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Duke Students & Workers in Solidarity Facebook Photos
Duke Students & Workers in Solidarity (DSWS) formed in 2016 in response to grievances from employees in the Parking and Transportation Services department. Students partnered with staff and issued demands, staging “A-Ville” outside the Allen Building, and occupying the administrative building for a week. About their employment experience at Duke, one staff member said, “Although I have managed to survive, many of my beautiful brown coworkers have not.” DSWS’s activism is part of a history of student-employee coalitions around worker issues at Duke. -
Golden Diya (candle)
Diwali, the festival of lights, is celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs. During the holiday, people set out diyas, a type of oil lamp often lit with a cotton wick, to symbolize the victory of light over darkness. Celebrations have previously been put on by the Duke India Association, now known as Duke Diya. Currently, the Hindu Student Association organizes Diwali celebrations on campus, along with other religious holidays and services such as Holi and Hindu Baccalaureate. In 2013, Duke hired its first Hindu Chaplain, Madhu Sharma, to support Hindu Life on campus. Duke Diya has focused on hosting social events for South Asian students and co-hosts celebrations with South Asian and other cultural organizations. -
Hindu Students Association Diwali Flyer
Diwali, the festival of lights, is celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs. During the holiday, people set out diyas, a type of oil lamp often lit with a cotton wick, to symbolize the victory of light over darkness. Celebrations have previously been put on by the Duke India Association, now known as Duke Diya. Currently, the Hindu Student Association organizes Diwali celebrations on campus, along with other religious holidays and services such as Holi and Hindu Baccalaureate. In 2011, Duke hired its first Hindu Chaplain, Usha Rajagopalan, to support Hindu Life on campus. Duke Diya has focused on hosting social events for South Asian students and co-hosts celebrations with South Asian and other cultural organizations. -
Gay Morning Star Newsletter
The Duke Gay Alliance, one of the earliest organizations for queer students at Duke, published the Gay Morning Star once a semester, sharing essays, news, and poetry. Chairman Tom Benson wrote in the 1974 edition that “[w]e need a greater sense of the joyousness that comes in working together among those involved in a uniquely personal, yet collective revolution; an affirmation of love and sexual expression between members of the same, as well as the opposite, gender.” -
Freeman center opening program
The dedication of the Freeman Center in 1999 was a welcome celebration of Jewish Life at Duke. Jewish students have attended the institution since before Trinity College became Duke University, but the Freeman Center is the first physical space dedicated to the Jewish community. Gil Scharf (T'70) originally approached President Brodie about establishing a physical center for Jewish life more than ten years before the eventual construction of the Freeman Center. The Freeman Center now serves as the primary space for Jewish Life at Duke, hosting events and religious services. -
A Guide to Contraception and Abortion
This guide, originally created by medical students in 1970, was revised by two undergraduates in 1974. It directs students to safe abortion care providers at Duke and in Durham, implores students not to self-administer abortions, and explains various contraception methods. The guide was distributed by the Committee on Contraception and Abortion (est. 1970), which was made up of Duke medical students committed to distributing information about safe sexual health options. -
Mary Grace Wilson Celebration Program
This program from the 1970 Woman's College Duke Alumnae Weekend features a dinner honoring the retirement of Dean of Women Mary Grace Wilson. Dean Wilson, who described her tenure at Duke as "a hundred years," was a beloved figure in the Woman's College, counseling hundreds of students and directing campus life activities. Two years after her retirement, the Woman's College would merge with Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, opening West Campus housing to women. Wilson Residence Hall on East Campus is named in her honor. -
Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership Brochure
In 1996, Duke President Nannerl Keohane endorsed the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership Initiative (DDNP), hoping to build a mutually beneficial relationship between Duke and the surrounding community. The Initiative financed a number of programs, including the establishment of Walltown Children's Theatre, educational partnerships with local elementary schools, and renovation of low-income housing. In 2020, the DDNP merged with the Duke Office of Durham and Community Affairs, which now maintains Duke’s relationships with DDNP neighborhoods. -
Burch Avenue Community Garden
In 1996, Duke President Nannerl Keohane endorsed the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership Initiative (DDNP), hoping to build a mutually beneficial relationship between Duke and the surrounding community. The Initiative financed a number of programs, including the establishment of Walltown Children's Theatre, educational partnerships with local elementary schools, and renovation of low-income housing. In 2020, the DDNP merged with the Duke Office of Durham and Community Affairs, which now maintains Duke’s relationships with DDNP neighborhoods. -
Board of Trustees Pens
On December 29, 1924, the Trinity College Board of Trustees used these pens to change the name from Trinity College to Duke University. The trustees changed the name to Duke after tobacco and energy industrialist James Buchanan (J. B.) Duke established the Duke Endowment with a gift of $40 million to provide ongoing support for four Southern universities (Duke, Furman, Johnson C. Smith, and Davidson), non-profit hospitals in the Carolinas, child well-being, and rural United Methodist churches. Funds from the Endowment enabled the construction of Duke University, named after Duke’s father, Washington Duke. After J. B. Duke’s death in 1925, he left the Endowment an additional $67 million. -
