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Medlin asks Duke, N.C. State and N.C. Central students to not attend Halloween at UNC

Student Body President says Halloween should stay local

Policies to keep attendance low at Halloween festivities have proven more trick than treat for Duke University.

In an effort to enforce the policies, Student Body President Hogan Medlin wrote a letter to three universities, including Duke, asking that students not attend.

The letter, which was also sent to N.C. State University and N.C. Central University, has provoked a strong reaction from Medlin’s counterpart at Duke.

“As someone who loves Chapel Hill, it is difficult for me to ask people not to come experience this wonderful place,” Medlin wrote in the letter. “We absolutely want you to visit Chapel Hill… but we are requesting that you choose another weekend to do so.”

Medlin said excessive crowds contribute to a more dangerous atmosphere, which town officials enlisted his support to avoid.

“Students were saying that there were a lot of people coming from out of town,” Medlin said. “A lot of the unsafe situations were coming from students not from UNC.”

The town began the Homegrown Halloween campaign in response to the estimated 80,000 people who came to the downtown area in 2007. By limiting access, attendance was reduced to 35,000 in 2008 and 50,000 in 2009.

Medlin said he hoped to keep the letter positive and thought it was well-received.

“I didn’t get much animosity,” he said.

Mike Lefevre, president of the Duke Student Government, said he disagrees with the Homegrown Halloween initiative.

“It’s best for Duke students to get on a bus and head on over to Chapel Hill that night to have fun with our friends at our rival school,” Lefevre said.

This year, neither bus shuttles to park and ride lots nor downtown parking will be allowed.

“Chapel Hill is doing what it needs to do to keep the event safe and keep a good reputation for having fun downtown,” said Catherine Lazorko, spokeswoman for Chapel Hill.

The restrictions have been implemented by the town, not the University. But students from other universities don’t see the difference, Lefevre said.

“They’re a little bitter,” he said of Duke students. “I don’t think most students distinguish between UNC and the town of Chapel Hill.”

Lefevre pointed out shared initiatives between the two universities and said the Halloween policies run in opposition to that collaborative spirit.

“Here you have an instance where Duke students are prohibited from interacting with UNC students,” he said. “It is a little contradictory.”

Last year, Duke administrators restricted “Last Day of Classes” festivities to only Duke students. Lefevre said he would consider lightening the restrictions for LDOC if the Halloween restrictions were lifted.

“What I would consider to be a gentlemen’s agreement: that if UNC would allow Duke students to come over, there would be more flexibility there,” he said.

“The line was sort of drawn in the sand last year,” he added.

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.

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