For immediate use
Facts and tips for coverage of new academic year at UNC
Students will be moving back on campus this weekend
(Chapel Hill, N.C.—Aug. 15, 2014) – Media representatives are invited to cover activities related to the start of the 2014-2015 academic year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Move-in
9 a.m. Friday (Aug. 15)-10 p.m. (Saturday) Aug. 17
Visuals: Students and their parents will be unloading boxes, clothes and furnishings from cars. It’s also a time of tears, goodbye hugs and last-minute instructions. Media will not be allowed inside residence halls.
News Services contact: Susan Hudson, (919) 962-8415, susan_hudson@unc.edu
Chancellor Carol L. Folt will greet new students at Hinton James Residence Hall at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
Hinton James Residence Hall is at 515 Hinton James Drive, near the intersection of Manning and Skipper Bowles drives.
News Services on-site contact: Karen Moon, (919) 218-2467, karen_moon@unc.edu
Most of the 4,800 first-year and transfer students will be moving into the high-rise residence halls Friday and Saturday. Rising sophomores, juniors and seniors started moving in Wednesday, as did residents of Ram Village and Odum Village apartments.
For more move-in information, visit the housing and residential education website, http://housing.unc.edu/ or contact Rick Bradley, (919) 962-5240, rick_bradley@unc.edu.
Class of 2018 photo and New Student Convocation
6:30 p.m. Sunday (Aug. 17)
Carmichael Arena
Visuals: This event starts with thousands of first-year students gathering for a group photo in a basketball arena then being welcomed to Carolina by Chancellor Folt and other distinguished guests. The event segues into a pep rally, complete with marching band, as the students practice Carolina cheers before spilling out of the arena and into FallFest. Media should check in with Susan Hudson in front of Carmichael Arena.
News Services on-site contact: Susan Hudson, (919) 360-5501, susan_hudson@unc.edu
FallFest
9 p.m. Sunday (Aug. 17)-2 a.m. Monday (Aug. 18)
South Road, between the School of Government and Carmichael Arena
FallFest kicks off at 9 p.m. with an official welcome by Chancellor Folt, Vice Chancellor Winston Crisp and student leaders.
Visuals: Students will be grazing on free food and collecting swag. They will play games on Hooker Field, and student bands and singing groups will perform on outdoor stages. There will be lots of noise, balloons and soap bubbles.
This alcohol-free outdoor celebration welcomes students to campus with free food, performances by student groups and bands, games and more. Student organizations and recreation leagues encourage students to get involved at Carolina. For more on FallFest, visit http://carolinaunion.unc.edu/programs-orgs/fallfest.
News Services on-site contact: Susan Hudson, (919) 360-5501, susan_hudson@unc.edu
Good Neighbor Initiative walk-around
4 p.m. Monday (Aug. 18), rain or shine
Hargraves Center, 216 N. Roberson St.
Visuals: Volunteers will gather at the Hargraves Center at 4 p.m. and fan out to the various neighborhoods. (Northside is the closest.) Volunteers at the center will put on their T-shirts and receive their team assignments and packets of door hangers and other handouts. In the neighborhood, they will knock on doors and talk briefly to the person who answers.
News Services on-site contact: Susan Hudson, (919) 360-5501, susan_hudson@unc.edu
Now in its 11th year, the year-round Good Neighbor Initiative encourages students who live off campus to meet their neighbors and work with them to build community and keep neighborhoods clean and safe. Teams of UNC students, staff and public safety officers, Chapel Hill police officers and town staff members, community groups and other volunteers will visit students and year-round residents in the Northside, Pine Knolls, Cameron-McCauley and Davie Circle neighborhoods with information about community services, local ordinances and alcohol laws, and good neighbor practices. Residents also will be invited to the Good Neighbor Block Party at the Hargraves Center on Sept. 9.
Story ideas for the new year
The new academic year brings a wealth of new stories to be told. Here’s a sneak preview of what’s happening at UNC in 2014-2015:
- New classes, new faces: They’ve built schools around the world, published books, conducted research and apprenticed in family businesses. This year’s incoming first-year class of 3,988 enrollees at UNC, coming from as far away as Singapore and as close to home as Chapel Hill, features award-winning scientists, artists, champion athletes – and the recipient of a Purple Heart. Meet five of them this week: http://unc.edu/spotlight/
- Carolina Covenant enrolled first class of scholars 10 years ago. The Carolina Covenant is UNC-Chapel Hill’s promise to youth from low-income families that, if they are admitted to Carolina and are eligible for the program, they can graduate with a baccalaureate degree debt-free. The first program of its type to be adopted by a public university, the Carolina Covenant was launched in October 2003 and phased in over a four-year period. The first class of scholars enrolled in fall 2004 and graduated in May 2008. http://carolinacovenant.unc.edu/
- Carolina Performing Arts celebrates its 10th season. Carolina Performing Arts will welcome back 18 artists and companies to celebrate its 10th season. In addition to returning favorites, CPA is partnering with Wilson Library’s Southern Folklife Collection as they celebrate 25 years; the Institute of Arts and Humanities’ campus-wide World War I Centenary Project; and will present a three-performance program in its inaugural Curatorial Fellowship through CPA’s Arts@TheCore initiative. www.carolinaperformingarts.org
- Southern Folklife Collection opened 25 years ago. The Southern Folklife Collection in the Wilson Special Collections Library will celebrate its 25th anniversary with three days of music, lectures, readings and dining on the UNC campus, Aug. 21- 23. http://sfc25th.web.unc.edu/
- Computer science department turns 50. Throughout the 2014-2015 academic year, the department of computer science will celebrate 50 years of excellence since its founding in 1964. There will be a kick-off event in October 2014, followed by a year-long series of events. The anniversary will culminate with a celebratory weekend comprised of talks, demos, social activities and a recognition reception in May 2015. https://www.cs.unc.edu/cms/50th
- WWI Centenary Project examines 100-year legacy of the Great War. UNC is hosting a year-long conversation during 2014-2015 on the legacy of World War I. The World War I Centenary Project seeks to increase awareness of and interest in the war’s impact among faculty, students and the community beyond the university. It is sponsored by the Institute for the Arts and Humanities, UNC College of Arts of Sciences and King’s College London. http://iah.unc.edu/programs/iah-initiatives/world-war-i/world-war-i-the-legacy
-Carolina-
News Services contact: Susan Hudson, (919) 962-8415, susan_hudson@unc.edu