I’m getting ready to get on a plane from Boston to take my S21 to Philly, DC, Richmond and Durham to see colleges for the weekend. Most interested in seeing Duke since students are on campus and he is considering an ED app. Website says no visitors allowed on campus, but is it possible to walk around outside and see the buildings and grounds? Of course we will be masked and keep social distance. It looks like there’s more than one entrance but I just want to be sure that we won’t be turned away by security. Thank you!
The Duke campus covers a huge swath of Durham. There are a couple of gates to control traffic flow, but there are plenty of roads in/out of main campus. Consider taking the back way in through Erwin and then parking near the Hospital. Doubt they would block off access to the hospital. From there you could walk around. The campus is huge though, so it will take quite some time to walk. you might be better off driving around.
You really should not entertain this idea at all. Colleges have implemented procedures to protect their students and teachers and it is really not appropriate to violate those procedures. If they have rules that indicate respect them and stay off campus. What kind of example are you setting for your son?
My brother works at Duke. He has said that the university is very serious about enforcing restrictions (even Duke Gardens are closed).
FWIW I agree that visiting campuses that are specifically closed to visitors is not a good plan. Especially right now with students just returning to campus. Parents are even being restricted at move in.
I see the point of the other posters and would agree. Walking around the campus is probably not a good idea.
But as I mentioned above, you could easily drive around the campus without getting out of the car and see a lot. This wouldn’t pose a risk to anyone, and you would still be able to see things.
I haven’t been to Duke since the semester started, but I and/or my son was on campus several times during the summer and there was no problem walking around campus. I’ve been on campus or driven streets adjacent to about a half-dozen college campuses in two states over the past two weeks and haven’t noticed any physical barriers to keep people off any of those campuses specifically because of C19 topic.
Unlike, say Wake Forest, Duke is a sprawling campus with literally thousands of points of entry. You can park on a city street and simply walk on campus from almost anywhere. And Duke Hospital is essentially a public building (it’s a hospital) and it’s on campus. So, if all else fails (and it won’t fail) walk beside the hospital and keep going.
It may be difficult to get in many of the buildings because many buildings on many campuses require a university id card to unlock the electronic locks on the doors. But walking around and seeing the exteriors shouldn’t be difficult.
Thank you very much for the responses. We will stay in our car and just drive around!