Tenting is a long-standing tradition for Duke students, lovingly referred to as Cameron Crazies. In hopes of guaranteeing oneself, along with eleven other friends, admission to the Duke-UNC basketball game, 950 students decide to Black Tent. Black Tenting demands two people in the tent during the day and ten at night. Someone who Black Tents is not your everyday Joe Shmo; they are dedicated basketball fans (or extremely good memorizers) who used their game-day knowledge to take an entrance exam among 1800 other students. Those who got a coveted spot in K-ville are now enjoying fragmented sleep, cold nights and a whole bunch of team spirit. It is comforting, however, to be surrounded by other like-minded, over-the-top Cameron Crazies as they sleepily exit their tents at 3 am to the aggressive sound of a tent-check siren.
When I tell people that I am willingingly, if not excitedly, sleeping in a tent for six weeks, I am met with sympathetic “good luck to you’s or “I could never do that.” Not once, though, have I doubted my decision to tent. As I sat in the tent, just feet away from a job fair in Wilson Gym (justifying my lack of attendance to the fact that I am a freshman who would be overshadowed by juniors and seniors) I thought to myself: Can I put tenting on my resume?
Here is a list of the qualities of a great tenter and an even better employee.
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Long-term commitment to a project
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Leadership skills to organize and coordinate individual members’ schedules
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Able to work with a team towards a single goal
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Communication skills to coordinate workplace coverage at all times
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Highly motivated personality to encourage and remind teammates of the positive end goal
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Superior time management abilities to maintain high academic achievement while devoting a significant number of hours to the team project
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Dependability and punctuality for getting to shift on time
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Disciplined to never miss deadlines or random check-ins
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Overall positive addition to the workplace in stressful and cold situations