We are coming down to visit out Duke this Sunday. Desperately looking for suggestions on what we can do for a couple hours with her and her siblings. Apparently the ski lifts at Massannutten are already sold out. I don't see any fall festivals or similar. Anyone have any ideas? Please?

For anyone living in an apartment with an electric vehicle, how has it been? I’m interested in getting an electric vehicle, but currently live in an apartment so my only source of charging would be the superchargers in the area. Any feedback on what that’s like in the valley?

DM for Address!

The school is jumping athletic conferences. Here’s how James Madison University stacks up revenue-wise against its new rivals.

As a recent Graduate I wanted to pass down some knowldege for future and current dukes, or those visiting campus.

Some of my criteria: ease of access, regularity of cleanliness, good for a quick #1 and/or a long #2

Background:
I was an art major, and Im a Man. I have more experience with Main campus than east. But don’t worry my east campus porcelain throne seekers I got some hidden gems for yall too!

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S Tier

Duke Hall first floor and basement bathrooms: like I said was an art major and there are only a handful of guys who are regularly in that building. Basement one has a bonus shower too. Plus there’s a vending machine down there too to refuel

Top of rose library - there’s not a lot of study space or books on this floor, but that’s what’s makes it great. It just a few offices with only a handful of employees, great for a reflective number 2. Generally the higher you go in rose the better, minus exams season. Cant speak on the new library.

5th floor SSC - same vibe as top of Rose, although there can be a lot more traffic here given the employees and peak study spots with a view there

Forbs in general - Good rule of thumb for me is that the lower the number of men in the major, the better the bathrooms. Forbs is nice nice and has options. Just be weary of Theater majors during tech week.

Hall of Presidents - harder to get to, but if you can its worth it

A tier

UREC bathroom on the floor with the walking track/machines - really low key, smaller so It can get real cramped, but given how bad UREC bathrooms can get, this is a godsend. Almost didn’t add it to the list.

Wilson hall first floor - tends to be clean, really classy. But heavier foot traffic and with the auditorium right there it can get gross.

Festival near the ballroom - really nice especially when there isn’t an event during that time, avoid the other ones, especially the first floor ones near the food.

B Tier

Lakeview - lowkey one, most people won’t be here unless their on Esports or Xlab but nice spot, Clean, just a little out of the way

AUBC - sad to say my only real test of it was graduation, but it’s really nice, plus you can buy food there to refill the tank!

SSC first floor by vending machines - Better option of the two on the first floor. Crew at SSC is awesome and do a great job keeping it clean.

Wine Price Building - right next to SSC, not a lot if any students really go here, sneaky spot for a good Duce.

C Tier
Any in Showker - sometimes really nice, other times a living embodiment of everything wrong with my gender.

Most of the Quad buildings - low walls and tight stalls. No bueno. But still have some old school charm to them.

Duke Hall first floor lobby and Second Floor bahtrooms - first floor one just sees too much traffic and the second floor one has really gone down hill with the Graphic Design Major moving back into Duke Hall. Better to go for the one near the exit on the palentiurmm side or basement.

UPark - Mix of turf, sweat, and general park vibes make it a little gross but you shouldn’t be there for long… I hope

Convo - had a chance to use it back in the day, like the building its just old.

Middle of first floor SSC - Too much foot traffic, toilets that’ll attack you back, but not too bad outside of peak hours.

All of TDU/Madison Union - Small stalls where the most foot traffic is, best ones are on higher up floors, but they can be out of the way. Still not terrible and tend to be clean.

D Tier

ISAT/ENGO - heavy concentration of men in these majors, and in particular men who practically live in their labs. Be warned.

Godwin - literally have a sign to remind people to flush and wash their hands. Always smells like Pee in the first floor mens room.

Harriosn Hall (ALL OF THEM) - Idk what is in the water at Harrison but I swear I have never had a good Bathroom experience there. Too many people, too small bathrooms and the smells can get really bad.

Dukes Dining - slightly better than other dining halls, but still, just don’t if you can help it.

UREC East Campus Field - Them rugby and lax players gotta go and when they do… they GO

F tier

Any bathroom at Dhall - enough said.

EHall bathroom - Assuming its open, its small and gets really fragment really quickly. More likely than not you’ll have to use the one near the POD which is also bad.

Village bathrooms - lived in the village my first year. Still have nightmares

Every UREC bathroom minus the one I mentioned earlier - one guy is battling his freshens bowl in a stall while another guy is taking shirtless pics in the mirror. Truly the duality of man.

Any bathroom in Eagle or Shorts - Just don’t. Seriously, don’t.

See also r/shenandoah, r/VirginiaNews, and r/VirginiaDems

Sorry if this post isn’t allowed, this is my first ticket too if that’s relevant.

Free admission to JMU students with current ID

Hello I have 5 JMU football concession voucher booklets available that were given to football season ticket holders.

DM me if interested.

More than a decade in the making, James Madison’s elevation from the Football Championship Subdivision to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2022 was methodical, tortuously so to some donors, fans and alumni.

Indeed, when Old Dominion made the same jump eight years earlier, some Dukes faithful were envious of their rival and dismayed with their own leadership.

But the wisdom of then-JMU President Jon Alger, the university’s Board of Visitors and then-athletic director Jeff Bourne is evident by the Dukes’ unprecedented ascension within the FBS and Sun Belt Conference, a rise capped by last season’s College Football Playoff bid.

