Last year, the UNC community got to know first-year student Jasper Christie who rode a unicycle everywhere around campus.
This fall semester, Christie is back on campus as a sophomore majoring in computer science, but is missing one important thing — their unicycle.
Despite using a bike lock, Christie said their unicycle was stolen this past summer while it was parked at a bike rack on Franklin Street. After weeks of posting on social media and looking for the unicycle around surrounding communities, Christie said their unicycle has still not resurfaced.
“At this point, I don’t see myself getting it back,” Christie said. “It’s gone, and I don’t think I’m going to be seeing it again.”
But all is not lost. Friends and UNC staff have been diligent these past few months by helping Christie search for the missing unicycle and, more recently, raising funds to help them purchase a replacement.
Christie, who serves as a COMP 110 teaching assistant, said they informed fellow TAs at a meeting about the missing unicycle. They said colleagues were so upset they convinced Christie to create a GoFundMe page for a replacement unicycle.
Kris Jordan, a teaching assistant professor in the computer science department, and other members of the department have already donated to the page.
“I really like unicycling everywhere and I feel like it’s been a really big part of my experience at UNC,” Christie said. “It feels really weird to just be walking everywhere now. I just feel like something really big is missing, so it makes me feel really good that a lot of my coworkers donated.”
The GoFundMe page has already reached and surpassed its maximum goal after circulating on Facebook for just a few days, Christie said.
