Duke TIP at UGA forges its own path

By Gunner Strietzel
M&M staffer

Duke TIP is a program specializing in the education of students excelling intellectually in school and need more of a challenge then they would normally have.

The Summer Studies program is something Duke TIP offers for six weeks during the summer. There are two terms, each one being three weeks long. Duke TIP is hosted on varies college campuses all over the south-west part of the USA. There are currently 10 campuses on which Duke TIP in held, UGA being the newest addition to the Duke TIP program.

UGA, otherwise known as the University of Georgia, is located in Athens Georgia, 73 miles away from Atlanta, the capitol of Georgia. UGA is only for rising 9th, 10th, and 11th graders, so unfortunately no one going into 8th grade is welcomed at UGA for the Duke TIP program. Since UGA is a brand new campus for Duke TIP, there are still some kinks being worked out. One of the main ones is that the dorm rooms are very far away from the classrooms, and it requires a bus to get to where you need to go. Also, when more than three classes try to get on the same bus, the bus is too crowded, and some people have to get off. “It’s way too crowded, and when there’s a lot of people it’s hectic.” Duke TIP is going to try to get classrooms that are closer to the dorm room next year, so it is a lot easier to go to and from class.

Also, the only dining hall open for dinner is quite far from the dorm rooms, so Duke TIP is going to try to get Snelling, the dining hall closest to the dorm, to stay open for dinner next year. Another problem Duke TIP at UGA has is the other camps.

For term 2 the problem is the cheerleading camps. Again, since there is only one dining hall open for dinner, the cheerleaders and Duke TIP both have to use the same dining hall, making seating almost impossible to get. Recently, the people that work there have been reserving seats for Duke TIP, but for some reason the “reserved” seats have been taken by cheerleaders. Some people at Duke TIP have no problem with the cheerleaders, but that is definitely not the case for a lot of the kids.

“I feel that the cheerleaders could be a better influence of UGA,” Alicia said, “especially if they had a better attitude towards other people.” So not only does it make it hard for Duke TIP to eat because there are about 800 cheerleaders, but they are also rude to the camp.

Some people do not care for Duke Tip at UGA, like fourth years Yolanda and Lena.

But, there are advantages to UGA. Things like the food for example. Everyone agrees that the food here is much better than any of the campuses they have been to. All in all UGA has its ups and downs, but in the end the majority of the people are having fun and can’t wait to come back next year.