Duke University and The White Lotus

Duke University may have serious reservations about its depiction in the latest season of HBO's hit series, *The White Lotus*, but the reaction among its student body tells a different story.

The Ratliff Family and the Rivalry

In the season three premiere, viewers were introduced to the Ratliff family, a fictional portrayal of North Carolinians embroiled in a bitter rivalry reminiscent of the age-old competition between Duke and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). The show's matriarch, Victoria Ratliff, embodied this tension when she mentioned her family's divided allegiance over their college choices, stating, “I was also a [UNC] Tar Heel, but [husband] Timothy went to Duke. [Son] Saxon graduated Duke. [Son] Lachlan, our youngest, just got accepted to both. So, you can imagine it’s a whole thing.” For students like Nayeli Chowdhury, a doctoral physical therapy student at Duke, the show's portrayal conjured excitement rather than outrage. “There was definitely a level of excitement with my friends when Duke was mentioned,