Duke threw a carnival during midterms and it was all very confusing

Last Thursday, Duke celebrated the inauguration of the University’s 10th president, Vincent E. Price. Students, faculty, and alumni all participated to honor this special moment.

But let us back up to Wednesday when the festivities actually started.

For everyone’s information, last week was the week before fall break; in other words, it was the last week professor’s could overload students with work under the pretext that students will be rewarded a 5 day vacation soon.

So, many students’ stress levels were peaking, but Duke decided to give them the perfect break: throw a grand carnival in the middle of campus.

I know what you’re thinking: a carnival???

Yes, a carnival. Named “Price Palooza”, the event took place on East Campus Quad, where all the freshmen reside. The carnival was beginning of the celebration of President Price’s inauguration, and Duke went full out.

First of all, there was a gigantic ferris wheel in addition to a few other amusement park rides and inflatables:

A classic photo booth:

And they even gave out t-shirts with President Price’s bitmoji on it.

In addition, they served carnival food, live music, and other activities for the Duke community to engage in together. Might I remind you, however, that this all happened on campus – in the midst of midterms.

On Thursday, we officially congratulated President Price through the Inauguration Ceremony, which took place in front of our beautiful, iconic chapel.

But the confusion returned when we entered The Broadhead Center (West Union), the school dining hall, for a post-ceremony feast.

The food was delicious and students were able to have a classy dining experience in a while, but once again, there were a couple sources of confusion. First of all, there were ice sculptures everywhere:

And I mean everywhere:

Because food isn’t good enough on plates, am I right?

And then there was….cheese:

I really don’t know how I feel about this:

And I understand our school pride for Duke blue, but all lighting was in shades of blue this day and it truly felt like I might be at….

…world!

Overall, it was one of the most confusing experiences I, as a student, have had at Duke. But I’m glad that Duke tries to put a smile on every student’s face even if it takes a carnival and some sculptures made from interesting material. And carnival or not, Duke students are very excited for our new President Price!