<p>as a visiting parent, I was sort of cranky about the East West thing on Blue Devil days but later discovered that I was wrong–my son didn’t expect to be admitted to Duke so he had not really researched life there very deeply and we were sort of out of touch with what to expect…my son and his friends LOVED their year on East so much…it is so cozy, and you get a chance to bond as a class and to get your bearings plus the amenities (except for the lack of AC in most rooms which means that everyone has their windows open with fans for a few weeks fall and spring) are super. Each East building has some history and has Espirit de corps…my son was on some silly coed team that year for his building…
Also some majors continue to take courses on East…music, history come to mind. So there are some upperclassmen on East in classrooms daily. </p>
<p>I think the Human Scale of the East campus adds to the sense of community. No very tall concrete towers at Duke with elevators like most universities must build. One of the great things about Duke is the campus…yeah…there is a bit of a stampede for getting on the East buses at certain class time hours of each day…so it can be annoying…but the buses are plentiful at peak hours and run on time…Emory also has a split residential campus and it is not so uncommon in a school that teaches 12 thousand grads and undergrads. Considering it is a major research institution, Duke’s East Campus feels like a year at Amherst or some cozy LAC…we are also big fans of the FOCUS program which also gives you a semester that feels like a liberal arts college. Yet you can get involved with research if you are interested in doing so.</p>
<p>Each dorm on East sports a big comic sized bench and they paint them regularly. Weather at Duke is wonderful and you will see people on East enjoying the outdoors and the grounds late in the evenings in good weather.</p>