CTOPS 2014

blue&white since

1998

U N C - C h a p e l H i l l ’s p r e m i e r m o n t h l y m a g a z i n e

DESIGNED TO THRILL UNC-CH graduate Ryan Cocca brings Thrill City to Franklin St.

inside: Rock Lab • History of the Old Well • Club Sports C TOPS 2014 | Vo lume 16 | Is s u e 5 | w w w. bl u eandw hitem ag. co m | F RE E

blue&white UNC-CH Campus Box 5210 | Chapel Hill, NC 27599-5210 Editor-in-Chief CAROLYN COONS Managing Editor WENDY LU Associate Editor of Content Planning & Development KATIE KING Art Director LISA DZERA Creative Director CAROLYN BAHAR Vice President of Public Relations RACHEL RONDEAU Webmaster KATHERINE MCNULTY Treasurer CONNOR BELSON CONTENT STAFF University Editor MEGHAN MCFARLAND Arts & Entertainment Editor MADDIE FLAGER Sports Editor BRYAN FRANTZ Photography Editor SHAE ALLISON Special Sections Editor DALE KOONTZ Columns/Editorials Editor CAROLYN COONS Blog Editor EMILY WIGGINS Chief Copy Editor SARAH CRONIN Writers SAMANTHA BERGESON, ABIGAIL BREWER, DAVIN ELDRIDGE, SYDNEY HARRIS, JORDAN NASH, NANA SIDIBE, MORGAN TRACHTMAN, HANNAH WEBSTER, ANNA STARNES, NAT ZHAI, CASSANDRA LING, SARAH CRUMP Copy Editors JESSICA CASTRO-RAPPL, SARAH CRONIN, NANA SIDIBE, SAMANTHA BERGESON Columnists ERIK AUGUSTINE, BRYAN FRANTZ, EMILY WIGGINS, STEVEN WRIGHT, JUN CHOU Designers CAROLYN BAHAR, DALE KOONTZ, LISA DZERA, samantha sabiN, EMILY HELTON, MEAGHAN MACFARLAND Photographers SHAE ALLISON, lisa dzera, KATY FOLK, HANNAH MICKEY, WENDY LU Bloggers KRISTIN TAJLILI, Juanita Chavarro, Claire Wilcox, LiZzie Goodell, Jun ChoU, Kristin Tajlilli, Shawanne Wang, Nat Zhai INTERNAL RELATIONS Printing CHAMBLEE GRAPHICS | Adviser JOCK LAUTERER OUR MISSION To inform readers of the unique personalities, events and traditions that define the University’s heritage and help shape its future, and to offer staff members practical and enjoyable journalism, business and management experience.

Blue & White is produced by students at UNC-Chapel Hill and is funded at least in part by student fees, which were appropriated and dispersed by UNC-CH’s Student Government.

Email Rachel Rondeau at rrondeau@live.unc.edu for advertising information.

—————— Front Cover Photo by Shae Allison

table of contents 12

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in this issue 9 A THRILLING VENTURE UNC-CH graduate Ryan Cocca made his shirt design into a full-fledged business. Now he’s brought his designs to Franklin St.

12 university of rock Mark Katz, professor and chair of the music

department at UNC-CH, is encorporating rock and rap into the department’s curriculum.

16 a well of history The Old Well did not always stand with white columns and copper roof, but the campus symbol can still provide a cool drink of water to students.

19 elevating EDucation UNC-CH students are working with first generation college applicants attempting to enroll in higher education.

22 Family on the field UNC-CH’s field hockey team feels a close

in every issue down to earth

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Emily Wiggins

POP TOPICS 15 Erik Augustine

SIDE(LINE) NOTE

25

Bryan Frantz

CULTURAL CONNECTION

28

Steven Wright

MOVIE MOMENT

30

Jun Chou

connection to one another and their school.

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that’s hot Everything in bloom

Coker Arboretum has made the transformation from menacing and creepy to beautiful and romantic.

Finally summer

Last day of class, first day of summer fun!

Bye-bye, Jabari!

Enjoy the NBA — and try to sign for a team with a better shade of blue this time.

BuzzFeed quizzes “Oh my gosh, I got pug for ‘Which dog are you?’ I’m TOTALLY a pug.”

Swipefest There’s nothing a college student loves more than free food, especially when it’s all you can eat.

quad This month we sent our photographer Shae Allison to find unique fashion statements around campus.

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in our A Letter From the Editor UNC-Chapel Hill is a difficult place to leave, which might be surprising coming from someone who found it to be a difficult place to enroll.

When I was making my college decisions, Carolina wasn’t at the top of the list, but in the end I chose to come here.

In high school, I was eager to be in Washington D.C., Chicago or Atlanta. I wanted a big city and a small campus — exactly the opposite of what you’ll find here — but I chose to come to UNCCH for practical reasons. It’s close to home, offers a wide array of studies, and you can’t beat the price. Carolyn Coons is a sophomore from Charlotte.

Now, I can’t imagine being anywhere else.

She can be reached at I have met some of the best friends, achieved carcoons@live.unc.edu. amazing accomplishments and soaked up the sun on the beautiful Polk Place under the immaculate Carolina blue sky. I could insert any other number of clichés and they’d all be true.

I’m so unbelievably happy I made the choice to come to UNC-CH, and I think anyone who finds him or herself on campus for orientation this summer will feel the same.

One thing that was key for my enjoyment of this incredible institution was keeping an open mind and taking chances, even small ones.The subject of our CTOPS issue reminds me of how valuable doing these things can be.

Ryan Cocca, a UNC-CH graduate, took a chance on a shirt design he created out of his dorm room during study abroad in London (page 9). That

opinion

that’s not Everything covered in pollen

shirt began a business that now calls Franklin Street home, with many more new designs to line the shelves.

Former UNC-CH president Edwin Alderman risked his colleagues’ backlash when he proposed the remodeling of the Old Well in 1897, and now it stands as a symbol of the University and state (page 16).

Chair and professor in the music department Mark Katz had an open mind as to what music education at UNC-CH could be, which led to the creation of classes like rock lab, beat-making lab and rap lab (page 12).

Students are able broaden their musical horizons and learn how to promote, manage and sell themselves as artists.

With every issue of Blue & White that’s released, I realize more and more what an inspiring, eye-opening place UNC-CH is. I’m sad to say goodbye to it this summer but also so excited to come back with a fresh perspective with which to discover new things about this amazing school and students.

For any first years making their way onto campus this summer and fall, never forget to take chances. Sit next to someone new at lunch, approach your professors after class or sign-up for a fall break excursion. Open your mind to a classmate’s perspective or the prospect of a new club entirely of your own design. If you do, we might be writing about you next.

Green benches. Green cars.

All green everything.

Final grades We’ll just say this was our “slack” semester...

Come back to us, McAdoo!

We won’t miss your free throw percentage, but we’ll miss you.

BuzzFeed quizzes Which Disney princess are you? Prince?

Villain? Sidekick? Minor character?

Mice in Rams Enough said.

Jeri Trull

Class of ’16, Archaeology and Anthropology

“I have been obsessed with red clothes lately!”

Ca meron Smith

Class of ’14, Environmental Science

“This is my mom’s old shirt that she gave me. I wear it every LDOC.”

Breanna Kerr

Class of ’16, Journalism & Hispanic Studies Major

“My mom actually went to this concert, and this is her shirt.”

Cassidy McLean Class of ‘16, Studio Art

“I just like a lot of black.“

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from the bell An Engaging Ensemble Jeff Hymes formed a ukulele group in 2010 as a joke before realizing some people were genuinely interested in learning more about the instrument.

“We targeted the people who needed a highly accessible music performance ensemble,” says Hymes, a senior chemistry major. “People could just come and learn some easy chords and play a song, then perform and, over time, slowly become more confident performers.”

Eight people attended the first “Carolina Ukulele Ensemble” interest meeting, which is a sharp contrast from the average of 50 people who attended rehearsals during Hymes’ junior year. Prospective members are usually drawn by the Carolina Ukulele Ensemble’s quad jams and Fall Fest performances.

Senior Ryan Aves, a business and Spanish double major, says he didn’t have a lot of experience before joining. Aves started playing the ukulele — a present from his parents — in college and immediately fell in love with the instrument.

“I was so enthusiastic about it, I started playing on campus in front of different people,” Aves says. “I decided to stick with ukulele because someone had yelled at me from the courtyard (of Morrison) to join the ensemble, and I wanted to play in a group where I could just create really happy music.”

