Love Over Rivalry: Aaron Kirschenfeld and Deb Boxill
Aaron Kirschenfeld '07, a former Blue Devil mascot, and Deb Boxill, a UNC alumna, are engaged to be married
What degrees did you earn from your respective universities?
Aaron: I majored in history at Duke and graduated in 2007. I will graduate from UNC with a Juris Doctor and a Master of Science in Information Science in 2015.
Deb: I majored in English and completed a certificate in women's studies at UNC.
Where are you living now?
Bull City, baby!
Wedding date set? Where?
Yep, all set. We're having a small ceremony in western North Carolina in May and then a huge party in Durham in October.
What was the initial reaction of hearing where the other attended school?
Deb: It was the first thing we talked about.
Aaron: I absolutely did not care.
Deb: Honestly, I was intrigued by the "second" thing we talked about -- that he was the Duke Blue Devil.
Aaron: Yep, I was.
Was basketball something that sparked debate early on? Does it still spark debate? Was/is the debate friendly, heated, light-hearted, etc.?
Aaron: Yeah, there was no compromise on my end. I am and always will be a Duke fan. But we didn't really get too worked up about it.
Deb: Actually, we met during basketball season. It was during March Madness, so we had a whole year to prepare before the first Duke-Carolina game.
Aaron: Duke has only lost once since we've been together, so that's been good.
Deb: We both just really enjoy the rivalry. It's fun.
Can you watch Duke-UNC games together? Describe what it is like to watch a game together. Is it tense? Is there yelling or teasing? Are there rules you agree upon beforehand?
Deb: We have never watched one together!
Aaron: Yeah, I am pretty tense. I don't actually like to watch the game with anyone around because I am basically a nervous wreck.
Deb: I watch with my best friend, who also went to Carolina.
Aaron: We'll probably watch together this year. No prediction on how it will go.
Who do you root for when either team plays a separate opponent? For example, if Duke plays Kansas or if UNC plays Kentucky?
Deb: I always root for Duke.
Aaron: You're a better person than I am. I root against Carolina no matter what.
Deb: Do you really?
Aaron: Yeah.
Is it Love or Rivalry?
Deb: Love! I love the rivalry.
Aaron: It's respect, which is a form of love. I respect the rivalry, respect our rivals.