"The Duke that Nan Built" Timeline, Towerview Magazine (April 2004)
This retrospective, published in Towerview magazine in 2004, records some of the highlights of Nannerl Keohane's tenure as university president. Keohane was the first woman to serve as Duke President. Note the changes from Keohane's presidency that endure today, including the 1995 designation of East Campus residence halls as first-year housing and the 2001 founding of the Robertson Scholars program. -
Duke Dimensions: A Magazine for Undergraduates
In her editor's note, Kimberly J. Jenkins (T’76, M.E.’77, Ph.D.’80) wrote, "DIMENSIONS is a publication designed to provide important financial information to those who invest in Duke University. Since undergraduate students constitute a large group of 'shareholders,' this publication focuses on issues most directly related to student concerns." Because tuition and university financial decisions determine a large part of the student experience, students often want to know how Duke distributes its money. In the context of Duke’s financial strains in the 1980s, investments in athletics, new building construction, and declining department funding were main concerns for students. -
Edens Special Announcement
University President A. Hollis Edens (President from 1949 to 1960) sent this letter to Duke faculty the day before he announced his resignation. Paul M. Gross, Vice President of the Division of Education, drafted a proposal to increase the scope of his own role, allowing him to promote Duke’s national standing. The secrecy of the proposal’s creation created tension between Gross and President A. Hollis Edens. As a result, Edens resigned, and Gross resigned shortly thereafter. The Gross-Edens affair resulted in administrative restructuring to ensure a clear designation of responsibilities. One result was the creation of the Office of the Provost, chief academic officer. Duke’s decision to create the position followed peers, such as Brown University, Cornell University, Johns Hopkins, MIT, and Yale University. There have been 12 provosts in Duke’s history. Duke’s current provost is Alec Gallimore, who began on July 1, 2023. -
Charley's Final Peal
“Charley,” the bell that now hangs in the Kilgo belfry, was brought to Duke by the Red Friars, Duke’s first and best-known “secret society.” The Red Friars were founded in 1913 for the purpose of producing “better feeling between the different collegiate societies,” according to The Chronicle. Usually composed of leaders of fraternities and student organizations, they engaged in a number of campus improvement projects, including an attempt to reform residential life. The bell was hoisted into the Kilgo belfry in 1951, where the Friars would ring it for ceremonies. The Red Friars chose to disband in 1971. -
Kilgo Clapper
“Charley,” the bell that now hangs in the Kilgo belfry, was brought to Duke by the Red Friars, Duke’s first and best-known “secret society.” The Red Friars were founded in 1913 for the purpose of producing “better feeling between the different collegiate societies,” according to The Chronicle. Usually composed of leaders of fraternities and student organizations, they engaged in a number of campus improvement projects, including an attempt to reform residential life. The bell was hoisted into the Kilgo belfry in 1951, where the Friars would ring it for ceremonies. The Red Friars chose to disband in 1971. -
1949 Bus Boycott Photograph
When Duke Power, the campus bus provider at the time, increased bus fares by 5 cents, students erupted in protest, declaring “Shoe Leather Day,” a campus-wide boycott of buses. In one of the earliest instances of activism at Duke, students walked and carpooled between East Campus and West Campus. A 1993 article would later write that “the nation knew of students roller-skating, using pogo-sticks, and riding in the cars of faculty members.” Buses ran empty as the protest stretched from a day to a week. Ultimately, the protest was unsuccessful and Duke Power maintained the fares. -
Roller Skate
When Duke Power, the campus bus provider at the time, increased bus fares by 5 cents, students erupted in protest, declaring “Shoe Leather Day,” a campus-wide boycott of buses. In one of the earliest instances of activism at Duke, students walked and carpooled between East Campus and West Campus. A 1993 article would later write that “the nation knew of students roller-skating, using pogo-sticks, and riding in the cars of faculty members.” Buses ran empty as the protest stretched from a day to a week. Ultimately, the protest was unsuccessful and Duke Power maintained the fares. -
Bus Boycott Newspaper
When Duke Power, the campus bus provider at the time, increased bus fares by 5 cents, students erupted in protest, declaring “Shoe Leather Day,” a campus-wide boycott of buses. In one of the earliest instances of activism at Duke, students walked and carpooled between East Campus and West Campus. A 1993 article would later write that “the nation knew of students roller-skating, using pogo-sticks, and riding in the cars of faculty members.” Buses ran empty as the protest stretched from a day to a week. Ultimately, the protest was unsuccessful and Duke Power maintained the fares. -
Wartime Menu
This wartime menu depicts Duke dining choices for students during World War II. Rationing of items such as meat, sugar, butter, and canned goods was common. Unemployment during this time was high, while prices and wages were low. A filet mignon steak worth 50 cents would amount to $9.33 in 2024. Specials include the “co-ed special,” a peanut butter, jelly, and lettuce sandwich. -
Trowels
These trowels belonged to stonemason Pete Ferettini and were used for the construction of West Campus in the late 1920s. At that time, all stone was delivered to campus by train from a quarry in Hillsborough and cut by hand. Chisel marks can still be seen on some buildings. James B. Duke's death in October 1925 meant that he never saw the “new” campus realized. His only daughter, Doris Duke, symbolically laid the cornerstone on June 5, 1928, on the family’s behalf. Descendants of the Duke family have remained engaged and generous supporters of the university, and have served as trustees for Duke University and the Duke Endowment.
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