Students who join the Carolina Ukulele Ensemble say the club is a learning community and a friendly environment.

“Joining it, a whole community opens up,” says Eliana Fishbeyn, a freshman music major. “Everyone is sort of goofy, really nice and supportive of each other.”

Fishbeyn learned about the group from a friend who had already joined. After attending one of the Carolina Ukulele Ensemble’s performances, Fishbeyn decided to learn how to play the ukulele during winter break and joined the ensemble in January.

The Carolina Ukulele Ensemble’s presence on campus has been steadily growing since its creation. The group has performed at events such as Relay for Life and Best Buddies’ Friendship Walk throughout the semester. The ukulele performers also had their first major concert last semester in Hanes Art Center, which attracted approximately 300 people.

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The ukulele ensemble stands in their formation while playing one of the songs in their set. While practicing, the group sometimes stood as they would during a performance or in a circle facing each other.

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By nana sidibe photo by hannah mickey CTOPS 2014

Step into Tradition For UNC-Chapel Hill sophomore Olivia Barnes, getting sufficient exercise each week doesn’t seem like a hassle. A member of the Carolina Irish Association, Barnes says rehearsing Irish dancing keeps her in shape and is one of her favorite things to do at UNC-CH. Barnes, a biology major, has been involved in the organization since she started college.

“It’s connected me to a lot of people, and it’s a form of exercise, and I just love it,” she says.

The Carolina Irish Association is comprised of students who celebrate Irish culture primarily through traditional Irish dance. Established in October 2010 by founding president and UNC-CH alumna Sheila Gaynor, the organization has monthly general body meetings and rehearses in practice rooms across campus. Choreography and rehearsals are created and run entirely by students, and membership is open to anyone affiliated with UNC-CH. Co-presidents Caitlyn Carmean and Hailee Reed, juniors, say membership has increased this year, and they feel the club is heading in the right direction. Reed says she is happy about the progress and excited for even more improvement.

“It’s the first year that we have had more structure to the club, so the face of it has really changed a lot. We have had more performances this year, and then, obviously, our recital,” Reed says.

This recital, which was held on March 23 in Memorial Hall, was the first of its kind for the Carolina Irish Association, as they had never before choreographed and rehearsed for a two-hour-long show. Students

professor profile: DANIEL REICHART At UNC-Chapel Hill, one in four students will take an astronomy course, and professor Daniel Reichart imagined a tool that would allow those students to see the stars with the click of a mouse.

Reichart and his team invented a web-based program called Skynet that allows users to view objects in space by giving the user control of telescopes all over the world. Students in his Introduction to Astronomy course at UNC-CH learn how to use the Skynet software. They have the ability to control telescopes in the primary locations of Chile and Australia, as well as view the images live via webcam.

Reichart first studied gamma-ray bursts, or cosmic explosions from massive, dying stars, as an undergraduate at Pennsylvania State University.

These explosions form black holes, and as the black holes swallow the stars, Reichart says, they produce bright bursts of light, which can be seen at tremendous distances. Science Magazine ranked Reichart’s research on what caused gamma-ray bursts as one of the top 10 breakthroughs in science in 1999.

“As a grad student, my advisor and I wrote a paper predicting that these would be the most luminous things ever seen in the universe and we might see them farther out than anything that has ever been seen,” Reichart says.

“That kind of inspired me to change my path and figure out how to build these telescopes.”

Reichart is working on expanding Skynet for more educational purposes.

He is in the process of making it a part of high school and middle school earth and environmental science curricula.

“One thing I really like about it is it’s not just the research but the

to the well choreographed all of the numbers for the recital, and Reed says she hopes the recital will become an annual tradition for the organization.

“I’ve really enjoyed meeting more people,” Reed says. “It’s one of those (groups) where you really get to know everybody because you are spending a lot of time together and practicing and getting on each other’s nerves. There’s a lot of support for new steps. A lot of people have learned a lot of new steps this year which I have really enjoyed watching and learning myself.”

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By hannah webster photoS by HANNAH MICKEY

education that’s going on with it,” Reichart says. “They’re using the exact same telescopes at the world’s best sites.”

Students are 90 percent of Skynet’s users, and other institutions are now adopting Skynet into their curricula.

Reichart says he has no long-term plan for Skynet but is interested in its endless possibilities.

“It’s a transitional technology,” Reichart says. “You can start using Skynet as a student, and if you want, you can become a professional astronomer with time and still be using Skynet and publishing to Skynet.”

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BY MORGAN TRACHTMAN

Things do not change; we change.

— Henry david thoreau

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Down to Earth Emily Wiggins OCTOBER 2012

is a senior from Fayetteville, N.C. She can be reached at ekwiggin@live.unc.edu.

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BEYOND FRANKLIN STREET: WEAVER STREET MARKET As a freshman at UNC-Chapel Hill, I walked everywhere. I was afraid of the bus system (hint: don’t be) and didn’t have a car or bike. If I was going anywhere, it was going to be on foot.

Although traveling solely on foot was a minor inconvenience, there were positive aspects too.

After tiring of campus scenery, I bravely wandered where few freshmen wander: past the comfort of East Franklin Street to West Franklin Street and then beyond the “CARRBORO” welcome sign. I was spat out into the town of bike riders, unique restaurants, true Orange County natives and eclectic shops. I didn’t know what I was doing, but that was the beauty of living in a new area: I wanted to explore all of it.

As I wandered farther into Carrboro and down East Main Street in search of interesting finds, I spotted a store with a gigantic lawn where patrons were eating, playing and socializing.

“What the heck is this place, and why am I not there?” I questioned. My natural curiosity and my affinity for food ultimately led me to this new grocery store wonderland: Weaver Street Market.

Weaver Street has been a Carrboro mainstay since 1988. It is a co-op, or collectively owned grocery store, specializing in organic, local and natural foods. This means that members of the community can pay a small fee for a share in the market and become partial owners. In return, they enjoy special owner discounts and the knowledge that their purchases support local farms and small businesses.

Of course, you don’t have to be an owner to reap the benefits of shopping at Weaver Street. You can simply enjoy the wide — and, at times, overwhelming — selection of delicious foods. The store boasts a stunning array of produce and bulk food items, including obscure snacks like dried apricots and chocolate covered ginger. Are you a vegetarian? Weaver Street has you covered with its varied selection of flavored tofu and tempeh. Interested in trying grass-fed meats or locally-sourced seafood? You’re covered on that front, too — there’s no limit to the selection.

If you’re in a hurry, Weaver Street also offers a nice selection of ready-to-eat foods, including sandwiches, wraps, noodles, hummus trays and an expansive selection of pastries and cupcakes that will make your mouth water. For Sunday afternoon brunches, I love the hot bar, which is typically piled high with French toast, eggs and grits.

Although the food is wonderful, my absolute favorite aspect of Weaver Street is the huge lawn and the opportunity to people-watch. I have spent many a sunny morning and balmy night on the lawn, doing homework or spending time with friends. There are many Weaver Street regulars that frequent patrons will recognize, further attributing to the communal feeling of the market. One such regular is Bruce Thomas, also known as, as he puts it, the “Dancin’ Man of Carrboro.” You can find Thomas performing a combination of tai chi and yoga on the Weaver Street lawn nearly daily. Sometimes he’ll even play his Japanese flute or talk to other patrons on the lawn.

Thomas, a Carrboro resident since 1998, is known in the community for his dancing and was nearly banned from the Weaver Street property for it in 2006. However, a protest led by Carrboro residents ensured he stayed. If you have a conversation with Thomas, he has plenty of stories to tell. He will discuss meditation, spirituality and the importance of focusing on the world around us.

“We were created to express ourselves — there is divine life in creation,” Thomas says, adding that his affinity for dancing came from watching children dance around trees on the lawn.

“Seventeen years ago, if someone told me I’d be this well-known dancer, I’d be like, ‘Yeah, right!’” Thomas says, laughing.

The best advice I have to freshmen is set out on a mission to discover the welcoming community of Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Weaver Street Market is just one example of the treasures you can find by venturing beyond the confines of Franklin Street and campus, from the food to the feeling of community and lively regulars like Thomas.

