Freshmen test new freedom

Freshman Abbas Rattani tasted defeat on his first day as a UNC student, but he remains undaunted as he enters his first week at college.

After narrowly missing the glory of being named best dancer for his freshman class Friday at the South Campus Beach Bash on the lawn outside Ehringhaus Residence Hall, Rattani still stands by his dance-off performance, especially considering “that whack percolator song” the DJ picked.

“I come up there with Asian-Indian style, busting out like crazy,” says the Fayetteville native.

He even tried to break dance, he says, but because he is 6 feet 2 inches tall, it hurt his back.

Rattani says he didn’t regret his participation since he had nothing to lose.

“A friend of mine was like ‘yo, now’s the time to embarrass yourself because you don’t know these people yet,’” he says.

Rattani, who is seemingly unable to stop bouncing, dancing, gesticulating and spitting vocabulary from HBO’s “Da Ali G Show,” clearly exhibits the energy that characterizes the class of 2009, which has been called the most academically qualified in UNC history.

This fall’s freshmen, who hail from all 50 states and 44 other countries, are both ambitious and stressed at the close of their first day in Chapel Hill. They have been bombarded with information at C-TOPS and now are grappling with how to figure out their new school for themselves.

“Everything is so overwhelming,” says Abby Keiper, a freshman from Greenville.

“After moving in it was a little less of a load,” she says. “It’s nice to have a couple of days before classes start to get oriented.”

The most dramatic realization with which these students have to come to terms is that they no longer live with their parents. For some, it is a freedom long overdue, and for others, it is a nonissue.

Freshman Aaron Harrill says the separation might have been rougher on his parents.

“They didn’t cry in front of me but they might have been crying in the car on the way home,” he says.

Harrill, who grew up in Shelby, says he has been waiting to move away for a while.

“I just want to be able to make my own rules and all,” he says.

Freshman Rob Stephens, a Robertson Scholar from Winston-Salem, says he doesn’t know how much more he’ll party now that he’s on his own.

“My parents were pretty loose and cool about things and trusting me, which I deserved at least some of the time,” Stephens says.

After all the cardboard boxes are unpacked and all the goodbyes are said, the next order of business for the newest UNC students is getting to know their classmates.

Allison Nichols, a freshman from West Chester, Pa., says that aside from one acquaintance from high school, she knows no one at UNC.

Nichols says she found herself at the Beach Bash because freshmen are more scarce at her North Campus residence hall.

“Everything is a little overwhelming because you meet so many people at C-TOPS but then you’re wondering, ‘What will happen? Will I ever see these people again?’”

Even Harrill, who visited some friends from high school at a nearby dorm after he unpacked, says he is looking to expand past his familiar circle. “I just want to meet new people, meet people that are different from me,” he says.

Freshmen are also noticing that at a large, public university, almost every personality can find its own niche through the myriad other opportunities.

Rattani isn’t sure what he wants to get involved with yet, but he planned to attend Fall Fest on Sunday to check out what’s available and because he “heard that thing is da bomb.”

Stephens, who has spent a lot of time in Kenya working with AIDS research, says he is excited to get involved with the Student Global AIDS Campaign.

But Stephens says he is still just taking it one day at a time.

“A million things go through my mind whenever I do anything here,” he says. “I’m still getting a feel for everything.”

Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu.