Get hip with the UNC lingo

 Nothing says you’re new on campus like pronouncing a well-known campus building incorrectly (we’re looking at you, Dey Hall). Luckily for you, The Daily Tar Heel has hooked you up with a reliable lingo guide you can familiarize yourself with before you get to campus.

Alert Carolina: A texting-and-emailing system used by the University to provide information during emergencies. Guaranteed to have at least one spelling or grammar error and to arrive 20 minutes after the emergency has passed.

ALE: Acronym for Alcohol Law Enforcement. These undercover cops pop up in bars, in frats and on the street, ready to bust you with a drinking ticket... the walk home to South Campus never seemed so long.

Bar golf: An annual tradition for seniors where drinks at different bars are assigned a point value and the goal is to drink all of said drinks. Underclassmen “caddy” for them — a.k.a. dress in matching outfits and carry them home.

Big Frat Court and Little Frat Court: Located on North Columbia Street, Big Frat Court consists of five different fraternities, while Little Frat Court is off of West Cameron Avenue and is composed of three different fraternities. *insert your own favorite joke about frats and short shorts/drinking/partying/questionable behavior here*

The Blue Zone: The alumni section of Kenan Memorial Stadium. Have you ever watched a UNC football game? Yes? You know the empty end of the stadium? You know the Blue Zone!

Carrboro: Small town adjacent to Chapel Hill. Just keep driving west on Franklin Street and you’ll know when you arrive at Chapel Hill’s earthy stepbrother. No shoes required.

Cat’s Cradle: Carrboro music venue that has seen acts like Mac Miller, Waka Flocka Flame, Phantogram and Flying Lotus come in the past couple of years. Your dad saw R.E.M. play here in 1982. #timeless

Dean Dome: Nickname for the Dean E. Smith Center, home of the best men’s college basketball team in the country. Named after legend Coach Dean E. Smith. Your new church.

Dook: A “university” located roughly eight miles from UNC — yes, this is the proper spelling, why do you ask?

DPS: Acronym for the Department of Public Safety, the on-campus police force. The reason why parking on campus illegally will cost you — and this is a rough estimate — a kajillion dollars.

DTH: Acronym for The Daily Tar Heel, the award-winning, student-run newspaper of UNC. Not to brag, but we have been around longer than sliced bread.

E-haus: Nickname for Ehringhaus Residence Hall, which is mostly filled with first-year students. The “E” is necessary to differentiate between a “haus party” and a “house party.”

Fetzer: The name of the soccer field … and the track … and a gym located on South Road.

GDTBATH: Acronym for “great day to be a Tar Heel.” It took most of us well into our second semester at Carolina to realize this hashtag has nothing to do with bathing, so we thought we’d spare you the confusion.

Hanes Hall vs. Hanes Art Center: Another common mix-up because they have the SAME NAME. Hanes Art Center is near Franklin Street, while Hanes Hall is right off the lower quad. Confusing the two could be the difference between sweat stains and a clean shirt.

Heel Yeah:  A self-explanatory term, but a fun and spunky phrase for you to add to your vocabulary. 

He’s Not: One of the most popular bars in Chapel Hill. He’s Not Here is a fan favorite due to their famous Blue Cups, your new formal china.

Hojo: A nickname for Hinton James Residence Hall, the southernmost dorm on campus. Farthest from classes but closest to the Dean Dome. Pick your poison, kids.

LDOC: Acronym for “Last Day Of Classes.” Pronounced “El-Dock.” The day of the year when everyone loses their collective shit. People drink wine on the quad. Your TA is perhaps even more ready than you to wrap up the last god-forsaken recitation of the semester. Things get wild.

Loudermilk: The subsection of the football stadium dedicated to student-athletes. Formally known as the Loudermilk Center for Excellence, this is where athletes have workouts, tutoring, meetings and paper classes. You will never set foot inside this place.