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Reserved for the business-savvy looking to make a considerable profit, startups have

become a fad in the entrepreneurial world. When UNCChapel Hill students Ryan Cocca, Rohan Smith and Henry Gargan opened their startup, Thrill City, on Franklin Street in 2011, they had little experience in the business world.

What they did have was a passion for creativity and a desire to spread that passion to the Chapel Hill community.

It started with a shirtIn the spring of 2011, a hop across the pond from the United States, thenUNC-CH sophomore Cocca was studying abroad in London when he put pen to paper, creating a design inspired by Carolina’s own Kendall Marshall. Cocca, a photojournalism major, says he wanted to pay homage to the name that UNC-CH basketball fans had endearingly bestowed upon Marshall during his Carolina basketball career. The nickname, KButter, grew out of Marshall’s ability to pass smoothly, even when under tremendous

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pressure.

“There wasn’t a destination in mind,” Cocca says. “It was something that kind of grew and gained momentum.

The first design I drew abroad wasn’t even under a company name. One thing led to another and to the next.”

Cocca created that first design using the graphic design skills he learned from his mother. Parodying the SherwinWilliams logo, which features paint being poured over a globe, Cocca drew a basketball being engulfed with bright yellow butter. Underneath was the phrase, “Pass the Butter.”

Understanding the power of social media, Cocca created a Twitter account and posted the shirt. After a retweet by John Henson, who was playing basketball for UNC-CH at the time, the shirt gained attention from much of the student body as well as UNC-CH fans outside of the University’s bounds.

“I literally had to build out a shop — an online shop for that demand,” Cocca says. “There were no shirts.

People were just paying for a design.”

The shirts flew off the shelves — or rather, the shirts flew from under Cocca’s bed and out of Cocca’s closet.

For the rest of 2011 and for two years after, Cocca’s room became a storage unit for the popular shirts.

Building a business

A lot has happened since that fateful day in London.

Thrill City’s creations are no longer stored beneath the bed of Cocca’s home: They are proudly displayed in the window of Thrill City’s shop. And Cocca is no longer working alone on his endeavor — he works with friend and business partner Rohan Smith, a UNC-CH senior.

Cocca and Smith met in the UNC-CH School of Journalism and Mass Communication during an introductory audio and video class.

“We have similar tastes in music, and we have similar outlooks on life,” Smith says. “That was definitely pretty

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binding.”

Since Smith is an international student from London and Cocca studied abroad in London, the two also bonded over British hip-hop. On any given day, you can hear the stylings of Roots Manuva or Wretch 32 flow out of their shop and onto Franklin Street.

“We are the only store on Franklin Street where you’ll hear British hip-hop music playing,” Smith says.

The Thrill City store opened its doors in October through the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership. The partnership helps businesses that are just starting off to find a space that suits the needs of the storeowners.

In the beginning stages of the store’s creation, Smith and Cocca didn’t want to jinx anything, so they kept it fairly quiet. For a while, they thought they would just have a pop-up space, something that would be around for a short time until the buzz fizzled.

But the luster remains, and people from all walks of life continue to visit the store and browse the latest fashions of the Thrill City brand.

“The value to us having this shop, for me at least, is seeing the wide variety of people that come in here,” Cocca says. “From kids who I know are in high school at Carrboro High, to old students and parents, to varsity athletes.”

Tucked between a hardware store and a dry cleaner on the west end of Franklin Street, one can find an array of Carolina clothing with a creative touch. The store itself is minimalist and modern. Three brick walls and one white wall enclose the small space, which boasts the designs of the Thrill City brand. The paintings of local artists hang on the walls. In the event that someone shops ‘til he or she drops, there’s a small couch designed by Nugget, a startup company Cocca works for when he’s not in the shop.

At the same time the store opened, Cocca and Smith debuted the SCAM 1906 campaign, with graphic shirts fashioned after the NCAA logo. Cocca and Smith wanted to get the public speaking about the inability of the

NCAA to keep up with the changing times of amateur athletics. In the first three months, only three shirts were sold. Cocca and Smith were discouraged, but chose to focus on the successes of their store.

Cocca compares owning Thrill City to watching the lines on a seismograph go up and down. There are incredibly successful moments in the store’s history, but there are also moments when things don’t go exactly as planned. The line on the seismograph may have been going down during the first attempt at selling the SCAM shirts, but it went up after yet another tweet from John Henson.

With all of the threats from the NCAA to cut ties with PJ Hairston and rumors that the athlete was planning to play for the NBA Development League, Henson tweeted about the shirt. Immediately, Cocca texted Henson to ask if he’d be interested in sporting the shirt, and Henson obliged.

In December, just days before Cocca would graduate, he woke up with a text from Henson saying he had received a shirt and posted a picture on Twitter. Cocca went back to sleep for a couple hours, during which the SCAM shirts completely sold out. Deadspin and CBS sports both picked up stories on the shirts, and that night, Cocca talked on ESPN radio in Raleigh.

“There was this guy who tweeted at us, asking what our revenue for the shirts was,” Cocca says. “I was like, who is this dude, and why does he think we need to tell him about our revenue?”

That guy on Twitter happened to be Darren Rovell, an ESPN sports business reporter with about 500,000 followers. Cocca trusted the guy and released the information to him.

The two then had a back-and-forth on Twitter, which was so noteworthy that others on Twitter began tweeting about Rovell and Cocca’s conversation.

Future thrills

Although Cocca and Smith are always happy to make a little bit of revenue, that’s not the main goal of the Thrill City store.

“I write poetry, and I do photography,” Smith says.

“I see the store as a creative outlet as much as I see it running a successful business. I think if someone looked at our books, they’d probably tell us to quit.”

The Thrill City team doesn’t just promote its creativity in the store — it works to inspire creativity throughout the Chapel Hill community. The store’s website serves as a canvas for photographs taken of people sporting the store’s brand. Most recently, Cocca and Smith have invited budding music artists to participate in video recording sessions in the store.

“I would like it to become a staple to the point that people don’t want to see it leave,” Cocca says. “I want them to see a value in what Thrill City brings to the area.

This is the only place on a random weeknight where a touring hip-hop act from across the country will make an appearance.”

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University Rock

by nat zhai photos by katy folk design by carolyn bahar

of

o

Mark Katz, UNC-CH professor and chair of the music department, has expanded the music curriculum to educate students on the world of rock.

“One great rock show can change the world,” Dewey Finn, Jack Black’s fraudulent substitute

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teacher character in School of Rock, confidently told Freddy Jones, his young drummer.

“You could be the ugliest sad sack on the planet, but if you’re in a rocking band, you’re the cat’s pajamas,” Finn proclaimed to Lawrence, his shy keyboardist.

These scenes from the 2003 movie made audiences root for Finn and his music — viewers loved the idea of rock music transforming the monotonous lives of these elementary school kids. Some may even have dreamed of attending a class where the only requirements were to play rock music and “Kick some ass,” in Finn’s words.

UNC-Chapel Hill has its own version of the School of Rock: the rock lab.

Hidden in the basement of Hill Hall behind whitefenced gates and sound-proofed walls lies a room where students learn to form rock bands and perform rock songs for academic credit. From Led Zeppelin to Portishead, students learn to play classical rock songs, write their own compositions and promote their own band.

Rock lab is a class within the Carolina Beat Academy, an initiative started by Professor Mark Katz, the chairman of UNC-CH’s Department of Music. Along with other non-traditional classes such as the rap lab, art and culture of the DJ and the beat-making lab, the academy is part of Katz’s efforts to diversify the scope of music education on campus.

“It’s an initiative to reach out to people who don’t have formal training in music but who want to be able to make music,” Katz says. “I felt that there are a lot of people on this campus who want to make music but aren’t music majors, so I wanted to give them an opportunity.”

CTOPS 2014

The idea originally came from a hypothetical project that Katz created for his arts entrepreneurship class.

However, the huge interest shown by students led him to consider making this academy a reality.

Laboratory of Rock

Professor John Brackett, a classically trained musician with extensive knowledge of rock music, took the helm for teaching the rock lab. Brackett is an academician with a passion for teaching performance-based classes. He plays the drums in his own rock band and has tattoos decorating both arms.

“Mark and I share a lot of common interests, and we want to be able to acknowledge that, within a department of music like this, there are a lot of types of music going on,” Brackett says. “Students have a lot of different interests (other) than just coming in and doing jazz or classical stuff.”

