Baseball, a campus tour and a speech from N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper were some of the events giving young students from around the state their first taste of UNC Saturday.
The events were part of the 2013 College Day Experience, a program held at schools nationwide by the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation that aims to expose underprivileged kids to campus life and encourage them to pursue higher education.
Cooper, who said in an interview that he might consider a gubernatorial run in the state in 2016, spoke to the 71 elementary and middle school students in attendance, underscoring the importance of staying away from crime, working hard and getting good grades.
Part of Saturday’s event was a baseball program held jointly by the foundation and the N.C. Department of Justice called Badges for Baseball, played between the kids and law enforcement. Cooper, who played in the game, said he feels the program helps encourage kids to become more comfortable with police and make positive life decisions.
“We want kids running to police cars instead of from police cars,” said Cooper.
The Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, which started in 2001, works to build character and teach life lessons to disadvantaged youth through baseball- and softball-themed programs.
Cooper pitched a few games of “quick ball,” a high-energy version of baseball designed by the foundation where everyone runs the bases no matter if they hit the ball or not. The goal is to see how many people they can get around the bases in two minutes.
“The goal is to bring kids to campus and show them first hand that if they make the right decisions today, they can attend a place like Chapel Hill in the future,” Flynn Burch, director of programs for the foundation, said.
Kids in attendance were selected for the program from 19 North Carolina organizations, including the Salvation Army chapters of Winston-Salem and Durham as well as six county chapters of the Boys & Girls Clubs.
