2022 was a year that brought both old and new to the Chapel Hill community.
We saw history repeat itself through championship games and midterm election cycles, while new celebrations and challenges continued to arise.
For the first time since spring 2020, UNC’s campus returned this fall with no face covering requirement — a stark contrast to January, when students greeted their classmates on FDOC with a smile hidden behind a mask.
The women’s lacrosse and field hockey teams went undefeated all season, bringing home two NCAA National Championship titles in the process. The UNC men’s basketball team overcame a rough beginning to the season but bounced back to beat Duke twice, play in the National Championship and come into the fall 2022 season with a preseason number one ranking.
While these celebrations and victories aren’t a stranger to the campus, familiar struggles also have made their return, such as faculty welfare and pay inequities. Rallies and activism have continued in hopes of higher pay for the University housekeepers — an issue that some argue has been around for over fifty years.
After months of conversations regarding the failure to grant tenure to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, a settlement was finally reached between her and the University. The settlement aims to increase diversity and equity movements throughout the campus and elevate the voices of people of color in the community.
Concerns and conversations over campus accessibility and safety issues are still echoing throughout the halls as broken elevators remain unfixed and efforts to fund repairs remain in progress. The University’s deferred maintenance backlog reached nearly $1 billion this year.
Chapel Hill residents continue to face increased costs of living and dwindling affordable housing options. The Town continues to allocate funding to various initiatives in order to provide solutions.
As we continue to see familiar recurrences, new forces are also influencing the University.