His first rock lab took place in the spring 2013 semester, when he had around 15 to 20 students. These were students that he chose meticulously through audition tapes, assessing their strengths and putting them together in three bands, with each member providing a different skill set or experience. Most of the students were not music majors.

“I’m not necessarily looking for the best players out there because part of what I’m looking for in this class is to put people together from different backgrounds,” Brackett says.

Making the Band

Brackett carefully assigned 12 songs to the three bands according to their strengths and weaknesses. However, performance is only part of the picture — Brackett also

exposes them to the business side of rock.

“Not everyone is going to be a rock star, just like not everyone is going to be a jazz virtuoso,” Brackett says. “I try to balance the playing and the practical, day-to-day, what can you do in the the music industry.”

In the weekly three-hour classes, he brings in professionals, club owners and record producers to tell his students how to book a performance, how to market themselves and how to get shows.

“It’s not just about going out, having a good time, drinking beer and doing it again,” he says. “I think the thing most people appreciate in the class is how much responsibility I place upon them in terms of selling their band.”

In School of Rock, the kids’ efforts culminate in the Battle of the Bands; in the rock lab, students participate in a final performance at the end of the semester.

On April 29, the three bands perform for the public at Chapel Hill Underground as their final assignment. To Brackett, this event is his most memorable experience in

the class.

“It’s just a blast to see because many of these people, they’ve never played in front of a live audience before, and it’s exhilarating to do that and see people’s personalities come through as a performer,” he says. “It’s just remarkable.”

Brackett says it is a time for him to sit back, relax and enjoy the music — unlike his normal sessions when he is actively engaged in critiquing the bands.

Each band has to attend an hour of practice with Brackett weekly. He knows his students well — he greets them as they walk through the door, helps a guitarist with his chords, compliments a drummer on his performance, builds on band members’ ideas for improvisation, and for one group was even crucial in choosing a band name.

Senior Kelli Gibson, a history major, says her band was originally called “No One Likes Joe,” but became “It’s a Shame About Joe” because of Brackett.

“Joe is our drummer — it’s a joke that we didn’t like him,” Gibson says. “Professor Brackett accidentally called

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Professor and Chair of the Music Department Mark Katz demonstrates some of the skills the students learn in the rock and beat-making courses.

us ‘It’s a Shame About Joe’ and we thought that was funnier.”

Open Ears, Open Minds

Gibson is the lead female vocalist of the band. She has a strong voice with a hint of roughness that is surprising given her lack of musical experience.

“I didn’t sing until college, and I was in a group of people who have been performing all their lives,” she says.

“There are several times when we get a song assignment and I freak out, unsure of how I’m going to do this.”

Gibson has never taken any music classes before, nor is she knowledgeable in music theory. All she knew about singing came from her involvement with the UNC Walkons, an a capella group.

“Professor Brackett really helped me open up and learn ways to feel more comfortable, let my guard down and really perform,” Gibson says. “I feel like I have grown so much as a singer and I know others feel the same way.”

The passion present in every student and the range of musical experience contributed to Gibson’s love for the class.

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“The diversity in itself makes for such a great learning environment in which I’m learning not only from my professors, but I’m learning from my classmates,” she says.

“Honestly, it’s the best class I’ve taken (at UNC-CH).”

Despite the possibility that these bands dissolve after the semester ends as each student heads his or her own way, Bracket says many will stay on the music scene and form other bands, and he says he has enjoyed seeing them grow.

“It’s great to hear from club owners afterwards that these students are some of the most professional ones because they know what’s expected of them,” he says. “It’s nice to know something I said has stuck.”

Little publicity has been done to promote the rock lab, but Brackett intends to keep it that way for the time being.

He says he will rely on word-of-mouth promotion, and hopefully, by people who are impressed with the bands’ performances during the final show. “[My plans are] just to keep it going,” Brackett says.

“This, combined with the history of rock class that I teach, is about getting people on campus to recognize that they are in such a wonderful place for live music.”

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is a junior from Georgetown, Mass.

He can be reached at aug13@live.unc.edu.

Erik Augustine

Pop Topics

AVOIDING THE CYNICISM TRAP College can be a scary place to believe in stuff. There are thousands of very smart people here, and a lot of them love to shoot things down. For every thing you find that you think is cool/fun/exciting, there will be a few people to come out of the woodwork and explain why you’re wrong to think it’s cool/fun/exciting. Please don’t be one of those people.

Maybe that sounds obvious, but I met a few of these people at CTOPS. And despite Carolina’s ubiquitous positivity, there are still plenty of cynics. I must (sheepishly) admit that I myself have fallen into a mode of cynicism, which isn’t just skepticism or not liking things, giving me the kind of experience that allows me to comment on its danger.

Cynicism is, I think, something that often has fear at its root. The trap draws people in with the appeal of safety from two main worries. In the first situation, the cynic is safe from the danger of disappointment. One way to avoid being disappointed is by managing your expectations, a behavior that is often pushed into cynicism. I have personally done this repeatedly with politics, hesitating to invest myself emotionally in the Moral Mondays movement or elsewhere to avoid the frustration of not getting results. The other situation is cynicism in the face of judgment — when you realize how safe you are from ridicule in a position of disinterest. The cynic retreats from liking things to a place where he can’t be criticized or mocked for his interests.

This is not to be confused with plain negativity. At Carolina you’ll find a sizeable portion of students with pretty negative feelings about pretty much anything popular or hyped up by the school. Everyone has a kid in their hall ragging on a cappella groups or school spirit. Some of these people just don’t like stuff and are being sincerely negative. What’s different about cynicism is that it’s dishonest. The cynic denies what his preferences, hopes and desires, entering a feedback loop of false opinions then affirmed falsely.

As someone who can attest to the unfulfilling emptiness of that kind of thinking, I beg you CTOPS-goers to avoid it. Dive full on into the vulnerability of sincerity.

Be interested in weird things, geek out, like embarrassing music. In short, and at risk of bastardizing David Foster Wallace (who I quoted in my last column as well, oops), be “sentimental and naïve and goo-prone and generally pathetic.”

It was fear of acknowledging my own naiveté and taste for the sentimental and gooey that drove me to withdraw into cynicism, and it wasn’t worth it. The great thing about Carolina is that I’m probably preaching mostly to the choir right now.

For three years now I’ve been surrounded by what is, overall, the most enthusiastic, unaffected community I’ve ever seen. So take advantage; chances are people are going to laugh at you here and there no matter what you do — might as well give them something to laugh about.

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a

Well of

History

Pictured on everything from university letterhead to bumper stickers, it’s almost impossible to escape the image of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Old Well in North Carolina. Most visitors see the well as the ideal backdrop for an iconic UNC-CH photo, but the history and memories connected to this Greco-Roman temple reveal that the sit is more than just a photo opportunity.

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by anna starnes designed by samantha sabin photos by shae allison

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Like any change, UNC-Chapel Hill President

Edwin Alderman’s creation of the Old Well in 1897 stirred up controversy on campus. In a letter from 1923, Alderman reflects on the process of building the Old Well.

“I recall a fine shindy [quarrel] I had with a very distinguished professor who intimated broadly to me that I was foolish to spend money (about 200) for such luxurious gewgaws when so many vital things…cried out for improvement,” Alderman wrote. “I recall intimating to my distinguished colleague that he would do well to attend to his own ‘damn’ business.”

Alderman could not leave the original, dilapidated wooden well as the gathering spot for students. He felt it to be “a squalid

piece of neglect to have it like it was,” and became determined to spruce up the centerpiece of campus despite this reaction from his colleague.

His letter revealed that with little money to spare, the University valued function and utility over beauty on campus.

Alderman wanted to make the campus more beautiful to add to its prestige, but his redesign of the Old Well went beyond cosmetic reasons. He wanted to create a lasting symbol of progress for North Carolina.

“THIS IS THE STORY OF THE LITTLE WOODEN TEMPLE”

The view from Alderman’s office window in South Building revealed a wooden eyesore – the prototype Old Well.

Alderman called the well “a sloppy, dirty old spot” with a crude hand pump for people to reach the water. The view added to his resolution to raise money for beautification projects like the Old Well and an addition to South Building.

Based on architecture he saw on adventures abroad, Alderman decided to transform the “country” well into a “sort of sixth cousin of a Greek statue.” Because Reconstruction was still a recent memory, there was no money to hire an outside architect or request materials from the North. The University Registrar, Eugene Lewis Harris, happened to be a trained artist, so he drew up sketches based on the Temple of Love at Versailles Palace in France and the Temple of Vesta at Tivoli, Italy.

