DTH at a Glance: Love lockdown

Happy Thursday, Chapel Hill! The second day of classes proved much less eventful than the first, but stuff still went down. Here's what's happening around town:

QUICK HITS

• UNC field hockey is ranked No. 1 in the preseason after last season's national championship loss. But even their head coach thinks the ranking is a bit too generous.
• Feeling lonesome? I'd avoid the Arboretum, but not this story because it is honestly too cute to pass up. UNC grad Monique LaBorde placed a "love lock" on a gate there to honor her sister's marriage in 2016. She's watched with fondness as the collection of locks has grown over the past year, and hopes to come back to the gate someday and place a lock there with her partner. 
• It won't be getting *lit* in the dorms this week — Department of Environment, Health & Safety held a program on fire safety in the Pit on Wednesday.

THE STORY ON SAM

While there hasn't been a large-scale protest around the Confederate monument in the past day, the gates around Silent Sam have remained up and several groups have reacted to its continued presence. 

• "I could put my dog up there. I’ll put my dog up there and make a symbol and say ‘Look, this is a dog world.’ And everybody will bring their dogs out here and they start fighting because one dog is bigger than the other dog and he doesn’t like the way one dog smells. A symbol is a symbol and America’s built symbolism.” Residents and students react to last night's protest.
•  Read a letter from four student organizations demanding that the statue be taken down here.
• Watch our protest coverage team talk about their experience on the scene here.

FAIRLY LOCAL

Amazingly, other stuff has been happening in Chapel Hill. Here's what you might have missed on and around campus:

• Ever heard of CHALT? Unless you're very involved in Chapel Hill politics, the answer is probably not. But the organization that endorsed three successful bids for election in 2015 is worth taking a look at as we approach this year's campaigns.
• We talked to new vice president for external affairs in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce Katie Loovis about her goals for the job.
• We also talked to author and assistant professor Stephanie Elizondo Griest about her new book, "All the Agents and Saints," which she'll do a reading of at Flyleaf books on Thursday.
• The Daily Tar Heel is hosting the premiere of Project Bucket this weekend! Check here for your tickets to the heartwarming journey of five friends as they traverse college and our UNC bucket list.