Hundreds of Carolina Fever members will keep an all-night vigil over the Old Well tonight, protecting it from potential vandals on the eve of the UNC-N.C. State football game.
Fever is hosting the first Old Well Watch in response to an incident last year, when red paint was splashed on the campus icon before the same matchup. Fever board members said they hope it will become a mainstay.
“I think it’s going to be very exciting,” said Fever co-chairwoman Rachel Penny. “It’s a way to build a tradition and do something fun.”
Students will take one-hour shifts guarding the Old Well while playing games such as capture the flag and football.
The rest of the attendees will enjoy a variety of activities in the Great Hall of the Student Union.
The gathering was originally supposed to be held in Manning Hall, but due to overwhelming response — on Thursday the Facebook event showed more than 660 confirmed guests — the location was changed.
Student Congress allocated $1,500 to the event at its Wednesday meeting. Fever also got $1,000 from Late Night Carolina, operated by the Dean of Students office, and the athletic department is buying pizza. The event is costing about $2,600 total.
Festivities will begin with a showing of the 10 p.m. men’s basketball game against UC-Santa Barbara, with free pizza at halftime.
Student a cappella and dance groups will perform until about 1:30 a.m., followed by a showing of the 1996 film “Space Jam.” Free breakfast will be served at 4 a.m.
Stephen Vance, Fever co-chairman, said there also is the possibility of a surprise appearance by a UNC football player.
For each one-hour shift of the night, as many as 100 students might be guarding the well. For this reason, he said he doesn’t expect to meet any would-be Wolfpack vandals.
But Vance and Penny said the event is more about having fun and laying the foundation for a tradition surrounding UNC football.
“We’re trying to come up with innovative initiatives to get people involved with Carolina sports,” Vance said. “It seems like there’s a big buzz about this. People are excited.”
Fever members have also done some painting of their own, albeit legal.
Earlier this week, Fever members traveled to N.C. State University to paint the campus’s Free Expression Tunnel Carolina blue in retaliation.
Tyler Eshraghi, a junior at N.C. State, said that retaliation was not unexpected.
“The immediate response around campus was, ‘The tunnel was painted. We expected that,” Eshraghi said. “But if we’re not rivals according to Carolina students, why did it happen? It’s sort of inexplicable.”
HELP GUARD THE WELL
Time: 9:30 p.m. to 4 a.m. today
Location: Old Well
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
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