After deciding to work with local talent, Alderman felt that the “little temple” was a success.

“I recall I was quite pleased with it, when it was done, considering it was a homemade job aiming at a very high ideal,” he wrote.

In 1954, student Charles Kuralt reported for the Daily Tar Heel that Alderman’s Old Well would receive a facelift. Kuralt, who later became a famous journalist, explained University staff would dismantle and completely rebuild the well to ensure its survival.

University architect Raymond Weeks made no major changes to the well, as students already cherished the spot by the 1950s. Weeks added several minor flourishes such as the current base and copper roof, which coincided with Alderman’s appreciation of beautiful design. The project also included the surrounding brick walkways and bushes that still encircle the space.

Sarah Brandes Madry, the author of a 2004 book about the Old Well called “Well Worth a Shindy,” says that at this time the staff also moved the above-ground temple away from the below-ground well several feet to line up with the northern doors of South Building. Madry says that Alderman had not introduced this symmetry in the original reconstruction because the well served an actual water-providing function at that time.

“The well was not put there to be symmetrical to South Building and its door,” she says. “The well was put there to be in the backyard of where the students were going to live.”

Madry’s book further explores the symmetrical alignment of the well, including elements such as the overhanging branch that breaks up the monotony of pure symmetry.

ABOUT THE OLD WELL • • • • •

•

The Old Well was created in 1897 by former UNC-CH President Edwin Alderman Alderman fought for the Well to be built when faculty believed the money should be spent on other university improvements The Old Well was designed by the University Registrar at the time The Old Well’s design is based on the Temple of Love at Versailles Palace in France and the Temple of Vesta in Trivoli, Italy.

The Well was moved in the 1950’s to be aligned with the doors of South Building, as it previously served more of a functional purpose After N.C. State fans poured red paint over the Well before a football game, students in Carolina Fever began standing guard by the Well on game days

The Old Well sits in McCorkle Place across from South Building on Cameron Ave.

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“Stolen into the hearts of people as beauty in any sort of form has a way of doing”

Though they might groan over another Old Well Instagram photo inevitably paired with a “just couldn’t help it” caption, students do recognize the presence of an inexplicable force that draws people to the well. The well might have relinquished its function as the main campus water source, but it’s more than just another decorative bauble for McCorkle Place.

Junior Isaac Warshauer believes the well remains intertwined in campus life because students constantly interact with it.

“I always think it’s interesting that people can still drink out of it,” he says. “It’s become such a symbol for the University, but it’s still something that’s very accessible and usable.”

During the 1970s, a tradition emerged that inserted the well back into students’ lives, making it somewhat of a mythical fountain of knowledge. It became widely believed that students who drank from the well on the first day of classes would receive a 4.0 GPA. Only in the last 10 years have students really started following the tradition in a half-joking attempt to ensure good grades.

Senior Michele Bresler, an admissions ambassador for four years, says she stops to share her personal experience with this tradition every time she gives a tour.

“When I was a first year, I thought this was a great idea. I would go, I had an 8 a.m. chemistry class, and I would line up. I figured I’d stop by 15 minutes before my class, get a drink of water and then leave,” she says. “When I showed up there was a massive line all throughout the upper quad. I wasn’t able to stand in line, but I came back the next semester. Hasn’t worked for me yet, haven’t gotten that 4.0, but I definitely try every semester and take a sip of water from the Old Well.”

Bresler also tells her tour groups about Carolina Fever’s Old Well watch held every year before the UNC-CH vs. N.C. State football game. Volunteers set up camp around the well to prevent N.C. State students from vandalizing the landmark.

“Many years ago, N.C. State students came and poured red paint on the beautifully white well, and this was a problem,” she says. “It’s like our sacred image of our University, so (Carolina Fever) kind of took that tragic event to make it a fun story and a fun event.”

After studying the Old Well’s design, Madry says that the temple’s shape reveals why people subconsciously value the well.

“A round structure has no beginning or end,” she says, “and if you’re on one side of it you are intimately involved with that circle.”

Madry says that she is prejudiced toward round structures but says she believes that because the view of the well is the same on every side, visitors feel connected to anyone standing at the site.

Cecelia Moore, UNC-CH’s historian, says she thinks the Old well has become a University symbol because of its powers of unification.

“In some ways, for an institution that has a problematic history of racial segregation…I think people think of it as a nice neutral,” she says.

While other University monuments raise some controversy, such as the statue of Silent Sam, a confederate soldier, the Old Well continues to unite the UNC-CH community. The Old Well stars in many different memories for people, which also explains its emergence as a symbol.

A History of the Old Well 1890

1897 UNC-Chapel Hill President Edwin Alderman proposes renovation the Old Well

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1910

1920

1930

1940

1954

1950

Student Charles Kuralt reports in The Daily Tar Heel that the Old Well will be dismantled and completely rebuilt

1960

1970s

1970

The tradition of drinking from the Old Well on the first day of classes emerges.

It is widely believed that anyone who drinks from the well on the first day will receive a 4.0 GPA.

1980

2000s

2000

A LASTING SYMBOL FOR NORTH CAROLINA

In a letter in 1923, Alderman wrote that the Old Well was an “illustration of the way Democracy cries out for beauty to give it backbone – spiritual backbone – that will make it so strong that it can defy self-gratification, mobs and red terrors.”

Alderman thought beauty was “the most practical influence in the world” and recognized the power of the “little temple” to support North Carolina through any struggle.

Madry says Alderman identified the need for development in infrastructure and education across the state. He saw the Old Well as one step in a desire for progress.

“It’s sort of hidden now, because it’s become sort of a pretty toy, and it’s a symbol of UNC, but it’s not really a symbol of UNC,” Madry says. “It’s a symbol of the state’s fight against a terrible, terrible history and for a beautiful future.”

1900

More students continue to follow the tradition of drinking from the Old Well on the first day of class and guard it on game days from rival schools’ students

1990

2010 2014

ELEV ATING education

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by jordan nash photos by jordan nash design by emily helton

College applications come with questions, concerns and a lot of fear, but UNC-CH students are attempting to make the process easier for some first generation applicants.

​When Maria Castrillon, a senior public

policy major, began applying to colleges as a senior in high school, she, like many other high schools students, had many questions. Unlike a lot of other high schools students, she was forging the path all by herself. She says she couldn’t turn to her parents for help because they didn’t know much about the American university system. Her parents are from South America, and she is a first generation college student.

As a sophomore at UNC-Chapel Hill, Castrillon says she wanted to help high school students applying to college by becoming the helping hand she never had. To do this, she joined the Scholars’ Latino Initiative (SLI,) a studentled organization on campus that matches college students with high school students in the surrounding areas.

“I thought it would be something really cool to do to give back because I felt like when I was going through the college application process, my parents didn’t really know anything about it, and this would be a great way to be a resource to someone who didn’t have what I didn’t have,” Castrillon says.

Rachel Holtzman, a senior public health major, found her way to SLI in a different manner. She says she grew up traveling to Spanish-speaking countries and being surrounded by SLI events and activities. She says that when she came to UNC-CH, it was natural for her to join the organization that she had grown up with.

Now, Holtzman and Castrillon are both seniors and co-directors of SLI. Students in SLI

The SLI program matches college sophomores with sophomores in high school. The college student mentors

the high school student with college preparation, an early college course, public service and cultural enrichment.

Though mentees are all Hispanic, the mentors can be of any ethnicity. The program works in Jordan Matthews High School, Chapel Hill High School, Jordan High School, Asheboro High School, Lee County High School and Southern Lee High School.

The organization is funded by a grant from the Oak Foundation, a philanthropic group in Switzerland. The members of SLI heard in the fall they received $250,000 for the next five years. This money helps fund the dayto-day workings of the program and also allows SLI to grow. The organization is now able to allow a part-time staff member to become full-time and add a new executive director.

“It’s also great because it’s all volunteer in terms of the student base – the majority of the work that is done is completely by volunteers,” Holtzman says.

The SLI program that started at UNC-CH is spreading to other areas of the state and even the country. There are now SLI programs in Virginia and one program at North Carolina A&T that will restart next year. Holtzman says she is hopeful for even more growth in the next year.

“Next year I think will be a really big year for SLI,” she says.

From Applicant to Mentor

To become either a mentee or mentor, students go through a rigorous selection process. Potential mentors go through an application process where they express why they want to become a mentor and how they would help a high school student. The potential mentors then have interviews.

Castrillon and Holtzman say SLI is looking for

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Dr. Brian Hogan, a chemistry professor at UNC-CH, teaches the College Prep Seminar to juniors and seniors in SLI during the monthly workshop.

someone who will dedicate themselves to the program and someone who is flexible in new situations.

Afterwards, the executive committee chooses about 25 to 30 UNC-CH students to become mentors.

“We always have a really good selection, and it’s always a hard decision to make because there are so many great students who want to be dedicated and involved,” Castrillon says.

Picking the mentees from the high school is a slightly different process.

Within SLI, there are site coordinators who work with the teachers in the local high schools. The site coordinators are UNC-CH students who go to the high school and interview the mentees for selection.

“Most of the them are first generation students or are undocumented and that’s really hard when you are selecting,” she says. “It’s really hard because they all can benefit from the program.”

SLI hosts an academic workshop every month with the mentees and mentors.

The sophomores work for the majority of the workshop on composition in a class taught by senior Louise Rios.

“I try to be very open with them as far of the structure of the class,” Rios says.

The juniors and seniors spend a lot of the workshop with Dr. Brian Hogan, who teaches the College Prep Seminar. He works with students on making decisions about college that will benefit them most.

“You should do some research if you can about what

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schools give you the best return on investment,” he says to the class.

Christy Lainez, a UNC-CH senior, works with Denise Menendez, a high school senior from Jordan Matthews High School.

“My teachers encouraged me to be in (SLI),” Menendez says.

She says she has seen progress in her own work after being in SLI for three years.

“It has helped me a lot with my essays,” she says. “I didn’t like essays and now I’m like, ‘Oh, essays are easy.’”

Menendez says she wants to go to Meredith College or Salem College and double major in communications and Spanish so that she can become a translator.

“It’s been great reflecting back on my experience and figuring out the things I wish I had someone tell me back then, and being able to help Denise through that and make her life easier,” Lainez says.

Building Bonds

Castrillon says it’s important to have the same mentee from sophomore year to senior year so that the mentors can bond with the high school students.

“It’s nice to get to work on that one-on-one relationship,” Castrillon says. “With SLI, it’s really nice having that one-on-one because we really get to know them.Sometimes it can be hard bonding and getting to know high school student. I feel like when you only have one, you can really commit yourself.”

Both Castrillon and Holtzman emphasized the importance of getting to know their mentee’s family as well as the mentee.

They say it is important to get to know the students outside of an academic setting.

“I feel like it would be boring if I was always asking about school,” Castrillon says.

There is an added barrier to going to college for some of these high school students, Holtzman and Castrillon say.

“Probably about half of our students (in SLI) are undocumented,” Holtzman says.

Castrillon and Holtzman say SLI helps the students find avenues to pay the out-of-state tuition undocumented students must pay, but sometimes it can be difficult.

SLI does offer a scholarship to a student going to college from the program and UNC-CH students try to find other grants and scholarships to help the mentees afford college.

“We believe in access to higher education for all students,” Castrillon says.

At the end of every year, SLI hosts a graduation for all the seniors in the program. Castrillon and Holtzman say the graduation is always a fun time for both the mentors and the mentees.

Castrillon recently received some exciting news from her mentee, Daniel Estrada.

“I found out my mentee got into UNC,” she says. “I was really excited and happy for him. I already had these great four years, and he’s just about to have that.”

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SLI hosts one academic workshop per month for the mentors and mentees as a part of their first generation college program.

High school students participate in a Sunday afternoon academic workshop to prepare them for applying to college.

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FAMILY n theFIELD by sydney harris design by meaghan mcfarland photos by shae allison

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The women’s field hockey team is one of the most successful programs at Carolina, both on the field and in the classroom. Despite the conflict and scandal the team has endured the last four years, they are always be proud to call themselves Tar Heels.

You can’t take away senior Marta Malmberg’s love for Carolina.

The Athletics Department at UNC-Chapel Hill has undergone scrutiny regarding student-athlete’s academic records and performance the past few years, but Malmberg says the scandal hasn’t affected her Carolina pride.

“I’m still really, really proud to be a Tar Heel, and I don’t think anything could change that at this point,”

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Malmberg says.

The UNC-CH women’s field hockey team has a lot to be proud of. On the field, the team made it to the NCAA semifinals this year. In addition, the National Field Hockey Coaches Association named sophomore Emily Wold firstteam All-America and junior Charlotte Craddock secondteam All-America.

Off the field, the team has continued to shine. Ten Tar

Heels were named to the National Academic Squad, and, as a whole, the team was the recipient of the 2013 NFHCA Division I National Academic Team Award. Junior Loren Shealy also earned the 2013 Atlantic Coast Conference Field Hockey Scholar-Athlete of the Year and led the sport’s All-ACC Academic Team.

“I’ve got four kids in the honors program,” head coach Karen Shelton says.

The Tar Heels are by far one of the most superior teams in the country – demonstrated by their overall record the last few seasons – as well as one of the most intelligent, as proven by the abundance of awards and impressive grade point averages.

“I think it’s just a really good culture for excellence in our athletic department in general,” Malmberg says. “I know a lot of the girls strive to be the best in all aspects of life.”

That determination is apparent both on and off the field. Malmberg credits a lot of her success to wanting to be her best for her teammates’ sakes. Ask her teammates, and they will give you similar responses.

“I do take pride in my academic achievements, but not because I have achieved them, but because it makes my family and friends proud,” Shealy, the 2013 ACC Field Hockey Scholar-Athlete of the Year, says.

Their head coach also sees the drive to do better, not only for themselves, but for their teammates. Shelton says

that student athletes are naturally competitive, but they are trying to help the team be better. To the coach, that is what good teammates and leaders do.

Despite the individual and team awards, the field hockey team has earned over the last few years, there is still plenty of negative attention surrounding the UNC-CH athletics.

“It is hard when people make wrong accusations about the academic standard that is held at this wonderful university,” Shealy says. “Personally, I am not the kind of person to create any kind of confrontation – I let my actions speak louder than my words. There has been a lot of negative news out there recently, and it is important to not get too wrapped up in what other people think.”

Shealy is a Robertson Scholar, the first student athlete from UNC-CH to be selected for the program. She is also a member of the UNC-CH Honors Program and has been named to the Dean’s List and ACC Academic Honor Roll.

Shealy says she has a lot of pride in being both a student and an athlete and knowing she represents her university every day.

“This pride pushes us to become better athletes, students and people because we are always striving to give back to this university that has given us so much,” Shealy says.

The scandal has not caused her teammates’ pride to waver either. Malmberg came to Chapel Hill the same

Photo Caption style here Ugitissit lam necaecae re porepre pellit ullessi ium remporitia alignim inciducilit volore volore volupta doluptiis

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summer that the academic scandal was in the national news, and she says the toughest part is watching people undermine the dignity of her university and that others may not understand the situation the way she and her teammates do.

“The hardest part is when you’re not at UNC and you’re not in Chapel Hill and people draw attention to the scandal,” Malmberg says. “They don’t understand how it hurts the core of our athletic department.”

Malmberg is proud of the way the university has handled the situation and says she is appreciative of how open UNC-CH is on how it is resolving the issues. Shelton feels similarly about the university facing the situation head-on and appreciates how her team has handled conflict.

“I’m incredibly proud of our student athletes,” Shelton says. “With all the controversy that is surrounding intercollegiate athletes right now, I am engrossed in this team right now that is incredibly well-achieving and perfectly motivated and successful in both areas – academics and athletics.”

It continues to be frustrating for the head coach though, as she explains how hard the women on her teamwork.

Athletics have prepared the players to be successful after school, she says. Time management, deadlines, performing under pressure and commitment are some of the examples Shelton shares.

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“It’s amazing what these women are doing, yet they are somehow under this cloud of how terrible intercollegiate athletes did,” Shelton says.

What others have to say doesn’t stop Malmberg from enjoying all the perks that come with being a Tar Heel as she begins the next step of her life after graduation. She knows it’s a great school, she says, and regrets not knowing how important academics were before coming to UNCCH. If she could do it all over again, she says, she would tell herself or another incoming athlete to focus on academics, because it will be what gets you farther in life.