Onyen: The identifier each student receives for all logging-in purposes. The number of times UNC requires you to change your password will probably bring tears to your eyes.

P2P: Point-to-Point, the transportation system famous for the nighttime express bus that runs from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. Lacks a normal bus’ understanding of how full is too full. The drivers are incredibly chill, play loud music and have a handy supply of puke bags.

The Pit: Area of campus between Lenoir Dining Hall, the Student Stores and the Union where students talk, demonstrate, volunteer, advertise, etc. (Pro tip: if you join the DTH, you aren’t allowed to sign petitions. That comes in handy during Pit navigation.)

PID: Acronym for “Personal Identification Number.” A nine-digit number that UNC has boiled you down to. It’s worth memorizing. Look down, 24601.

The Pit Preacher: The title given to Gary Birdsong, who preaches about his strong religious beliefs at multiple spots on campus — primarily the Pit — and at other schools in the Triangle. You know the weather’s nice when you see good ol’ Gary hanging out with his sign and his lawn chair. 

Rameses: The UNC team mascot is the ram. This could be in reference to either the rather... well endowed... live ram that attends football games, or the student in the ram mascot suit that is usually better potty-trained than the former.

Rameses Jr.: Rameses’ brother? His nephew? The lovechild of Rameses (mascot) and Rameses (ram)? Only God and Carol Folt know the truth...

Rams: Short for Rams Head, which can refer to a gym, dining hall, parking deck or plaza if you are unaware of the context. Once again, we are all amazed that for all of UNC’s creativity and donors, the school seems to use a total of seven words to name everything on campus. (P.S. if you don’t want to sound like a freshman, don’t call it Chase Dining Hall. It’s Rams.)

Recitations: The time in which your 300-person lecture gets whittled into a cozy 15-person discussion session that meets once a week. If just hearing the phrase “participation grade” knocks a tenth of a point off your GPA, then welcome to your personal hell. 

REMINGTON: The incredibly good boy who works as a therapy dog for the UNC Diamond Heels baseball team. His name is always spelled in all caps like that because he is Very Important (or so we have gathered).

Risers: The student section with standing-room-only space in the Dean Dome closest to the floor; the pews closest to the altar of your new church.

Rushing Franklin: The most intense form of jaywalking known to man; a tradition in which thousands of students sprint to Franklin Street to celebrate only the most important sports victories.

SASB: Acronym for Student and Academic Services Building; pronounced Saz-bee. There are two different SASBs, North and South, located right next to each other. If you’re confused, luckily there are a number of learning resources inside one of them (though we don’t know which).

Streakers: As a stress-relieving measure, many students run naked through the two major libraries, the UL and Davis, at midnight before the first final. Surprisingly, streaking in December isn’t very *cough, cough* flattering.

Tar Heel: Nickname associated with the state of North Carolina and particularly its flagship public university. Note how many words are in the phrase “Tar Heel.” HINT: Two.

The Tar Pit: Nickname for the student section at football games. Don’t worry if it still seems empty five minutes before kickoff — it’ll be that way until halftime.

TOPO: Pronounced TOP-OH. This refers to the popular date spot and bar, Top of the Hill, which overlooks Franklin Street. Don’t be the guy who brings a girl to TOPO on Valentine’s Day without a reservation unless you REALLY want to get to know her.

The Varsity: A movie theater on Franklin Street; shockingly, no one has opened a cart selling DVDs in front of the theater called JV.

WXYC: Name of the student-run radio station, FM channel 89.3. We can legitimately say we have heard Norwegian folk music followed by Lupe Fiasco on this station.

SBP: Acronym for Student Body President, who will be Savannah Putnam for the 2017-18 academic year. Though most of us don’t even know what it is SBP does, we all do collectively pray for a juicy scandal to come forth around election time.

SRC: Acronym for Student Recreation Center; the short, balding, ‘roid-raging older brother of Ram’s Head gym. Home of a strong contender for the Worst Hill On UNC’s Campus award.