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(01/28/08 5:00am)
Here I am, huddled above a trash can next to N.C. State University's bell tower, wondering whether or not my stomach will hold up.
I should probably back up a few steps.
Three hours ago, I was on the road to the fourth annual Krispy Kreme Challenge, a four-mile race with an interesting twist. Two miles into the competition, every runner is expected to eat a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
The six other UNC participants and I decide the odds are right around 100 percent that a person will throw up during the course of the race. Undaunted, we talk strategy for the event and drive on to meet our destiny.
Upon arrival in Raleigh, I get my first glimpse of the other 3,000 runners who will be competing with me. I immediately spot several "Don't Glaze Me Bro" T-shirts and another group of 40 runners wearing only short shorts and green and silver paint - all the more impressive considering it is only a few degrees above freezing at the 9 a.m. start.
Everyone is crowded by the bell tower in nervous excitement, talking about just how bad they will feel in a mere 30 minutes - during the doughnut part of the competition.
I see a Ron Paul sign and decide that sums it up best. The percentage of people crazy enough to consider running this race is about the same percentage of votes Paul is getting in the Republican primaries and caucuses.
As I get my race number and make my way to the starting line, I am struck by how serious some of the participants look. The concept of running this race for time seems as strange to me as the race itself.
I make small talk with a few fellow runners before being interrupted by a siren announcing the start of the race.
Predictably, everyone sprints for the first 30 seconds before settling into a sustainable pace. I manage to get a cramp a minute into the race, but adrenaline keeps me going. Well, adrenaline and not wanting to be passed by a girl.
I reach the Krispy Kremes to the sounds of The Killers - apparently the race organizers decided everyone should be pumped up while eating the doughnuts. While the music does its best, nothing is going to get me excited about the prospect staring me in the face. I grab my box of 12 cold pastries and commence the hardest part of my task.
I use this technique suggested to me by a participant of last year's race: grab two doughnuts, squash them together, fold the double donut in half, eat the sugary treat and repeat until the box is empty.
Doughnuts one through six are fairly easy to stomach, but seven through 12 turn into a battle of will. I begin to get a sugar high during numbers seven and eight.
Once I finish those two, I decide to cram my last four doughnuts together into a pseudo burrito, and I force myself to down it.
The feeling during those last four doughnuts consumes my head, digestive system and limbs. My head is spinning from the sugar high, my stomach is nauseous from malnutrition, and my limbs are locking up from standing still in the cold for more than 25 minutes. I can't hear the music anymore and think about lying down until I feel better.
Needless to say, this is an unpleasant feeling. After what seems like forever, I manage to finish the doughnuts and embark on the final two miles.
My stomach is a ticking time bomb on the run back to the bell tower. As I hop over and avoid pools of vomit in the street, I resolve to overcome my sickness and run all the way to the finish.
I make it my goal to finish in less than an hour and press on despite bodily signs screaming at me to stop.
When I glimpse the finish line in the distance, my tired body springs to life again, and I pick up the pace as the doughnuts bubble up inside of me.
Right after finishing, I make a beeline for the trash can.
After all the chaos witnessed during the race, I can honestly say I have never felt so comfortable throwing up in front of so many people in my life. Doughnuts will never be the same.
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(11/29/07 5:00am)
Not with a bang, but with a whimper.
Three consecutive ACC losses to finish the season ruined what could have been an emphatic closing statement for the North Carolina women's volleyball team.
For a squad that saw its fair share of ups and downs throughout the season, including opening the year with a 3-5 record, the three straight defeats seemed to fit for a team that could never quite get over the hump.
The slump came directly after a six-game winning streak that had the Tar Heels in a strong position to finish near the top of the conference.
Instead, UNC slid to 11-11 in the ACC (15-16 overall), placing sixth in the conference.
"It was very roller coaster," senior Ashley Board said.
"We were kind of steady in the middle but definitely kind of uncertain at the beginning and the end."
Coach Joe Sagula said the inconsistency of the young Tar Heels was mostly due to the growing pains of adjusting to each other and to the NCAA level.
"Developmentally we've made great strides from where we were," he said. "We were a young team, with not a lot of highly competitive experience."
Despite some early losses, North Carolina found its stride during the second half of the season with six consecutive sweeps against ACC opponents.
"We hit a point in the season when we really did learn how to do that when we hit that home stretch. I thought our team really developed and showed signs of what we are capable of doing," Sagula said.
Sagula said he believes the defining moment of the season was fleshed out in a midseason battle against Georgia Tech.
"Their backs were against the wall and they showed some character in how they came out and fought. That was the turning point, that loss, even though it was a loss," he said of the Tar Heels.
"It's something I'll remember that we can build upon."
UNC will miss contributions next season from its three seniors, Board, Bekah Brinkley and Christie Clark, who set the tone in practice with their commitment and enthusiasm.
"The work ethic and the responsibility that our class has is an example for the younger kids coming in, especially for the new freshmen and even the sophomores still learning how to be a Carolina volleyball player," Board said.
Junior Brianna Eskola, a second-team All-ACC selection who topped the ACC with 678 digs, led the North Carolina defense this year. She also managed to break UNC's career digs record in only her third year.
Stephanie Jansma orchestrated the offense and doled out 1,331 assists, and Lauren Prussing led the team in kills with 294. Christine Vaughen paced the team with a .326 attack percentage.
Even though the season just concluded, Sagula already is looking forward to next year.
"Expectations for next year are extremely high," he said.
"I think that these two years of growth have set the stage for next year and we'll be pretty disappointed if we can't compete and be in the top two (in the ACC) and make the NCAA Tournament."
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(10/30/07 4:00am)
Despite its goal of making a strong statement to the rest of the ACC with victories against a couple top-tier conference teams, the North Carolina volleyball squad stumbled in a pair of games versus Clemson and Georgia Tech during the weekend.
The Tar Heels (9-13, 5-8 ACC) dug themselves into a deep hole in both matches, spotting both opponents early 2-0 game leads in the best-of-five format.
Clemson came into the match against UNC holding an undefeated 11-0 conference mark and also the leading ACC hitting percentage at .275.
"They're the most balanced team in the conference. They have five very good hitters in each position," UNC coach Joe Sagula said.
"Other teams have one or two dominant players, but they're pretty even and good in every position. That's what makes them very successful offensively and why they're hitting such a high percent."
Clemson played as well as its mark suggested early and took a quick two-game lead - including posting a blistering .415 hitting percentage in game one.
Sagula said the early score was not an indication of the competitive atmosphere, as UNC held a 21-19 lead in the first game before losing 10 consecutive points.
"We made like six mistakes in a row right at the wrong time, and then the next game it was almost identical," Sagula said. "We were even with them, and then we made four or five mistakes at the end of the game. It's not like we're coming out flat."
UNC bounced back to take game three, but eventually succumbed in game four, and the Tigers took the match.
The next contest against Georgia Tech mirrored the game against Clemson, but then the Tar Heels showed Sagula something he didn't expect after they lost the first two games.
"We showed a level of play; we showed a fight in us that I hadn't seen all year," he said.
UNC ripped the Yellow Jackets 30-20 and 30-25 in games three and four and went ahead 15-14 in the fifth. But ultimately the comeback fell short as Georgia Tech closed out the final three points to win 17-15.
"We did everything - we out-statted them, we out-blocked them, we out-dug them, we outhit them - we did everything except win the game," Sagula said.
"The level of play was fantastic. . I'm encouraged and at the same time disappointed that we don't have the things to show for it, because we're a pretty good team. And I want this team to feel good about what they're doing because they're doing it the right way."
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(10/22/07 4:00am)
Despite coming into the halfway point of its ACC season at a middling 5-6 in conference play, the North Carolina volleyball team remains optimistic about its prospects for the rest of the ACC season.
How optimistic? Try expecting victories in all 11 conference games left in the season.
"We feel confident going into 11 matches that there's not a team that if we play together and we play smart that we can't beat in this conference," coach Joe Sagula said.
"We're not going to go into these matches and say 'We're going to plan on losing some.' We plan to win 11 matches. Whether it's first, second, third, fourth, whatever in the conference, our goal is to make a run to the top of the conference at the end."
A big reason for the team's confidence is the developing chemistry and mental toughness after playing with each other through the first half of the season.
"I think we've grown a lot, which is good for us, because we've still a long way to go, but we've come a long way as well," junior libero Brianna Eskola said.
Eskola also echoed her coach's sentiments about expectations for upcoming ACC play.
"We want to really make a run at the end of the season and hopefully send a message that we're growing and we know how to win now and just try to make the rest of the season better than the first half of the season of the ACCs."
At the midway point in the season, the team leaders in attacking are Lauren Prussing with 204 kills and Christine Vaughen with a .331 attack percentage. Setter Stephanie Jansma leads the team in assists with 878, and libero Eskola has paced the team defensively with 447 digs.
Eskola has the third most career digs in UNC history and could break the record in only her junior season.
Sagula said that Ingrid Hanson-Tuntland, Noelle Dyk, Megan Owens and Sue Haydel also have played key roles in the attack this season and that Ashley Board's play has been crucial for UNC's defense.
But North Carolina faces a stiff test to its aspirations of an undefeated second half of the season when it travels to South Carolina next weekend to face off against the first place team in the ACC - Clemson.
Even with that challenge, UNC remains undeterred from its target.
"The goal is to win the rest of our matches," Jansma said. "I think if we stay mentally tough in practices we'll be able to do that."
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(10/22/07 4:00am)
The North Carolina women's volleyball team nearly pulled off a sweep of two ACC rivals from the Sunshine State this weekend but instead relinquished a 2-1 game lead to Florida State before easily dispatching Miami 3-0.
The main threat UNC had to deal with from FSU was 6-foot-2-inch junior Mira Djuric, an outside hitter from Serbia with a crushing spike and a powerful serve. UNC's game plan against the Seminoles focused on slowing her down and eliminating her most effective shots.
"We tried to serve tough because we knew that if we served tough they'd be out of system, and they wouldn't be able to give her the ball she wanted, so that was our main philosophy," UNC junior setter Stephanie Jansma said.
The Tar Heels also attempted to dictate the shots Djuric could use.
"We tried to take away her power shot, which is cross court," junior libero Brianna Eskola said. "We tried to focus on making her hit one angle instead of trying to stop everything and not being able to do anything with it."
Florida State took the first game of the best-of-five format, overcoming an early 7-2 UNC lead to defeat the Tar Heels 34-32 in a back-and-forth game that saw 13 ties and four lead changes.
UNC emerged from the first game unfazed, hitting its stride in games two and three to take a 2-1 lead. But Djuric and the Seminoles responded and took game four in dominating fashion, cruising to a 30-24 win to send the match to a pivotal game five.
UNC held leads of 10-7 and 13-12 in the race to 15 in game five, but Djuric simply would not let the Seminoles lose as she registered three kills and an assist during the next five points to send Florida State to the victory 16-14.
Djuric finished with 25 kills on the night to lead FSU, while sophomores Christine Vaughen and Ingrid Hanson-Tuntland led UNC with 15 kills each.
"We had a couple of big blocks on her, but at the end, when you've got a really, really experienced and mature foreign player like that, they find ways to score." UNC coach Joe Sagula said.
After the loss on Saturday, UNC came out strong against Miami, overmatching the Hurricanes in games one and two to pull away to 30-24 and 30-22 victories.
Game three was much more of a battle as UNC found itself behind for the majority of the game, and with Miami leading 29-26, the match appeared to be headed to game four. But UNC battled back to tie the score at 29 and eventually closed out the match on a 3-0 run to make the final score 32-30.
"You probably don't see it statistically, but the quality of the digging tonight was better," Sagula said. "Brianna Eskola last night probably had a whole lot more digs, but the quality of the contact really allowed our offense to be in a much better rhythm."
Jansma said UNC's pattern of finishing its weekend games with a .500 record is frustrating. The Tar Heels have split two games each of the past four weeks, and as a result, their record has hovered around .500 in ACC play all season.
"It's good that we're winning one, but it's bad that we're losing one. I think we need to find consistency for both days," she said.
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(09/24/07 4:00am)
In the end, the North Carolina women's volleyball team needed only to look at the start to figure out what went wrong this weekend.
Coming off a dominating performance on the road against N.C. State to open ACC play, the Tar Heels came into Carmichael Auditorium looking to build off their strong start and hoping to feed off the energy of their home crowd.
But a little over an hour into both games against Georgia Tech and Clemson, the partisan crowd was silenced from the home team falling into quick 0-2 holes and appearing vastly overmatched by its opponents.
Coach Joe Sagula summed up his team's struggles bluntly.
"We're starting like crap; let's face the facts," he said.
UNC had the talent to keep up with both teams, as evidenced by its resiliency to win the third game in both matches and fight two closely contested game fours. So the question for the team this week is how to match its level of play at the end of games from the beginning.
Junior outside hitter Lauren Prussing said North Carolina needs to demonstrate the same sense of urgency in the first two games that it showed in the last two.
"Last night and tonight we came out in the third game with a lot of energy because we knew if we didn't win that game we would lose," she said.
"We need to take that energy and intensity we have in game three and bring it to the very first game."
Junior libero Brianna Eskola attributed much of the poor play to another cause, one more psychological in its nature.
"We tend to lose focus a lot," she said. "We tend to play best in the middle of games; we just need to focus more on doing our jobs at the beginning of the game."
Sagula attempted to give his team a spark during the Clemson game by taking out his entire starting lineup except Eskola, but even these dramatic substitutions could not prevent the Tigers from controlling the second contest from start to finish to come away with the win.
"I would like to find a way to light a fire under them until they get inspired," Sagula said.
"What's happening is that we're losing the beginning; we're playing even in the middle, and then we're trying to catch up at the end. Playing catch-up all the time is emotionally draining and difficult to do all season long."
As for next week's practice, Prussing said both the coaches and the team will demand more of themselves, physically and mentally, in order to correct this weekend's disappointing results.
"We have to go out and practice not only physical things but also concentrating all the time and just bring out in each other the fire to win."
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(09/10/07 4:00am)
The North Carolina volleyball team capped off the Carolina Classic with a nail-biting five-game victory against American University on Saturday night to finish the tournament with a 2-1 record and two confidence-building victories.
The American University victory was a fitting way to complete the four-team round robin for the Tar Heels, who displayed resilience under pressure throughout the tournament.
"Preseason tournaments are all about finding ourselves as a team," said junior libero Brianna Eskola. "We're just kind of building and finding out what works heading into ACCs."
UNC faced Villanova on Friday night and defeated the Wildcats in the first and third games, but Villanova answered each Carolina win with victories, setting up a pivotal fifth game to decide the match.
The Tar Heels struck early in the fifth to go up 6-3 and cruised the rest of the way en route to a dominant 15-8 win to claim the victory.
Junior Lauren Prussing led the team with 18 kills for the match.
The Tar Heels stumbled early in their next match against Western Kentucky, dropping the first two games 30-26 and 30-21 and looking overmatched by the Hilltoppers.
UNC bounced back in the third game, dominating from start to finish in a 30-19 win and displaying energy that Vaughen termed crucial.
"Just keeping a lot of energy, we play really well when we're excited," sophomore Christine Vaughen said.
The Tar Heels continued their strong play into the fourth game, but Western Kentucky raised its play to the same level as UNC and eventually ousted the hosts 30-26.
In its final match, UNC secured the first two games over American, but the Eagles responded to win games three and four to set up another crucial fifth game for the Tar Heels.
"We just talked to each other as a team," Eskola sad. "It was even at that point; we each had nothing to lose. It was a brand-new start, and we had to just focus on what we did earlier to win the first two games."
UNC rebounded with a quick start in the fifth game, building a commanding 11-6 lead in the race to 15 points and holding off their opponents to secure a 15-12 victory.
Vaughen finished with 43 kills for the tournament and was selected to the all-tournament team. Eskola and junior Stephanie Jansma also led UNC with 64 digs and 148 assists, respectively.
"Our middle attack is really solid right now," Sagula said. "Our outside hitters at times dominated in a game, and then they would disappear in the next game - so we need more consistency from them."
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(04/20/07 4:00am)
In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech tragedy, school systems across the country are discussing new security measures to ensure that such a harrowing event never could be duplicated.
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine announced Thursday that an independent review panel has been formed to analyze the circumstances surrounding Monday's shooting.
Retired Virginia State police Superintendent Col. Gerald Massengill will be the head of the panel, which also will include Tom Ridge, the former U.S. secretary of homeland security.
N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper also has called for a special task force in conjunction with the State Bureau of Investigation, the UNC system, the N.C. Community College System and the N.C. Independent Colleges and Universities to look for improvements in campus emergency plans.
"We'll be looking at issues such as guidelines for when to declare a campus lockdown, how to better communicate with students and faculty in a crisis and more ways to identify a potential shooter, along with many others," he said in a Wednesday press conference.
Hope Williams, president of N.C. Independent Colleges and Universities, said school administrators will choose a task force during the next 10 days. She said this task force will release a report within six months containing suggestions for the 2007 fall semester.
The task force will not mandate changes, Williams said, because a one-size plan cannot fit different universities' needs.
"I think the major question is one of modifying and adjusting existing emergency response plans as institutions feel it is necessary."
Jeff Davies, the chief of staff for UNC-system President Erskine Bowles, said discussions already had begun concerning improvements in security before the Va. Tech incident, but the event has added impetus to the debate.
"The decisions have been made to ensure that all residence halls will have card access, alarms and cameras," he said. "We are trying to wrap our arms around a very big issue in a very short amount of time."
Davies said the UNC system likely will ask for state funding for the changes.
And like many other schools nationwide, UNC-Chapel Hill has looked critically at its security measures.
UNC-CH officials said their campus police have completed annual active shooter training and will work with local law enforcement in the case of an emergency.
UNC-CH has the ability to contact students through radio broadcast, housing fliers and campuswide informational e-mails.
E-mails sent to the University community take roughly two hours to reach all intended recipients.
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(04/18/07 4:00am)
A pro-choice group supporting sex education reform bills in the N.C. General Assembly hosted an event in Raleigh on Tuesday night to raise awareness about issues such as sexual assault, women's health and prevention first education.
The group's latest event, featuring N.C. Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue speaking on a variety of women's health subjects, came as new legislation that would transform sex education in the state is in committee in both branches of the General Assembly.
The bills would change the policy of teaching abstinence only to a policy that would encourage abstinence but also inform students about current contraceptives and ways to avoid sexually transmitted diseases.
Under the current law, individual counties can include information beyond abstinence-only education, but this practice is not widespread.
Rep. Maggie Jeffus, D-Guilford, a sponsor of the bill, said that while teen pregnancy rates have gone down since the enactment of an abstinence-only program in the early 1990s, she has received reports that abstinence-only education is not working.
"What we want to do is try and teach these young people is that while abstinence is preferred, there are other methods out there," she said. "All we're trying to do is educate them so they can make the proper decisions when the time comes."
Jeffus said that the only criticism of the bill has come from people who think it will promote sexual activity but that the amount of support far outweighs the opposition.
Melissa Reed, executive director for the National Abortion Rights Actions League Pro-Choice North Carolina, said her organization, which hosted the event, supports the bill's new instruction on contraception, the elimination of religious bias and a mandate that requires course materials to be factually accurate.
"The schools need to take a very proactive stance to protect the lives and well-being of our young people," she said. "An abstinence and sex education program will do that."
She said abstinence-only programs have been proven ineffective in reducing sexual activity and cited high N.C. teen pregnancy rates and high rates of HIV in college as reasons why a change should be made.
Traci Griggs, director of communications for the N.C. Family Policy Council, said the proposed legislation would be disastrous to the children of the state. She said that while abstinence education could be improved, the methods of this proposed sexual education will cause outrage among adults.
"If some of the parents looked at the curriculum of the comprehensive sexual education, they would be severely dismayed," she said.
Griggs mentioned teaching lesser forms of sexual activity as substitution for sex and racing to see who can put a condom on a pickle first as instances of these questionable practices of these sexual education programs.
Jenny Stevens, the president of the Conservative Women's Voice at UNC, said her qualms with the new program is the message it sends to N.C. youth.
"By telling high school kids that we know you're going to end up having sex, it's saying that it's OK," she said. "It's not OK though because it's dangerous."
Stevens said it was the parents' responsibility to educate their own children on sexual activity, not the government's.
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(03/30/07 4:00am)
With a substantial amount of fighting and losses in Iraq and Afghanistan, some people have responded by erecting monuments to support and honor troops before the wars have ended.
UNC already has added a new memorial honoring fallen soldiers from the University, located next to Memorial Hall.
The memorial, which will be dedicated in April, commemorates soldiers from the University in all wars, and includes a quotation from a participant in the Iraq war.
UNC is not alone in its homage to the N.C. military.
Several other monuments in the area focus on memorializing the courage of veterans, such as the N.C. Veterans Freedom Park in Cary and the Veterans' Memorial of Wake Forest.
Dave Milidonis, executive director of the N.C. Veterans Freedom Park, said the monument gives people insight into a veteran's experience.
"The objective of the freedom park is to tell the story of freedom through the eyes of a veteran," he said.
Milidonis said additions for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are in progress, which he said should be completed in five years.
Donnie Hight, vice president of the committee of the Veterans' Memorial of Wake Forest, said the Wake Forest monument was built for similar reasons.
"We did this in honor of the ones who sacrificed everything for our freedom," he said.
"This is the main reason the memorial was built, in honor and memory of them, and for the veterans still living."
Hight also said the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq will bring additional names to the memorial's granite panels.
The names that are honored are from the general area of Wake Forest, he said.
"Those wars will be represented, but hopefully not many names will have to be added."
As for the University memorial, Maj. Robert Schmoldt, a UNC Air Force ROTC professor of aerospace studies, said it will benefit the area when students and visitors stop to read the words of veterans inscribed on the monument.
"I've been out there twice, and both times I've seen two or three people reading the quotes," he said.
Scott Ragland, director of development communications at UNC, said $300,000 was raised through donations for the construction process, mostly from alumni who were involved in the ROTC program.
He said the fundraising effort was a joint project between the ROTC Memorial Committee and the Office of University Development.
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(03/23/07 4:00am)
John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, will speak Friday at the Westin Charlotte to discuss reform in the U.N.
The John Locke Foundation, an independent public policy think tank in North Carolina, is sponsoring the event in Charlotte because its large population is expected to draw a considerable crowd.
Mitch Kokai, director of communications for the organization, said Bolton's appearance is part of the foundation's mission to provide the state with a diverse set of speakers.
"He was well known to have some criticisms against the United Nations," he said of Bolton.
"It will be interesting to see that now that he has been through the process, if he can offer a fresh perspective of how it works."
President Bush appointed Bolton to his U.N. post in August 2005 after almost five months of congressional opposition to his nomination. Bolton resigned in December 2006.
Kokai said Bolton's criticism of international organizations while he served in other government positions created congressional opposition to his U.N. appointment.
Charlotte was not the first public appearance Bolton has made this week. He stopped by "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" on Tuesday and defended criticism of Bush administration policies.
Timothy McKeown, a UNC professor of political science, said Bolton's actions during his tenure in the United Nations did not sit well with some.
"John Bolton's view of international organizations is that they are worthwhile only in that their existence is for giving direct benefits to the United States," he said.
"He's concerned with international cooperation but believes international organizations are not helpful in achieving it."
But McKeown said some of this criticism had to do with the fact that he was representing Bush's foreign policy, so it is hard to evaluate his abilities as an ambassador.
He said Bush's foreign policy, which Bolton pushed during his tenure at the U.N., looked to use international organizations as a springboard for spreading American ideals.
As for Bolton's future, McKeown speculated that he has readily available options beyond embarking on a speaker tour.
"I suspect that if he wanted a position within the administration, he could find one," he said.
"It's not like he's applying for grad school."
Attending the event, which begins at 7 p.m., costs $75. Those interested can register at www.johnlocke.org.
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(02/21/07 5:00am)
RALEIGH - Colorful masks, plastic beads, and plenty of alcohol filled Tony's Bourbon Street Oyster Bar in an attempt to capture the spirit of Mardi Gras.
Some came seeking a taste of New Orleans, while others simply followed their friends to the bar honoring the famous Catholic holiday.
"I absolutely came out for Mardi Gras," said Lisa Baker of Raleigh, part of the packed, mostly middle-age crowd at the bar.
"It's all about the beads," she said.
