The Bell Tower hasn't been performing up to par lately.
The UNC landmark, known for its four-faced clock and daily bell chimes, has been speeding 20 minutes ahead of schedule and failing to send out 15-minute reminder rings since students returned to campus for the fall semester last week.
"Today I was wondering what time it was, and I'm used to hearing the bells," said junior Daniel Hicks. "Last year when I was going to class everyday I would hear it at the crosswalk by Wilson (Library) and know I was late."
And officials who have been entrusted with the Bell Tower's care neglected to realize the icon wasn't properly ticking or chiming. "I didn't realize it was silent," said Jeffrey Fuchs on Monday, whose job includes operating the Bell Tower.
Fuchs said the location of his Hill Hall office prevents him from keeping tabs on the tower's performance, which is controlled by a computer system that tells the tower's 14 bells to chime every 15 minutes from 7 a.m. to midnight. It also randomly selects from a catalog of 34 tunes to play at 8 a.m., 12 p.m., 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Stanley Young, a plant maintenance supervisor who is in charge of maintaining the Bell Tower machinery, said the tower requires little upkeep. Young said the last time he remembers it being out of commission was when lightning struck the Bell Tower in the fall of 1999, silencing the bells and stilling the clock for several weeks.
But Young said he also doesn't make regular checks of the tower's operations. "I don't even go by there," Young said. "Someone called me and told me it wasn't working on Friday."
Young said he then called Fuchs, who has the keys to the tower. To get the Bell Tower back on track, Fuchs said he will try to set the tower clock on the computer and then check the bells' programming. "It usually takes 24 hours for the clocks to catch up," Fuchs said.