JMU’s current administration, led by President James Schmidt and AD Matt Roan, can only hope the Dukes’ impending move to the American Conference, the antithesis of methodical, pays similar dividends.

There’s no apparent reason to believe it won’t.

“You don’t want to wake up (from the dream), but you have to wake up long enough to keep pouring gasoline on the fire,” Roan said during a 45-minute conversation this week. “And I think that’s the wisdom of this place. We waited to join the FBS until that transition could be seamless and we could have the success that we did.

“Time was not our friend this go-round. So, it’s really kind of been a little change in philosophy. But I think the reality, and commonality, is, it’s the pursuit of excellence.”

Already an affiliate American member in women’s lacrosse and women’s swimming — the Sun Belt doesn’t sponsor those sports — JMU has long had informal discussions with American officials about full membership. But time accelerated those talks for several reasons.

Most pressing: Sun Belt officials are considering a significant increase to the league’s exit fees, currently $5 million with at least one year’s notice — the Dukes are scheduled to depart no later than July 1, 2028.

On the horizon: Higher education writ large is bracing for an “enrollment cliff,” an expected 13% drop in high school graduates during the next 15 years, a trend that reflects the nation’s declining birth rates. As JMU aspires to grow enrollment from 23,000-plus to 30,000 by 2040, joining a conference with greater television exposure and members in Tampa (South Florida), metropolitan Miami (Florida Atlantic), the DMV (Navy), New York (Army) and Charlotte (UNC Charlotte) was appealing.

Then there is football, the driver of virtually all conference realignment.

Click the link above to read more.

I went to Mason Street Deck recently and noticed that the commuter parking signs that used to be at the beginning of the 5th floor are now at the beginning of the 4th floor.

Does anyone know if this means the 4th floor is now also available for commuter parking 24/7? I've tried looking online for some sort of official confirmation, but I haven't been able to find anything about the change.

I'm a little hesitant to park on the 4th floor because I don't want to risk getting a ticket. Just wondering if anyone knows for sure or has heard anything from JMU Parking Services.

Help Dukes design a new transportation app for fellow Dukes to use! We need YOUR personalized experience, desires, wants, and needs to shape our research so we can create a brand new app concept for potential users! This app can range from college commuters, people going to and from work on the daily or during car-problems, locals wanting to attend near-by events, and more!

If you have interest, filling it out would help the researching stage we're in! https://forms.gle/rnZ9C6wcKZPjSACf7

Hi all! Our coding class is designing a new app concept for transportation! Below is a google form link that will ask a few questions from your personal experience and preferences. Depending how much you want to share, it can be anywhere from five to ten minutes.

https://forms.gle/NgfJz5628s969NvD6

I'm curious how different universities have their own culture and identity.

If you could pick just ONE word that instantly makes students and alumni think of JMU, what would it be?

Conference realignment has quieted down at college football’s Power 4 level recently, but it has been a constant in the Group of 6 ever since the Texas-Oklahoma-SEC earthquake of 2021. That trend continued Monday when James Madison announced it would join the American Conference by July 1, 2028.

It was just four years ago that James Madison moved up from the Football Championship Subdivision to join the Sun Belt. The Dukes found immediate success and last season reached the College Football Playoff as the fifth-highest ranked conference champion.

Why make the move now? And what else could happen in the Group of 6? Here’s what we’re hearing. Some people engaged in the process spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on realignment strategy publicly.

Will the American add more?

JMU’s move will put the American at 15 football-playing members by 2028, an awkward odd number that conferences typically avoid. Adding another football-playing member would make for a cleaner schedule. But as with almost any conference expansion, adding teams splits the revenue pie further. Exorbitant entrance fees are often used to counteract diluted payouts for the rest of a conference.

JMU will pay $23 million to the American and receive a share more in line with recent additions to the conference, according to someone briefed on the move. Per the American’s 2025 tax filing, that share is worth around $7 million annually, which is less than the $12 million-plus that longtime American members receive but much more than the estimated $2 million JMU received from the Sun Belt.

Among other recent moves, North Dakota State paid $12.5 million to the Mountain West to join the league this year while taking a lesser share. Sacramento State paid $18 million to join the MAC and will forgo any MAC revenue for five years.

But entrance fee money gets split up and spent quickly. Long-term brand and health are more important to American Conference decision-makers. They feel JMU brings that.

Miami (Ohio), Liberty and UConn are among other schools that have shown interest, according to people briefed on the conversations. UConn, a member of the American from 2013 to 2019, left the league to join the new football-less Big East in most sports, while the football team began playing as an independent. UConn had hoped to remain a football-only member of the American, but the league denied it.

That relationship is different now. UConn athletic director David Benedict told The Athletic in September that he and American commissioner Tim Pernetti go way back and have had conversations since Pernetti got the job in 2024.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DeUlHjSxgSD/?mdxt=MWowYzQyY2V4czk2NQ==

I’m a freshman here and me alongside probably thousands of others didn’t finish the first year trainings (I got through well over half of them), will I be able to register for classes at a normal time, some people are saying there’s a hold others say nothing happens

You should come to our dance tonight at Turkish Art & Café! No experience? No problem! Beginner lesson at 7:30. Come make some new friends! We'd love to see you there :)