With an undergraduate degree comes a family, despite any scandal or conflict that arises – one that Malmberg says she’ll always appreciate.

“It is 100 percent true. It is a Carolina family,” Malmberg says. “We can travel with a UNC sweatshirt on in an airport and someone will give you a, ‘Go Heels!’

That is just great, and it is a feeling that is hard to replicate anywhere else.”

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Side(line) Note Bryan Frantz

is a senior from Washington,DC. He can be reached at bfrantz@live.unc.edu.

The team we love to hate The UNC-Chapel Hill vs. Duke rivalry was bittersweet for the 2013-14 Tar Heels, especially in a basketball context.

First, there was the instant classic “Eight Days” game. If you don’t know the story by now, I’ll summarize: Duke was supposed to play in Chapel Hill for the first annual game between the men’s teams; it snowed all day; classes were canceled; Tar Heels stood outside the Dean Dome for hours awaiting the Blue Devils’ bus; that bus never came; the game was postponed.

So arose the “Eight Days” legacy. Duke Blue Devils finally got on that bus eight days later and drove the eight miles to Chapel Hill, where they lost in front of a UNC-CH crowd that was absolutely beside itself, by, of course, eight points.

To further add to the madness, it was also the Tar Heels’ eighth consecutive win at that point in the season.

Within minutes, thousands of UNC-CH fans clad in Carolina blue stormed Franklin Street, with the familiar call-and-response cheer of “Tar! Heels!” — and a somewhat fainter, and cruder, “homage” to Duke — filling the air for hours. For many Tar Heels, myself included, it was among the proudest moments of their UNC-CH careers.

Fast-forward 16 days later to the rematch at Duke, and the Blue Devils got their revenge. Duke won by 12, fueled by freshman phenom Jabari Parker’s 30 points, and the Tar Heels’ 12-game winning streak was over.

On the women’s side, UNC-CH swept Duke for the season, including a huge win in Durham where Diamond DeShields, a freshman phenom in her own right, put up 30 points to help the Tar Heels upset the No. 3 Blue Devils.

Then to the NCAA Tournament, where UNC-CH fans laughed aloud as the Duke men lost to Mercer in their first game of the tournament, only to see the Tar Heels fall in their second game. On the women’s side, Duke lost in just their second game of the tournament, which brought UNC-CH fans great joy, but then the Tar Heels lost in the Elite Eight.

At this point, both basketball teams at both schools are done playing for the year, and the only questions remaining are about the makeup of the teams next year. Duke secured the top recruiting class in the nation, but UNC-CH is not far behind with a few highly touted recruits of their own. Both schools seemed happy at first.

But Parker, the star player for Duke all season, had to decide if he would stay at Duke or declare for the NBA Draft. All of Durham and Chapel Hill kept their eyes peeled. Then somewhat surprisingly, James Michael McAdoo, star forward and secondbest player for the Tar Heels, declared for the draft, much to the delight of Duke fans.

UNC-CH fans had their revenge when Parker and fellow Blue Devils star Rodney Hood declared for the draft, but it would be a short-lived joy. DeShields, a star for the Tar Heels all season and the national freshman of the year, shocked the college basketball world by announcing that she would be transferring out of UNC-CH. No immediate reason was given for her decision, and coach Sylvia Hatchell expressed complete bewilderment at the announcement.

And that is how the 2013-14 basketball seasons went in the Tobacco Road rivalry.

One team would land a jab, then get hit with a haymaker. Nobody really won, when it came down to it, and both teams had their ups and downs. But when the 2014-15 seasons start, you won’t be seeing a lot of familiar faces.

McAdoo: Gone to the draft. Parker: Gone to the draft. Hood: Gone to the draft.

Senior Leslie McDonald, who scored 21 points in the Tar Heels’ “Eight Days” victory: Graduated. DeShields: Transferred. Chelsea Gray and Tricia Liston, two of the Duke women’s top players: Both drafted.

Now it’s time for the fresh faces to come in and figure out a way the 2014-15 version of the rivalry can top the 2013-14 version. It’s no easy task.

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player profile: lizzy whelan Lizzy Whelan is not the typical regimented, organized college distance runner. Her

fun, free-spirited attitude brings a unique dynamic to the UNC-Chapel Hill Cross Country team.

Whelan just finished her sophomore year at UNC-CH after she redshirted the 2011-2012 Cross Country and track seasons. This year she has earned All Region honors for her 19th-place finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional.

Whelan says she still has a ways to go and a lot to learn.

“I have University goals of being a national champion and being an ACC champion,” Whelan says. “Those are things I think about on a daily basis, and I’m going to keep working for it until I get there.”

Hailing from Toronto, Canada, Whelan was recruited

by Pete Watson, the cross-country coach at UNCCH at the time, after placing second in the Ontario Championship. After the call from Watson, Whelan had a good feeling about UNC-CH. “I had been looking at some other American schools and had a few other visits,” Whelan says. “I came to UNC and after that I just cancelled the rest of my visits. I could really envision myself at the school.”

Whelan has made her mark not only with her talents, but also with her approach to the sport. Before a race, Whelan doesn’t get tense and competitive like many athletes; rather, she prefers to stay cheerful and relaxed.

“I always listen to songs like ‘Carry Out’ or ‘Work Out’ and those kinds of songs that put me in a really good mood,” she says.

Whelan’s cross country coach, Mark VanAlstyne, helps ease her nerves before each race.

“I try to keep it light, maybe tell jokes, and just remind her that it’s important to all of us, but at the end of the day it’s really just a game that we are playing,” he says. “I try to take a little pressure off of her that way.”

Whelan says the blend of personalities works well for the team dynamic, and her teammates know how to reel her in and get her to focus on being productive.

“It’s a sport that attracts people with quirky personalities,” she says. “I’m a very B-type personality, and a lot of girls on my team are A-type personalities, so we definitely complement each other because of that.

VanAlstyne says this group of runners has an interesting relationship in that no two runners are quite the same.

“Each and every one of them is unique and has great qualities,” he says. “Lizzy is more of a free spirit than the others, and she’s extremely motivated to be the best.”

Whelan’s goals for her running career are endless, but in that long list are achievements like becoming an ACC champion, then a national champion and, finally, an Olympian.

But for now, like any good pupil, Whelan echoes her coach’s sentiments.

“I think the thing that motivates me the most is being the best,” Whelan says. “I just really want to get to a point where I can enter any race and be fully confident that I can win that race.”

By Cassandra ling Photo by katy folk

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CTOPS 2014

sports

UNC-Chapel Hill sophomore Lizzy Whelan who is from Toronto, Canada aims to be a ACC champion in cross-country.

“It’s a sport that attracts people with quirky personalities.”

—lizzy whelan

Start with solid recruitment. Add strong student leadership. Remain active and engaged in the community. These components make for a successful sport clubs team, and the UNC-Chapel Hill program is filled with them.

Director of Sport Clubs Jason Halsey, along with student leaders, is responsible for ensuring that all 51 of Carolina’s clubs are adequately supported, funded and involved on campus. Sport clubs, which are similar to varsity sports in terms of intercollegiate competition, are completely student-funded and managed.

Halsey says that UNC-CH sport clubs take pride in having an extremely diverse program that meets the needs and interests of vastly different groups of students. He says there is a club for every type of student athlete, no matter the experience level. Stressing that all of the clubs are open to recruits, Halsey says students simply fall in love with the sport clubs experience and the long-lasting connections and friendships it allows them to make.

In addition to being socially and developmentally beneficial, UNC-CH sport clubs are extremely successful on a national stage. Each year, about half of its clubs — around 25 — make it to their sports’ national championships.

“It’s pretty remarkable because I think we put more emphasis on the student leadership model than other schools,” Halsey says. “Oftentimes we’ll take a team of just students and go up against a team that is run by full-time or parttime coaches, and we’re very competitive with them.”

Club sports have also been a great tool for the admissions department, as many students attend and remain at UNC-CH due to the strength of the program. Senior Taylor Mays, the president of Men’s Club Basketball, says the program does not require him to devote his life to the sport, but has given him a medium to remain competitive. The team has finished in the final four in the national tournament the past two years.

“I played basketball in high school and I knew that I always wanted to go to a big university like Carolina, but obviously I wasn’t good enough to play on varsity,” Mays says. “The sport club was a way for me to continue playing at a competitive level at the school I always wanted to go to.”

