I used to kick myself for not working harder in high school. I thought that if I had gotten better grades and test scores, I might have gotten into a place like Duke University.
Well, a couple of weeks ago, I visited Duke's campus in Durham, North Carolina. Wow.
I started kicking myself even harder.
It's certainly not a big campus, but the buildings look like they were pulled right out of Architectural Digest.
I stood in front of one of Duke's dormitory buildings and tried to picture LaFollette Complex. It was like comparing a garbage dumpster with the Sistine Chapel.
And speaking of chapels, the Duke Chapel - in the middle of campus - is so beautiful it attracts out-of-state tourists.
I'm kicking even harder now.
It just so happened that the same day I was visiting the campus, Duke's storied basketball team was heading to Atlanta for the match up with Louisiana State University in an attempt to reach the Elite Eight. Of course, the Duke basketball team isn't any ordinary team: It is one of the most famous college basketball teams in history.
More kicking.
I was one of about 12 people who were enduring a nasty cold drizzle waiting for the Blue Devils to hop onto their luxury-equipped charter bus - a bus that would take them all of 20 minutes to the airport where they would board their chartered private plane en route to Atlanta.
I stood with a ten-year-old boy, Toby, who was appropriately dressed. He waited patiently with the hood of his grey Duke sweatshirt covering his blonde mop of hair, while holding a blue sharpie in his left hand and a Duke Blue Devils hat in the other.
Toby wasn't there for just anyone's autograph, though. He was waiting for JJ Redick, The Associated Press' player of the year.
Player after player walked out, none of whom were all that appealing to Toby. In truth, I don't think he even knew anyone but Redick.
Finally, Redick emerged, making his way to the bus. For a guy who is idolized by half of America's youth, he's really quite normal looking. I probably couldn't pick him out from any other dorky-looking Duke student.
Toby, eager for an autograph, sprinted up to Redick and asked him to sign the hat.
Redick glanced down, gave Toby a half-hearted smile and said, "I can't sign any right now, sorry."
Then a team manager thrust himself in between Toby and his hero, so Redick could continue his walk along the red carpet up to his chariot.
Disappointing.
I'm kicking myself a little less now.
But that's not the only black eye that Duke's gotten in the last couple of weeks. In fact, if that's a black eye, then this next incident is like a shattered femur, a hernia, a punctured lung and a bloody nose all in one.
The Duke men's lacrosse team is under investigation for the raping and beating of a black female. The alleged victim, a student at nearby North Carolina Central University, told police she was taken into a bathroom, beaten, choked and raped by three men at a March 13 party.
Investigators have tested the members of the lacrosse team, hoping to use DNA identification to find those who were actually involved.
I'm no longer kicking myself.
To get into Duke, it takes about a 1400 on your SATs, according to collegeboard.com - not to mention a great high school grade point average and a hefty list of community service activities. But how stupid do you have to be to gang rape someone?
After years of wishing I'd worked harder, I can now say that the last school I'd like to be at is Duke University.
I guess SAT scores don't measure kindness and common sense.
Write to Patrick at pbwilkeskrie@bsu.edu
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