Day to feature student voice

The University Day committee took steps Wednesday to make an old tradition more accessible to students when it decided to allow them to make remarks in the Oct. 12 ceremony.

This is the first time a student representative will speak in the University Day celebration in at least several years, said committee chairman Steve Allred, who serves as executive associate provost.

This year's celebration will mark the 212th anniversary of the campus.

Classes will be cancelled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to allow students to attend University Day celebrations, although many students prefer to stay home each year.

In hopes of encouraging a better student turnout, Student Body President Seth Dearmin proposed the addition of student remarks to the program.

After a few minutes of debate, the committee overwhelmingly backed the idea.

Dearmin will deliver his words on behalf of the students.

He said the committee's decision was an important one.

"We now have a voice at the event," he said.

Dearmin said he will focus on the many positives of University Day for students. He said he will emphasize the history and tradition of the University.

"There is a lot to be excited about," he said. University Day commemorates the 1793 laying of the cornerstone of Old East, the campus's first building. The campus community has paused to recognize the anniversary since 1877, when Governor Zebulon B. Vance, a member of the UNC Board of Trustees, announced that the day should serve as a time for reflection.

The committee also discussed other ways to increase student attendance at the ceremony.

Dearmin said he plans to send "personalized invitations to student leaders," and he said he hopes they will encourage their constituents to come.

Student leaders will be a part of the procession entering Memorial Hall - which will hold the ceremony for the first time since it closed for renovations in 2002.

Committee members also said they will encourage faculty members to use the time away from class to attend the event with their students.

The keynote speaker will be Christopher Armitage, an English professor who became a UNC faculty member in 1967. His address is titled "Chance and Change."

The committee also decided to allot time for Tommy Griffin, chairman of the Employee Forum, to speak at the event, a first in recent years.

Allred said he is looking forward to the celebration. "We'll have a splendid time."

 

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.