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(03/10/06 5:00am)
Students will be looking forward to more than trips to the beach and late nights of fun this Spring Break.
More than 10 organizations will be travel to New Orleans and surrounding areas to help with Hurricane Katrina relief.
UNC's Habitat for Humanity, N.C. Hillel and the GLBTSA are just a few of the 11 organizations that received $1,000 grants from UNC's Carolina Center for Public Service and the Division of Student Affairs for their trips.
Some organizations will work to rebuild and repair houses damaged by the storm.
Valerie Kolko, director of statewide programs for N.C. Hillel, says nine students and one staffer will be going as part of a broader effort by Hillel.
Approximately 300 people will participate in rebuilding efforts, specifically focusing on roof repair.
Not all groups are making the journey with rebuilding in mind.
Forty people from UNC's School of Nursing will be working in medical clinics in Biloxi, Ocean Springs and Long Beach, Mississippi.
"There is still an urgent need for health care professionals in that area," says Amanda Meyers, associate director of public relations at UNC's School of Nursing. "Everyone's ready to go and anxious to get down there."
The UNC School of Law Pro Bono Program will be assisting with legal matters in New Orleans. Diane Standaert, the director of the program, says students will be serving three main functions.
They will assist clients with legal issues concerning their property, help settle divorce cases and work to develop a community education model that will educate victims on their legal rights.
Standaert says moving debris isn't the only thing that needs to happen.
"We believe we're addressing more systemic issues."
Check The Daily Tar Heel after break for updates and photos from these trips.
Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu.
(02/27/06 5:00am)
"I didn't know how to use a hammer before today," says Jing Zhang with a laugh.
Zhang, an East Chapel Hill High School junior, is one of dozens of volunteers who braved the elements Sunday to help with Habitat for Humanity's second annual Blitz Build.
For the blitz, volunteers team up to build an entire house in five days during two weekends. The house will be given to Karen Patillo, a University employee with two sons.
"We want to make sure employees have access to housing," says Jessica Jerald, co-chairwoman for UNC's Habitat for Humanity program.
The house is being built with the cooperation of the Orange Community Housing and Land Trust, Orange County Habitat for Humanity, the town of Chapel Hill and Empowerment Inc. The groups share the goal of producing affordable housing in the community.
Approximately 200 volunteers will have worked on the house by the time it is completed Saturday.
Sunday, volunteers split into two groups. One group built frames for the house, while the other connected the completed frames.
The house costs $30,000 -- a sum that was raised through donations and various fundraisers.
Kelly Cranford, a junior, is the fundraising co-chairwoman for the UNC chapter of Habitat.
"We've been working all year to raise money for this," she says. Money was raised at events such as the Southern Village Holiday 5K and a benefit concert.
The volunteers, working in shifts this weekend, gave different reasons for attending.
"I thought it'd be fun to get out and do some work for the good of the community," says Scot Meyer, an East Chapel Hill sophomore. Meyer has participated in Habitat for Humanity for two years but is working on his first build.
Rebecca Dejoie, an East Chapel Hill junior and first-time builder, cited a slightly different reason.
"We need service hours," she says. "This is the best way to get them."
Other more experienced builders also were on site to help.
UNC freshman Louise Bruce is building her fourth house. She started in high school and, in addition to building in Chapel Hill, worked on a project in Thailand.
The Blitz Build is set to conclude Saturday at noon with a dedication. As of Sunday morning, construction was progressing as planned.
"I'm surprised how much they finished in two days," Meyer says. "It's amazing how much you can get done if everyone's working together."
Members of Habitat for Humanity can sign up for shifts on the group's web site, habitat.unc.edu.
Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu.
(02/16/06 5:00am)
Ruel Tyson Jr. swore he would not get his hair cut until George Tomasic reopened the Tar Heel Barber Shop.
"If you didn't come back until July, I would have had to get my hair braided," he says, sitting down in the barber's chair Tuesday. Tyson has been a patron of Tomasic's shop since it opened in 1973 on Rosemary Street.
He recently closed for six weeks because of a heart condition that had been intensifying for years. Tomasic says he knew there was a problem but was afraid of getting "cracked open."
Two months ago, though, he hit a wall. A customer who suffered from the same condition finally convinced him to seek help.
He visited a doctor and in four days had 28 pounds of fluid drained from his body. It was the first time Tomasic missed work due to illness in his 46 years as a barber.
"I feel like I'm back where I belong," he says.
A street away from the Tar Heel Barber Shop is a much different establishment - the Campus Barber, run by Corey Bell.
Located below Cosmic Cantina, on Franklin Street, the quaint shop has a feel all its own.
Televisions play on opposite ends of the room, chipped Carolina blue paint covers the floor, and cash registers are nowhere to be found.
Bell, a 2001 UNC graduate, has a history of cutting hair in less than luxurious environments. As a student he cut hair in Carmichael and Old East residence halls.
"I paid my tuition by cutting hair," he says. "I cut everybody's hair - students, police, security guards, professors, coaches."
When he graduated, he says he saw a big demand on campus for a barbershop. At age 23 he opened the Campus Barber.
"I scrounged up money, talked to the landlord for two straight weeks and heard a bunch of 'no's," he says. "I had to do a lot of faithin' and prayin.'"
The 'no's did not last long, however, and now Bell owns another barbershop and a barber school. He says he considers his shop to be almost a staple in Chapel Hill.
"If we closed down, there are a lot of people who'd wonder where to get their hair cut."
Cutting hair was not always a concern for Grady Sturdivant. But one day Sturdivant, who died in 2000, was doing TV repair on a roof in 20-degree weather. When he went in to get a haircut, the barber convinced him to go to barber school, so he could get an indoor job and be warm.
Son and shop owner Russ Sturdivant says that's how Carrboro's Friendly Barber Shop was founded in 1960.
He says not much has changed in 45 years. The town has grown, other barbershops have come and gone, but the family shop has remained the same.
What separates the small, old-fashioned barbershops from the chain stores is treatment, he says.
"I think you get more attention in an old-fashioned barbershop," Sturdivant says. "We had a Great Clips move in nearby, and all we've seen of them is the mistakes they've made that we've had to fix."
Bell says it is hard when you're overrun with business. "They don't take care of the customers - they have to rush people out of the chair."
Each barbershop owner has been successful enough to draw famous customers, from former N.C. Gov. Luther Hodges to Antawn Jamison and Kanye West.
Bell emphasizes that famous customers are treated like everyone else, and in the end his establishment caters to the average guy.
Tomasic dismisses any notion of rivalry between his shop and others in town.
"I try to be an innovator. It's like they say, 'Lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way!'" he says with a laugh.
What binds these three owners is a dedication to their craft. Sturdivant says he plans to work for 20 more years, at least. Bell plans to stay open, and Tomasic says the only thing that will stop him is his health or the customers leaving.
Tomasic finishes up Tyson's hair as he prepares to offer a bit of wisdom learned in 46 years. He stands in front of a wall covered in money - decorative bills from all times and places given to him by customers.
"When one of your male customers goes through a divorce, you can always tell who's at fault," he says. "If he divorced her, he'll be back the next week.
"If she asked for the divorce, you'll never see him again."
Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu.
(02/15/06 5:00am)
When junior Dax Dixson's parents divorced, he got to see his father only a couple times each year.
Dixson recalls one interest that kept their bond strong.
Guns.
Dixson is the president of the Tar Heel Rifle and Pistol Club. The club, which formed in September, has about 50 members and has sparked the interest of many University gun enthusiasts.
A National Rifle Association group existed on campus last year, says Dixson, who also is a member of Student Congress. When that group failed to pan out, Dixson decided to start his own club.
"We started the club to bring together people at Carolina who were interested in shooting," he says.
"We have a diverse array of activities with different types of guns, so students can find out what exactly they like and pursue that end."
Freshman John Houston, vice president of the club, also has loved guns from an early age.
"When I got my first BB gun, a Red Ryder like the kid in 'A Christmas Story,'" he says, "I let the first round fly and said to myself, 'This is everything I thought it'd be.' Since then I've been hooked."
Houston says he sees the club as a medium for those with a similar passion.
"I thought, in the liberalism of Chapel Hill, that students who enjoy responsible firearm use needed an outlet and a place where they can share in the company of people who are like-minded," he says.
Dixson says last year's NRA club was unsuccessful because the group was not active enough. He says this club will not follow the same path.
"I want us to be active. I want us to have an event almost every month," Dixson says.
Events this year have included a trip to the Durham County Wildlife Club for skeet shooting and shotgun safety instruction, as well as a talk by N.C. Rifle and Pistol Association representative Kirk Smith, who discussed Second-Amendment rights.
Anyone can join the club - you don't have to be firearm proficient.
"A lot of people who come to join are inexperienced," Dixson says. "They are initially apprehensive about being evaluated negatively - they think if they don't shoot correctly or they miss a target that they'll be ridiculed."
He estimates that half the members at the skeet-shooting event were inexperienced but says that after a couple of rounds, they were almost proficient.
Events such as these brought concerns from Student Congress, which raised issues about liability. Specifically they questioned whether the University would be responsible for injuries at off-campus events and how they would reflect on the school. Student Congress ended up providing $500 to fund club activities retroactively.
Junior Nancy DeMaria attended the skeet-shooting event and is one of about 10 women in the club.
Like Dixson, her love of guns came from her father.
"He always encouraged my sister and I to know how to shoot a firearm," she says. "Not just for target practice but to defend yourself."
Beyond a love for guns and shooting, members of the Tar Heel Rifle and Pistol Club share convictions about the Second Amendment.
"I resent the criticism that (the Second Amendment) receives from the liberal media and people in general who don't view shooting as a form of expression," Houston says.
He says he thinks it boils down to the idea of personal responsibility being discarded by many Americans, an idea shared by DeMaria.
"You can't always count on the government to help you," she says. "You can't always count on other people to help you."
DeMaria says that one day she carried an NRA coffee mug to class with an inscription that said, "The 2nd Amendment: America's original homeland security."
"My guy friends gave me high-fives for that one."
Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu.
(10/11/05 4:00am)
Frank Porter Graham, whose name graces the Student Union, once said UNC stands "under the skies that give their color and their charm to the life of youth gathered here - there is music in the air of the place."
(09/19/05 4:00am)
On Saturday afternoon, the Carolina Inn was host to a pre-game "huddle" complete with cheerleaders, a bluegrass band and trays of eastern North Carolina barbecue pork.