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Facts and tips for coverage of new academic year at UNC-Chapel Hill
Students will be moving back on campus this weekend
(Chapel Hill, N.C.— Aug. 18, 2017) – Media representatives are invited to cover activities related to the start of the 2017-2018 academic year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Move-in
9 a.m. Friday (Aug. 18)-7 p.m. Saturday (Aug. 19)
Chancellor Carol L. Folt and Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Winston Crisp will greet new students at Morrison Residence Hall at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday (Aug. 19).
Morrison is located at 445 Paul Hardin Drive, off Manning Drive.
Media planning to cover this portion of move-in should check in with Karen Moon (Cell: 919-218-2467) in front of Morrison Residence Hall.
Media planning to cover move-in at alternate times are welcome to film exteriors and conduct interviews outside of residence halls only. Media is not allowed inside residence halls.
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.
Most of the approximately 4,000 first-year and transfer students contracted to live in student housing will be moving in to the residence halls Friday and Saturday. The majority of residence halls that house first-year students are concentrated on South Campus (in the high-rises and nearby buildings). Rising sophomores, juniors and seniors started moving in Wednesday (Aug. 16). In total, Carolina expects more than 8,100 residents to move in by the first day of the semester. For more move-in information, visit Carolina Housing or contact Allan Blattner, (919) 962-5401, allan_blattner@unc.edu.
University Communications on-site contact: Karen Moon, 919-218-2467, Karen_moon@unc.edu
New Student Convocation and Tar Heel Beginnings
7 p.m. Sunday (Aug. 20)
Carmichael Arena
Media should check in with Carly Swain (Cell: 704-305-1838) in front of Carmichael Arena.
Visuals: This event starts with thousands of first-year students gathering for a group photo in Carmichael Arena and 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 heading to FallFest.
University Communications on-site contact: Carly Swain, 704-305-1838, carly.swain@unc.edu
FallFest
8 p.m. Sunday (Aug. 20) – 2 a.m. Monday (Aug. 21)
Hooker Fields
Visuals: Students will be grazing on free food and collecting swag. They will play games and student bands and singing groups will perform on outdoor stages. There will be lots of noise, balloons and soap bubbles. University and student leaders will be in attendance.
Now in its 21st year, 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 are on hand to encourage students to get involved at Carolina. For more information visit FallFest.
University Communications on-site contact: Carly Swain, 704-305-1838, carly.swain@unc.edu
Good Neighbor Initiative walk-around
3 p.m. (Aug. 21), rain or shine
Hargraves Center, 216 North Roberson St.
Visuals: Volunteers will gather at the Hargraves Center at 3 p.m. and fan out to various neighborhoods (Northside is 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.
Now in its 14th 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-Chapel Hill 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 Northside, Pine Knolls, Cameron-McCauley, and the southern MLK, North St, Columbia St, Dawes-Coolidge 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. 14. For more information, visit Fraternity & Sorority Life and Community Involvement.
University Communications on-site contact: MC VanGraafeiland, 646-345-2802, mc.vangraafeiland@unc.edu
Sunset Serenade
7 p.m. Monday (Aug. 21)
Polk Place
Carolina’s best a cappella groups will entertain students on the eve of the new school year. There is no rain date for this outdoor event. In case of inclement weather, this event will be canceled. For more information visit Student Alumni Association.
University Communications on-site contact: Jeni Cook, 404-309-3994, jeni.cook@unc.edu
Bell Tower Relighting
9 p.m. Monday (Aug. 21) – following Sunset Serenade
Morehead-Patterson Bell Tower
Order of the Bell Tower (OBT), UNC-Chapel Hill’s official student ambassadors and tradition keepers, invite students to be a part of one of Carolina’s newest traditions and to celebrate the start of a new year. Students, faculty and staff will watch the Bell Tower become illuminated in blue and white, which represents the start of a new academic school year. There is no rain date for this outdoor event. In case of inclement weather, this event will be canceled. For more information visit Order of the Bell Tower.
University Communications on-site contact: Jeni Cook, 404-309-3994, jeni.cook@unc.edu
First Day of Classes
Tuesday (Aug. 22)
Classes officially begin.
Visuals: As a first day of classes tradition at Carolina, students line up to drink from the Old Well. Campus legend is that if a student takes a drink of water from the Old Well on this date good grades will follow.
Meet some of our incoming students: New Year, New Faces: As UNC-Chapel Hill begins a new fall semester, go to UNC.edu to meet some of the new Tar Heels who will be looking to innovate, educate, serve – and change the world.
-Carolina-
About the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the nation’s first public university, is a global higher education leader known for innovative teaching, research and public service. A member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, Carolina regularly ranks as the best value for academic quality in U.S. public higher education. Now in its third century, the University offers 77 bachelor’s, 111 master’s, 65 doctorate and seven professional degree programs through 14 schools and the College of Arts and Sciences. Every day, faculty, staff and students shape their teaching, research and public service to meet North Carolina’s most pressing needs in every region and all 100 counties. Carolina’s more than 318,000 alumni live in all 50 states and 157 countries. More than 167,000 live in North Carolina.
University Communications contact: Will Rimer, rimerwp@unc.edu, 919-445-0945