UNC campus activities moving south

When student government officials went out to recruit new members Tuesday night, they were nowhere near the Pit.

They were down at Rams Head Plaza on South Campus, hawking flyers and trying to get people to sign up for committees.

Student government won’t be the only group raising awareness of their events on South Campus this year. The relocation of group space to Rams Head Plaza is part of a southward push by UNC administrators to help cope with campus space issues.

While South Campus houses the majority of on-campus residents, it doesn’t get the foot traffic that the Pit gets between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., its peak hours. Despite that, student leaders said they’re excited to bring more events to where students live.

Because a lot of his residents are freshmen and new to campus, Hinton James Residence Hall resident adviser Michael Stanley said more activities on South Campus would be amazing.

“A lot of my residents ask me what there is to do specifically in South Campus and I don’t always have an answer,” he said.

He added that the walk from South Campus to North Campus deters a lot of students from participating in activities at night.

“At the end of the day, students go home to South Campus and there isn’t much to do,” Stanley said. “It would be nice to have more activities down there.”

Student Body Vice President David Bevevino said the large amount of visibility and foot traffic through Rams Head and the Student and Academic Services Buildings’ plazas make them excellent venues.

In the past, South Campus hosted a block party and “Flicks on the Bricks,” a free movie night during Week of Welcome. But the majority of student activities remain on North Campus.

Carolina Union Activities Board President Amanda Kao said South Campus has a lot of opportunities for outdoor activities.

“Where the students are is where we’ll be,” she said.

Senior Matthew Dawson, who lived in Granville Towers through his junior year and now lives off campus, said he felt South Campus activities would exclude off-campus students.

“If the target audience is underclassmen then I think it’s best to hold activities in South Campus,” he said. “But if not, I still feel the Pit is the best location.”

Bevevino said getting students from one side of the University to the other could be tough.

“There’s a strange barrier between North and South Campus, but we want to make sure that students have access to activities no matter where they live,” he said.



Contact the University editor at udesk@unc.edu.