By Kiersten Neely M&M staffer
Roll out of bed and walk to class. Impersonate your favorite character. Strut the streets in your best toga. Match your best friend. And finally, dress from another decade – wait, why are all the boys in dresses?
Spirit Week, scheduled for the second of Duke TIP’s three weeks, went almost perfectly as planned, according to participants.
Monday created a day of relaxation for TIPsters, allowing everyone to wear their pajamas to class. Students sported long, fuzzy pajama pants and their cartoon-themed T-shirts. Even puppy slippers and hair curlers were seen.
Following Pajama Day was Tuesday’s Character Day, giving TIPsters the opportunity to bring a fictional character to life. Greek gods like Maddy Rollings, a third-year TIPster from Trenton, Ga., pirates like Kelly Castro, a fourth-year TIPster from Miami, Fla., and even the Hamburglar, Hannah Stern, a fourth-year from Albany, Ga., roamed TIP’s campus for the day.
Wednesday, TIPsters found their best toga (or bed sheet) and wore it to the best of their ability for Toga Day. Dustin Abnos, a fourth-year from Kansas City, Mo., flaunted his asparagus green sheet, giving him a “straight-out-of-the-time-machine look” according to Kelly Castro.
Thursday, TIPsters caused double takes from passerby for Twin Day. TIPsters walked beside their mirror images, matching shirts, pants, shoes and more.
Finishing off the week was Decades Day, which intended for TIPsters to choose a decade and live it for the day.
Well, that was the plan, at least.
As more TIPsters piled into Snelling Dining Hall Friday morning, more staff and onlookers realized just how hard it was to look away. Many boys flaunted their bright red lipstick and beautiful gowns, while girls slouched their shoulders and sported aviator sunglasses, keeping their hair held tightly in baseball caps. Not even the staff could control the students’ will and fervor to keep the spirit of Opposite Day alive.
Alex Pagnani, Duke TIP’s On-Site Director, found it no surprise.
“Every year the same thing happens at eight or nine TIP campuses, you know, where they say,
‘Okay, it’s this day,’ and then everybody cross-dresses,” Pagnani said. “I mean, I had staff asking me during orientation a week and a half prior, ‘What are we going to do the day everybody cross-dresses when we tell them not to?’ And I gave them the same answer then that I’ll give staff for next term: Nothing.”
The staff initially expected that Toga Day would be replaced by Opposite Day. However, TIPsters made it a point to respect traditions from campuses, since UGA is a first year site; Toga Day had been a common theme day tradition of the Duke TIP campus at Texas A&M.
“I think it’s incredible how we took it into our own hands to respect Texas’ tradition of Toga Day and sacrifice our Decades Day for Opposite Day,” said Castro. Over half of the camp honored the day with at least one article of the opposite gender’s clothing.
“It was awesome, because we upheld the tradition,” said AnnaMarie Koehler-Shepley, a third-year TIPster from Tampa, Fla. “It wasn’t really weird because it’s just part of how we do things here at TIP. Maybe to the public it seemed a little off, but it was a lot of fun.”
Spirit Week, among many other Duke TIP traditions, is held dearly within the hearts of all TIPsters, as exemplified by their attachment to Opposite Day. As Pagnani said, “It’s not something that TIP’s been able to let go to sleep.”
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