UNC
I was surprised to read this headline in the Daily Tar Heel today: "University closed Stacy and Everett due to low housing enrollment." But maybe I shouldn't have been.
Stacy and Everett residence halls combined house 189 students, but this year, only 135 signed up to live there. The two dorms will be repurposed for the 2015-16 school year.
Rick Bradley, associate director of housing and residential education, cited the expansion of new apartment communities and a lack of desirable amenities in student housing for the loss in enrollment.
“It’s not uncommon for a 9,000-bed operation like us to have 200 or so vacancies. That became our standard: 98 percent occupancy. In fall 2014, that 300 became 500, so the concern rose,” Bradley said.
“When that 500 empty spaces last fall now looks like it’ll be 800 this fall, we are opening at about a little over 90 percent occupancy. Our awareness has now been heightened.”
This commentary, written by me and fellow OP editor Molly De Marco, originally appeared in the Chapel Hill News on July 26, 2015.
Chapel Hill has a branding problem. There, we said it – and we said it because it’s time for us to have a frank and honest discussion about just exactly what Chapel Hill is and who we are as Chapel Hillians.
Far too often these days, it’s common for people to compare Chapel Hill to Durham or even Raleigh. But the fact is that we’re not Durham and we’re not Raleigh – and more importantly, we’re not competing with Durham or Raleigh.
Rather, as one of the nation’s leading and most desirable college towns, we’re competing with towns and cities across the country with major research universities, like Ann Arbor, Bloomington, Athens, and Austin.
Acknowledging this is the first step toward developing a Chapel Hill brand and using it to attract the individuals, businesses, and opportunities that will make Chapel Hill a unique regional and national leader.
Last week, you might have read a Gizmodo article about how millennials will live in cities unlike anything we've ever seen before. If you haven't read it yet, I highly encourage you to, because, unlike so many articles in the media today, this one does an excellent job of capturing the nuances of why we are seeing certain behavioral patterns among millennials when it comes to where we live.
The critical takeaway from this article is one that has major implications for us in Chapel Hill/Carrboro: Millennials are choosing to live in urban neighborhoods, but not necessarily in urban downtowns.
This behavioral pattern shows that what millennials value is not the big city life itself, but having easy access to amenities like walkability and public transit. For suburbs around the country, this means attracting the next generation of Americans requires urbanizing to provide these kind of amenities.
In case you missed it (in the event that all of your Facebook friends didn't post it), the New York Times posted a "36 Hours in Chapel Hill-Carrboro" video and piece last week. The video features several local restaurants and bars, including Al's Burger Shack, ONE Restaurant, the Baxter Bar & Arcade, Neal's Deli, among others, and local attractions like the NC Botanical Gardens, Ackland Art Museum, and the Carolina Basketball Museum.
The editors of OrangePolitics thought the video was superb and truly highlighted some of the best food, drinks, and attractions in our community. But we did want to ask you: What do you think the NY Times missed that is a must-see if you're just dropping in for a few days? Let us know in the comments.
This past Friday, April 24th, marked the last day of classes at UNC-Chapel Hill for 2014-2015, and while many students fulfilled the campus tradition of relaxing on the quad, others chose to reclaim and “occupy” the space as a hub for an open dialogue about the university’s racial tensions over the past year.
The event was organized by The Real Silent Sam, which is a coalition of student, faculty, and community activists working to contextualize the university’s physical landscape and institutional history.
Most notably, the coalition’s efforts to rename Saunders Hall in favor of Hurston Hall have caused a buzz of controversy throughout the community, making local, state, and national headlines.
Saunders Hall is named after William Saunders, a UNC trustee, confederate colonel in the Civil War and a chief organizer for the Ku Klux Klan.
As I took my seat in the Paul Green Theatre last Saturday for PlayMakers Repertory Company’s production of An Enemy of the People, I had no expectation that the performance would resonate with the kind of local government discourse and behavior I see right here in Chapel Hill. Yet, as the play began and the story unfolded, that is exactly what happened.
Written by Henrik Ibsen in 1882 and adapted by Arthur Miller in 1950, Enemy tells the story of Dr. Stockmann, a physician who attempts to expose an inconvenient truth about his town, only to find himself and his family alienated, alone, and in danger as a result of his actions.
As the play reaches its climax, Dr. Stockmann makes a final attempt to convey his findings and alert his community to what he has uncovered. But rather than being able to speak freely, he is silenced from speaking about the issue at hand, which causes him to dive into a monologue condemning the tyranny of the majority, the silencing of his freedom of speech, and the hypocrisy of those around him who abandon their values in the face of inconvenient truths.
On February 25th from 5:30-6:30, I'm hosting a Town Hall at DSI Comedy on Franklin Street focused on our downtown. Come hear about what's new for Franklin and Rosemary Streets in the coming year, and share your vision about what you want downtown to look like in the future!
Date:
Wednesday, February 25, 2015 - 5:30am
A good friend of mine spent some time over the holidays in another college town, where his parents live. We were chatting upon his return to Chapel Hill, and he said something that really struck me: Compared to his parents’ town, Chapel Hill just doesn’t have a real sense of community.
He explained a bit more, specifically mentioning that something exciting had happened at the university and everyone in town was abuzz about it. That’s not something that happens in Chapel Hill, he said. And, after thinking about it, I realized how right he is. There’s a big disconnect in Chapel Hill between the people who live here and both UNC as an institution and the students, faculty, and staff who make up the UNC-affiliated part of our community.
Over at Chapelboro, Matt Bailey wrote an excellent commentary over the holiday break about why he’s excited for the days when UNC students are in town. His sentiment is one I wish more Chapel Hillians expressed. After all, the reason our community exists at all is because UNC is here.
All persons interested in the proposed Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit Project will get an update this fall on the 17-mile project.
"The upcoming meetings will give residents information on the environmental work that's underway," said David King, Triangle Transit General Manager. "Hearing concerns from the public will assist us as we complete the Draft Environmental Impact Statement that will be published and available for public comment next spring."
Four workshops will be held in November:
- Tuesday, November 18, 11 A.M. to 2 P.M. - Durham Station Transportation Center, 517 W. Pettigrew Street, Durham, 27701
- Tuesday, November 18, 4 P.M. to 7 P.M. - UNC Friday Center, Chapel Hill, 27517
- Wednesday, November 19, 4 P.M. to 7 P.M. - Marriott/Spring Hill Suites, 5301 McFarland Road at Patterson Place, Durham, 27709
- Thursday, November 20, 4 P.M. to 7 P.M, Hayti Heritage Center, 804 Old Fayetteville Street, Durham, 27701
The proposed light rail line will run from Chapel Hill to East Durham serving UNC Hospitals and UNC, Mason Farm Road, Friday Center, Leigh Village, Patterson Place, South Square, Duke University, Duke University Medical Center, the VA Medical Center, downtown Durham and Alston Avenue/NC Central University.
In February, the Federal Transit Administration gave Triangle Transit the go-ahead to enter Project Development. The proposed Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit Project is one of two light rail projects nationwide approved by the US Department of Transportation this year.
The project cost is estimated at $1.34 billion dollars (in 2012 dollars). Voters in Durham and Orange counties approved a one-half cent sales tax to fund the local share of the light rail project along with new and expanded bus service.
More information about the project is available at ourtransitfuture.com.
For more information, contact Brad Schulz at 919.485.7434.
Date:
Thursday, November 20, 2014 - 4:00pm to 7:00pm
Location:
Hayti Heritage Center, 804 Old Fayetteville Street, Durham, 27701
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