates rather impermeable social boundaries. About forty percent of students join greek organizations their freshman year, and though it creates further social divisions, a lot of people (myself included) credit their frat or sorority membership for their strongest friendships. The stereotypes listed above are visible to various extents, and fraternity brothers rarely fraternize with Asian nerds, but the school is only so big and people generally get to know one another cross-culturally through classes, organizations, and freshman dorms. Individuals tend to be defined by their affiliation, however, and whatever status that entails. More recently, there has been a lot of conversation around what it means to be a woman on Duke's conformity-ridden campus. There is an oft-referenced image of the "Duke girl" parked on a treadmill until she finishes her reading— a telling description of the pressures young women face and the ideal of "effortless perfection" they hold themselves to.

What does lend an atmosphere of diversity to Duke is the broad range of interests and skills among its students, and the passion they have for whatever they do. Having a campus full of go-getters means that start-up businesses, organizations, and publications are common, and there is a lot of activism in a plethora of forms. Politically, the student body seems more conservative than the college population at large (there has been uproar over a too-liberal faculty) but representation is actually pretty balanced, and in my experience is mostly based on geographic background. Since the school newspaper is read universally, students are probably more aware of what goes on at Duke than outside of it, which increases the sense of the "bubble." Even so, everyone is pretty politically and socially informed, with a propensity to discuss election politics or China's economic progress in the same sentence as their drink order.

The pressure of a week in the classroom or the library gives way to a weekend atmosphere of relief, but rather than relax, everyone flips the switch over to party mode and the intensity hardly abates. Duke students eat, sleep and breath the "work hard, play hard" mentality, by which stress becomes a justification to party in rather excessive measure. The social scene revolves most visibly around greek life, as fraternities throw parties at off-campus bars up to five nights a week. The open parties are typically attended by the same core of greek-affiliated students or the independents who are their friends. It's a huge plus that sororities are completely non-residential, which means groups of friends and roommates often encompass people from all walks of greek and independent life, and those who choose not to pledge can— and do— attend greek-sponsored events.

There is not much to do in Durham itself, but students who choose not to participate in the party culture have on hand the university's offerings of movies, plays, musicals, and concerts. Recently, the administration and several student organizations have made an impressive effort to come up with more creative and universally appealing social events— such as swanky cocktail and DJ parties at the library or art museum— with the goal of shifting the "play hard" to "play well." There are also a number of diverse selective living groups that provide a non-greek alternative for social membership and that occasionally throw dry parties.

In January, the most dedicated of basketball fans spent months sleeping outside in K-Ville to gain entry to the biggest games, and the tent city becomes another alternative outlet that fills up before tip-off with inebriated Cameron Crazies. K-Ville appeals mainly to freshman who don't yet realize that sleeping outside will dictate your life and ruin your grades, but it is part of a "freshman experience" that Duke holds dear: All freshmen live together on a separate campus with its own library, dining hall and gym, and first semester social life revolves around "section parties" that frats throw in their dorm rooms. As a result, each class is assumed to bond tightly before being disseminated into the various lives they will lead at Duke.

Several traditional cornerstones of the social calendar are celebrated by the entire campus: Oktober Fest, Old Duke day, and the infamous Last Day of Classes restore a skeptical student body's faith in their administration. LDOC marks the end of the year, and the entire campus turns out for a big-name headliner and an all-day, anything- goes party on the quad. The circulated guidelines typically read as follows: "students must have their own alcohol with them at all times." Other festivals feature international food, charity fundraising and beer on points. Perhaps the most anticipated season of the year is Tailgate, a thrilling culmination of Duke debauchery that often begins at 9 a.m., fueled by vodka shots and dean-dispensed hot dogs, and ends with everyone forgetting about the football game and struggling home in the remnants of their beer-soaked costumes.

Ultimately, the social scene is most often defined in terms of raucous parties, heavy drinking and a widely- accepted "hook-up culture," because these are the elements that best lend themselves to negative attention. The school's interest in intellectual stimulation and healthy socializing together provide innumerable alternatives that enrich student life. But the dionysian revelry is undeniably fun, and all the novelty and excess and stimulation of the place— regardless of what your interests are— create a bona fide collegiate Disneyland.

Northerners think Duke is an old boy's club for croakie-wearing, confederate flag-waving Southerners. Southerners lambast Duke for being a haven of Jersey- and Long Island- born "carpet baggers." State school kids think we're all Asian nerds. And local Durhamites see Duke as a bastion of the tobacco industry that built it, populated by rich white snobs.

They are all extreme examples of subcultures that certainly exist at Duke, but they only define a few? though easily identifiable? sectors of a much more diverse, progressive, and dynamic campus.

Everyone loves Duke, and everyone hates it. The fun to be had here can be overshadowed by an unbearable workload, just as a successful semester can be soured by the intensity of Duke social life. To be a big fish in this sea can take everything you've got, and chances are the person next to you is smarter, wealthier, more well-connected, or can drink you under the table, even if their social skills were stunted by boarding school. If nothing else, we find satisfaction in the fact that it's always so sunny and that that quad is so damn pretty— plus there's a game on and we're probably winning.