On Building Benches and Community
“By sitting on this bench, I open myself up to having a conversation with a complete stranger!”
Though Duke was founded in 1838—a relatively young university—campus life is alive and well with a strong sense of tradition. One tradition I have been lucky enough to have already experienced is that of bench building. As you make your way around Duke’s East, Central, and West Campuses, you can’t help but notice the wooden benches; they stick out like sore thumbs. Juxtaposed with the iconic Gothic architecture, the benches look childish—out of place. However, despite the different designs, shapes, and sizes, I believe that the benches play an important role in building community on campus.
My bench-building experience began late in the afternoon. I had just vanquished the notorious Vermonster from Ben & Jerry’s in just over 6 minutes with my aptly named Cream Team. On the way back to my dorm, I noticed a few guys with piles of wooden beams and power tools. Of course, I couldn’t pass up on an opportunity to play with power tools, so I stopped and asked what they were up to. It just so happened that they were building our dorm a 16-foot-long bench—from scratch—and I decided to lend a hand. We worked well into the night, bringing out lamps when it got dark so we could keep building.
Occasionally, passers-by would stop and comment on our progress, complimenting our work. Some dorm mates would come out and help in whatever capacity they were needed, whether that was moving wood, or drilling holes, or making measurements, or power sawing the beams (this, by the way, was my favorite part of the entire endeavor). As the sun began to set and the temperature began to dip, a few dorm mates even made hot chocolate for everyone working on the bench. In retrospect, I believe that in the process of building our dorm bench, we built a sense of community as well.
The raw materials
Blueprints and measuring tape
Coming along nicely
Our bench, as do all of the other benches strewn across campus, serves many purposes. Some students like to do homework on it. Others use it as a place to call their family and friends back home. Still others just sit on the bench to enjoy the day and take in the surroundings. And then you have those chance encounters when you run into a friend or two and just sit to talk for awhile.
Without a doubt, the benches look out of place in our little gothic wonderland. However, they serve as tangible signs of the community we’ve built on campus—a community I am so very blessed and honored to be a part of.
Our finished, albeit unpainted, bench
Here are a few of the other benches you will find around campus: