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Senior midfielder Eva Smolenaars (21) bats the ball during UNC's field hockey game against Liberty University on Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021, in Chapel Hill, N.C. Liberty won that game 4-0.
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Senior midfielder Eva Smolenaars (21) bats the ball during UNC's field hockey game against Liberty University on Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021, in Chapel Hill, N.C. Liberty won that game 4-0.
Freshman midfielder Jasmina Smolenaars (22) retains possession of the ball during UNC's Oct. 10 field hockey game against Liberty. The game proved to be a loss for the Tar Heels–Liberty headed home with a 4-0 win.
Freshman midfielder Jasmina Smolenaars (22) goes for the ball during UNC's Oct. 10 field hockey game against Liberty. The game proved to be a loss for the Tar Heels–Liberty headed home with a 4-0 win.
Senior forward Meredith Sholder (2) bats the ball during UNC's Oct. 10 field hockey game against Liberty. The game proved to be a loss for the Tar Heels–Liberty headed home with a 4-0 win.
Junior midfielder Paityn Wirth (10) runs for the ball during UNC's Oct. 10 field hockey game against Liberty. The game proved to be a loss for the Tar Heels–Liberty headed home with a 4-0 win.
Senior midfielder Cassie Sumfest (12) defends the ball during UNC's Oct. 10 field hockey game against Liberty. The game proved to be a loss for the Tar Heels–Liberty headed home with a 4-0 win.
Freshman back Kelly Smith (6) swipes the ball during UNC's Oct. 10 field hockey game against Liberty. The game proved to be a loss for the Tar Heels–Liberty headed home with a 4-0 win.
Senior midfielder Abby Pitcairn (16) waits to defend against a Liberty player during UNC's Oct. 10 field hockey game against Liberty. The game proved to be a loss for the Tar Heels–Liberty headed home with a 4-0 win.
It's worth noting that Marks isn't the only bell ringer--there are a couple of adults who play the national anthem, and, for the most part, the tower plays itself since it's mechanized. In playing the bells on game days, though, Marks revives a lesser known campus tradition, and she helps bring campus back to life in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of Marks' friends, Annie Flanagan, said of her: "Returning from a COVID year, I couldn't think of a better person to keep morale and school spirits high as bell ringer."
Being the master bell ringer means having the proverbial keys to the kingdom. It's why band director Fuchs said that a master bell ringer is "someone I can trust without reservation." Marks knows how important that trust is, which is why the bell tower doesn't have visiting hours and students don't hear TikTok songs emanating from the bells at all hours. One side effect of having bell tower keys, though, is mixing it up with other keys. "Here's the biggest flex," Marks said. "Sometimes I accidentally try to unlock my dorm room door with the bell tower key." Here, Marks poses for a photo of her keys inside the bell tower on Oct. 1, 2021.
At the end of the day, Marks appreciates the impact playing the bells has on campus. “Being able to be in the bell tower and hearing it ring above me as I’m pressing the keys down...I can’t describe the feeling," Marks says. "The first time I did it, I started crying." Here, Marks, center, cheers during a performance in front of Wilson Library before the Oct. 1, 2021, UNC football game v. Duke.
Marks is also a member of UNC's Marching Tar Heels. Her involvement in the band is what brought her to the bell ringer role. "I started clarinet in sixth grade, because my mom thought it looked like a cool instrument," Marks said. No one in her family was also a musician, so when Marks went to her first summer band camp, "my life immediately changed." She gradually became more involved in music programs through high school, and when she started college, Marks stood out to band director Jeffrey Fuchs because of her enthusiasm for music and her reliability. "She invested in the things she did and was always happy to help," Fuchs said.
Madi Marks is a sophomore at UNC-Chapel Hill and a music education major. She also holds a special role on campus, one few may know about. Marks is the master bell ringer in the Morehead-Patterson Bell Tower this year. In this photo, Marks poses for a portrait inside the bell tower's clock face, on Oct. 1, 2021.
As the 2021-22 master bell ringer, Marks joins the ranks of nearly a century of men and women dedicated to the role. However, no women's names grace the walls of the bell tower, where the bell ringer names are supposed to be memorialized. The first female bell ringer was selected in 1953, according to Daily Tar Heel archives. Coincidentally, the names in the bell tower stop in 1953. Today, the General Alumni Association hopes to fill in as many names on the ringer plaques as possible. In addition, Mark said, band director Fuchs has found almost every name not yet listed. Here, Marks poses for a portrait on Oct. 1, 2021, inside the bell tower's clock face.
Marks' duties are to play a song pregame and play a song in the case of a Carolina win. You can thank her when your hear UNC's anthems–things like "Hark the Sound," "Carolina Victory," and "Carolina Fight Song." The bell tower can also be set to play any number of songs, from the national anthem to "Greensleeves" to Christmas music. The role is extra special for Marks, however, because her father, seen here at left, also went to UNC some years ago. It makes sense, then, that Marks' favorite song to play is "Hark the Sound."
On game days, the Marching Tar Heels get their start early. On Oct. 1, 2021, they met at 8 am and perfromed all over campus before their halftime show at 2pm in Kenan Stadium. Marks' day ended a little later than the other band members because of a Carolina tradition---she went to play "Carolina Victory" from the bell tower. "One of the biggest things with marching band this year," Marks said, "is bringing back the sounds of Kenan Stadium, bringing back the sounds of the school." Last year, there was no master bell ringer due to COVID-19.
When the bell tower was dedicated in 1931, it had a manual bell-ringing system, complete with handles to push (right) and bellropes. Today, all that remains of that system are 12 holes in each floor of the bell tower, where bellropes used to run, and the shown handle mechanism. Marks plays the bells on gamedays from a special keyboard connected to the current, mechanized bell system. On Oct. 1, 2021, she returns the keyboard to its storage space after playing a tune. That day, UNC hosted Duke in football. It was a Carolina win.
UNC graduate outside hitter Nia Robinson (1) returns the ball during a home volleyball game against the University of Virginia on Sept. 26 in Carmichael Arena.
UNC senior middle hitter Amanda Phegley (7) and sophomore middle hitter Kaya Merkler (14) block a hit during a home volleyball game against the University of Virginia on Sept. 26 in Carmichael Arena.
UNC graduate setter Meghan Neelon (1) sets the ball during a home volleyball game against the University of Virginia on Sept. 26 in Carmichael Arena.