Yes, yes, by "tomorrow" of course I meant two weeks. Really, I will be back on the wagon soon.
The Old Well
For the second straight year, my first week of August was spent in Chapel Hill for a conference. I must say that, just as last year, I come away impressed and intrigued. On my first night in town, I texted to a friend over some late night pizza, "I really, really like bizarro Charlottesville!" I think that fairly epitomizes my opinion of the place. In general I view UNC-CH as a sort of bizarro UVA: two old, southern schools with fine reputations, classy academic programs, and great surrounding cities. Below I offer a subject-based comparison that help frame my understanding of the place.
Bar Scene: Franklin Street is Chapel Hill's answer to both the Corner and Downtown Mall. I really liked how all of the bars were along one axis at the perimeter of campus. Having both sides of the street dedicated to student revelry and gastronomy offers a distinct advantage over the Corner in the sense that it creates a virtual hyphydrome when there are a lot of people out on the town. Or when a national championship is won (not that UVA would know anything about that in a sport that people care about). The tendency of bars to charge a cover most nights was very perplexing to those of us used to bar-hopping on the Corner. The practice effectively locks folks into staying at one or two places for the whole night, but that is not too bad considering that these $3 charges typically give you access to some pretty sweet drink specials. Overall, I would I have to say that I enjoyed myself immensely each and every night I went out and hope to go back and prowl Franklin Street once more.
Campus: I found the architecture of most of the buildings on the main part of campus to be rather attractive, despite the lack of an overall theme. I think being from Virginia has me spoiled: each of the major schools here seem to have a certain look or profile to their buildings; UVA has its red brick, W&M has its pale brick, VT has its trademark Hokie Stone, and JMU has bluestone from a local quarry. I think having buildings with different styles and looks adds to the appeal of a campus and helps to give each building its own identity. Unfortunately, the campus shared something with the aforementioned schools: a smattering of buildings that were clearly designed in the 60s and 70s - completely hideous affairs with thin windows and jarring facades. Bleh. Overall, a rousing thumbs up for the scenery. I found it comparable to the beauty of its bizarro younger sister in Charlottesville.
Student Body: Now I am going to admit straight out that I am basing this judgement solely upon the group of kids I met during this conference and those few others that I knew before that are students/alums. I must say that on the whole I like what I see. The people there seem to be similar to folks you would find at UVA, except without the d-baggery and big-headedness that comes with being labeled the "top public school in the nation." (To their credit, the Berkeley kids were pretty chill about their school's prestige.) They definitely know they are the shit in NC (as far as publics go) and don't let others forget... they avoid being rich about it, though, which I definitely appreciated. I meet some really cool folks, and it kind of makes me wonder what life would have been like had I gone to this school (assuming I got in of course, which is a pretty big assumption considering you have to be a fucking baller to get in out of state).
Overall, I must say that I found Chapel Hill to be a rather charming place. The town, the campus, the people... all fit together to make UNC-CH one of those places I have a "school crush" on. Good on ya, Carolina.
