New, Old Traditions Combine to Define 1st Days at UNC

But as the class of 2006 starts its college career, freshmen can celebrate some fairly new traditions along with one tradition that has stood the test of time.

As much a tradition as a symbol of the University itself, the Old Well was part of UNC's history before it became its own famous tradition. According to the UNC Web site, "students can bring good luck with a drink from the Old Well on the first day of classes."

"Yeah, I'm going to do it," said freshman Preston Sloop. "I heard that if you do it, you'll get all A's."

And with Sloop's first sip, he'll also be keeping the tradition in the family. His mother, Billie, UNC class of '76, said she did the same her freshman year. "We're very superstitious," Billie said with a laugh.

But senior Stephanie Scott said another tradition prevented her from drinking from the well freshman year.

"When I first got here, I heard a rumor that people peed in that well, and now that I'm a senior, I know that the rumors are true," Scott said.

While some students might avoid the tradition, time has proven that under the hot August sun today, students will line up to quench their thirst and try to get all the luck they can for the first semester.

But why does school start on the now-traditional Tuesday? Since 1991, UNC has opened its doors each year on this day of the week.

University Registrar David Lanier said the tradition evolved to keep up with changing procedures and needs.

"Twenty years ago, there was a three-day registration process -- on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, students had to wait in line in Woollen Gym," Lanier said. "Classes were to begin on Monday, but we found that most students spent the entire weekend out partying, so they weren't exactly ready to start on Monday."

He said that several University events contributed to the need for change and that with telephonic registration in 1991, officials decided to move the first day to Tuesday.

"The school calendars are debated every year, and many factors are taken into account," Lanier said. "But we are fortunate because the date change also allowed for dorm check-ins to take place conveniently on the weekend and made room for other events, like FallFest."

FallFest has entertained students since 1996 through what Union Director Don Luse describes as a carnival atmosphere. "The tradition of FallFest actually came about because of the negative tradition we were seeing of a lot of students going to frat court and drinking the weekend before first semester opens," he said.

Luse said he and other officials sought to create an activity that would be a positive introduction to UNC. "We wanted the focus to be students and student organizations," Luse said. "So we decided to basically showcase what all UNC has to offer so students can get a wider view of what they can do here."

Perhaps the most traditional first-days tradition is Convocation. Shirley Hunter, director of orientation, said Convocation is a good way to introduce new students to UNC.

"Convocation is basically an attempt to officially bring students into the University with a formal and academic flavor," Hunter said. "We try and make it a bookend to Commencement."

Although changes have occurred over the years, Hunter said the basic tradition of Convocation is still intact. "We want to give students the opportunity in their first few days to look around and discover what UNC is all about."

The Features Editor can be reached at features@unc.edu.