In New Orleans, the king cakes and parades once again descended upon the city during this annual celebration.
Though damage from Hurricane Katrina kept last year's festivities to the local crowd, this year's celebration brought a resurgence of tourists back to Louisiana.
"When I went there last weekend, it definitely looked like it was on the rebound," said Preston Emory, a UNC sophomore from New Orleans.
The Mardi Gras season officially begins on the 12th day after Christmas and concludes on Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. In New Orleans, the main festivities begin about 10 to 12 days before Ash Wednesday.
The New Orleans spirit largely has not carried over in the Triangle area, a few natives of the area said.
"A large percentage of people here probably don't even know it's going on," said Brian Battistella, the chef and owner of Louise's Taste of Louisiana.
Battistella moved to North Carolina after Hurricane Katrina and said he put up a few beads in his restaurant in honor of the holiday.
Needless to say, the depiction of Mardi Gras in the Triangle does not match up to his experience on a parade float, he said.
"I rode on a float once and threw stuffed animals, beads, trinkets, for the holiday," he said.
"Thousands of people are yelling at you like you're throwing cash."
Emory said that a person really needs to spend time in New Orleans to understand why the residents get so energized.
"You have to have an understanding of what the culture's about to really celebrate it," he said.
"It's a difficult concept to grasp."
Another reason Mardi Gras is not as widely celebrating in the Raleigh-Durham area is the relatively inconvenient timing of the holiday, a Tuesday night.
College students have classes to study for, and employees have to show up for work Wednesday morning.
"I'm going to be celebrating Mardi Gras this year with my physics book," said Curtis Davis, another UNC student from New Orleans.
Patricia Sawin, a professor of anthropology and folklore at UNC, said the attitudes of the people in New Orleans are more suited for the holiday than people in the Triangle area.
"There's a sense that for many people Mardi Gras is more important than Christmas," she said.
"The New Orleans' ethos is you play hard, you sin hard, you repent hard."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
What is Mardi Gras?
Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday in English, is the final day of a two-week-long carnival preceding Ash Wednesday. First celebrated in the U.S. in Mobile, Ala., more than 200 years ago, Mardi Gras has become a trademark of New Orleans.
The festival's many parades, each with its own theme, shower spectators with doubloons, beads and other trinkets.
Planning and preparation for the next year's carnival begin just a few weeks after Mardi Gras ends.
Source: www.mardigrasday.com
(01/31/07 5:00am)
Activists who participated in the Chapel Hill sit-ins during the 1960s warned UNC students against voluntary resegregation in a panel discussion as part of Wilson Library's showcase of the protests.
Attended by more than 150 community members and students, the event moved away from a simple recap of the discrimination of the time and discussed how hidden racism remains prevalent.
The panel brought together several diverse opinions from the era.
Quinton Baker, a leader of the 1963-64 sit-ins who as a black student activist worked alongside whites, said his vision of equality still has not been achieved.
"We were not fighting for desegregation, but integration," he said.
"We were not fighting to have all the same people who look like us at our dinner parties."
Student Erika Stallings, president of the Carolina Union Activities Board and a member of the Black Student Movement, said she hopes the discussion brings the lessons of the civil rights movement to the UNC campus.
She urged students to learn about the past in order to make a difference. "Not everyone has to contribute the way Martin Luther King Jr. did."
Panelist Karen Parker, the first black female to graduate from UNC, worked with The Daily Tar Heel while in school to bring up racial issues ignored by local media.
Her focus on activism won her some enemies, she said.
"A couple of people kind of shunned me, but I picked up some new ones who are golden."
Braxton Foushee, an activist in the sit-ins as a student at Chapel Hill's segregated Lincoln High School and later a member of the Carrboro Board of Aldermen, said he joined the movement because he was "foolish enough to believe what the Constitution says, that all men and women are created equal."
He said that at the time he thought the fight would be over if his children could attend college but that subtler levels of segregation still exist.
The panelists agreed that for progress to continue, the black community needs to do more for itself instead of waiting for white people to do it for them.
"The issue for social justice comes not from getting white people to do what they ought to do, but get people of color to do what they ought to do," Baker said.
"If we want to be free, we must free ourselves."
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