To be eligible for the program, a team must become an officially recognized UNC-CH student organization through the Office of Student Activities, have at least 10 active members and have an established sustainability plan.

The UNC Sport Clubs Executive Board must then approve the team. This past February, Quidditch was added to the program and will be an official club starting Aug. 1.

While it is beneficial to have so many competitive clubs, it can also be an enormous challenge to manage all the various teams. The key is to have positive student leadership present. Halsey says UNC-CH sport clubs are financially and spatially limited, so measures are taken to ensure each new club is effectively maintained.

“Our pie is only so big, and so every time we add a club

the pieces become a little bit smaller for each of our current clubs,” Halsey says.

Nonetheless, the program continues to grow and has become extremely important to a large portion of the student body.

“We have over 1,600 athletes in sports clubs so they definitely have a presence on campus,” Mays says. “The program has definitely gained traction as the years have progressed and a lot of that has to do with student commitment and leadership.”

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By Sarah crump photos courtesy of men’s club basketball

SOARING CLUB SPORTS

shorts

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cultural We all know that culture exists in nearly

STEVEN WRIGHT

is a sophomore from Sanford.

He can be reached at stevenwa@live.unc.edu.

every activity we do on a daily basis, from brushing our teeth in the morning to setting our dinner tables at night.

But I bet most of you weren’t aware that culture exists in the seminar wing of Craige North dorm every week during the academic year.

The Carolina Hispanic Association, commonly known on campus as CHispA, frequently meets in the UNC-Chapel Hill dorm each month to honor their main objective: to promote Hispanic cultures within the greater university community.

Manny Amaya, a UNC-CH senior majoring in psychology and public relations, served as the CHispA president during the 2013-2014 school year. Hailing from Brooklyn, N.Y., Amaya accredits his cultural awareness with his participation in CHispA for the past four years.

“I was raised in New York African- American or Italian neighborhoods, so there were times of cultural disconnect for me. Coming to Carolina and seeing a heavy Caucasian culture, it was a culture shock for me,” he says.

“I learned a lot (as a member of CHispA). The special thing about Hispanic culture is that it doesn’t operate as a race. We are a bunch of ethnicities bumped together.”

Along with promoting Hispanic cultures, CHispA members referenced the Constitution of the Carolina Hispanic Association, saying their goals extend to encouraging a greater awareness of Hispanic issues, stimulating interest in the Hispanic cultural affairs within and beyond the university community, and bringing together students with an interest in Hispanic culture(s) regardless of their original cultural background.

Laura Gamo, a UNC-CH sophomore majoring in journalism and global studies, acted as the secretary for the association throughout the 2013-2014 school year. She tackled the controversy surrounding a complete Hispanic

cultural awareness by those who are not originally linked to Hispanic backgrounds.

“I think (complete cultural understanding) is really a case-by-case basis. Once you’ve been immersed in a culture, I think you can have a deeper understanding of it,” Gamo says.

“I have a friend that lived in the Dominican Republic for a while and she’s not Dominican and she’s not any type of Hispanic, but she almost claims, ‘Hey I’m black and Dominican!’ because you know she just relates so much to our culture,” Gamo says. “I think if you’re willing and open you’re able to understand our culture. And like I said, I think that immersion piece is really important because until you’ve experienced it, the culture seems really different.”

Gamo, who is originally from Bogota, Columbia, and has resided in Rockledge, Fl., for the past 14 years, says CHispA helped her adapt to UNC-CH as an out-of-state student.

“I think the richest part of Hispanic culture is that whole focus on family and support,” she says. “That was something that I felt like I really lacked because I’m an outof-state student. So when I was so separated from home, I realized how important it was to me because I didn’t have that constant access to family. So I definitely think that community aspect of CHispA is the most important part.”

UNC-CH senior Jonathan Solares, who held the officer position of treasurer during the association’s 2013-2014 calendar year, bridged the gap between academia and extracurricular activities, saying that his biostatistics major has helped with his duties as CHispA’s treasurer.

“Although there is no direct connection mathematically (between biostatistics and the CHispA treasurer role), my major does teach me to be better with my time management so that translates on to the CHISPA role as treasurer,” he says. “So it’s more of the work ethic part of my major

Where is your favorite place to study on and off campus?

PHOTOS By SHAE ALLISON

dvid mcdonald, sophomore Davis second floor overlook

ranger ruffins, sophomore Genome Terrace

connection (that helps) rather than the statistical part because I don’t do any statistical analysis for CHispA.” Like Amaya, Social Chairperson Genesis Cruz, who is a UNC-CH sophomore majoring in biomedical engineering, says had she not joined CHispA, she would not be as culturally aware as she is now.

“I learned a lot about my own culture and other people’s culture. I was born and raised in Puerto Rico, but through CHispA I met people from other countries with differing Hispanic cultures, like Mexico and Columbia,” she says.

“They have different cultures, and joining CHispA has helped me gain a broader understanding of the different aspects that make up the entire Hispanic culture.”

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Members of CHispA gather for a group photo; photo courtesy of CHispA Facebook account

max malter , sophomore B-School study rooms

drew hayes, senior Park Library

Movie Moment Jun Chou

is a freshman from Greenville, N.C. She can be reached at chouj@live.unc.edu.

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CTOPS 2012

Mr. Nobody “A single snowflake can bend the leaf of the bamboo.”

Do you have trouble making decisions? Maybe you’re one of those people who stands forever in line at Ben and Jerry’s because there are just so many flavours. Or you surf the TV for hours because you just can’t decide if you feel like watching the basketball game, CNN, or the Kardashians.

At the student store, do you find yourself wavering among the myriad of Carolina shirts in different shades of grey and blue? What if you knew these seemingly insignificant choices could alter your life or another person’s life drastically? What happens then?

Nemo Nobody (Jared Leto) is a 118-year old man who claims to be nobody. He lives as the last mortal alive in a futuristic, Wall-E type world where humans have become immortal with their own personal “stem-cell-compatible pigs.”

When he’s not being monitored on huge platform screens in a weird “Truman Show” type homage or hypnotized by his bald therapist with face tattoos, he’s being interviewed by a nervous yet eager reporter, hoping to get his first big scoop. Although he claims to be nobody, Mr. Nobody’s verbal memoir to the journalist proves otherwise; as the film progresses, the audience learns more of the fruitful lives — yes, lives — this apparent nobody has lived.

We follow Nemo Nobody from before he was born to his many deaths, in multiple universes and separate timelines. The film considers every possibility and leaves no avenue unexplored.

One of the first major choices he’s forced to make transpires when his parents get a divorce and ask him whom he would rather stay with. From there, “Mr. Nobody” plunges the audience into a roller coaster of difficult decisions, possibilities and regrets. Three of the main timelines involve three separate girls and follow the multiple lives Nemo would’ve lived or did live depending on which girl he married.

As the 118-year old Mr. Nobody, Jared Leto is unrecognizable. It supposedly took almost seven hours per day of shooting to apply the wrinkles, and it was definitely worth it. Leto is masterful as both the young and the old Mr. Nobody, and it’s enthralling to watch him play the different incarnations of the same character. It’s awesome to watch Jared Leto in a film like this, especially after his Oscar buzz for “Dallas Buyers Club,” because it just shows how far he has come since his days as a bleached blonde space monkey in “Fight Club.”

After watching “Mr. Nobody,” you’ll find yourself questioning all of your past and future decisions in life. Since the movie considers the concept of the Butterfly Effect extensively, you’ll also probably be overanalyzing your every move from then onwards. Now I’m not saying you’ll have an existential crisis or a spiritual awakening after watching this movie, but I’m not ruling it out either. Also please don’t blame me if you suddenly find yourself spouting out phrases like, “What’s the point? We’re all just victims of chance anyway!”

Now this all must sound super confusing, but this is a film in which the plot cannot be easily explained to a reader. Even in the film, when Mr. Nobody is explaining his life story to the young journalist, he interrupts constantly (“Did Elise die or didn’t she? I don’t get it. You can’t have had children and not have them”). But it works in the film.

The best thing to do with this type of movie is to be thrust into it without any warning or predilection. Have you ever tried to explain “2001: A Space Odyssey” to a friend? Yeah. It’s like that.

All you can do, when you’ve got two and a half hours to spare and a Netflix account, is lean back and watch as this mesmerizing mystery unfolds before your eyes. Trust me, it’ll be a choice you won’t regret making.

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PHOTO BY katy folk

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