The October 22, 2014 release of the Wainstein Report[174] alleged institutionalized academic fraud that involved over 3,100 students and student athletes, over an 18-year period from 1993 to 2011 that began during the final years of the Dean Smith era, challenged "The Carolina Way" image.[175] The report alleged that at least 54 players during the Dean Smith era were enrolled in what came to be known as "paper classes." The report noted that the questionable classes began in the spring of 1993, the year of Smith's final championship, so those grades would not have been entered until after the championship game was played.[176] In response to the allegations of the Wainstein report, the NCAA launched their own investigation and on June 5, 2015[177] the NCAA accused the institution of five major violations including: “two instances of unethical conduct and failure to cooperate“ as well as “unethical conduct and extra benefits related to student-athletes' access to and assistance in the paper courses; unethical conduct by the instructor/counselor for providing impermissible academic assistance to student-athletes; and a failure to monitor and lack of institutional control".[178] In October, 2017, the NCAA issued its findings and concluded "that the only violations in this case are the department chair's and the secretary's failure to cooperate."[178]
While students previously held "Beat Duke" parades on Franklin Street before sporting events,[185] today students and sports fans have been known to spill out of bars and residence halls upon the victory of one of Carolina's sports teams.[186] In most cases, a Franklin Street "bonfire" celebration is due to a victory by the men's basketball team,[187][188] although other Franklin Street celebrations have stemmed from wins by the women's basketball team and women's soccer team. The first known student celebration on Franklin Street came after the 1957 men's basketball team capped their perfect season with a national championship victory over the Kansas Jayhawks.[189] From then on, students have flooded the street after important victories.[189] After a Final Four victory in 1981 and the men's basketball team won the 1982 NCAA Championship, Franklin Street was painted blue by the fans who had rushed the street.[189] This event has led local vendors to stop selling Carolina blue paint as the Tar Heels near the national championship.
Notable among a number of songs commonly played and sung at various events such as commencement, convocation, and athletic games are the university fight songs "I'm a Tar Heel Born" and "Here Comes Carolina".[194] The fight songs are often played by the bell tower near the center of campus, as well as after major victories.[194] "I'm a Tar Heel Born" originated in the late 1920s as a tag to the school's alma mater, "Hark The Sound".[194] "Hark the Sound" was usually played at the end of games, but as of late it has been played at the beginning of games as well.
Notable leaders of the university include the 26th Governor of North Carolina, David Lowry Swain (president 1835–1868); and Edwin Anderson Alderman (1896–1900), who was also president of Tulane University and the University of Virginia.[66] On December 13, 2019 the UNC System Board of Governors unanimously voted to name Kevin Guskiewicz the university's 12th chancellor.[67]
Steve Forbes is another ACC coach who was active in the transfer portal this offseason, bringing in Colorado center Dallas Walton, Ole Miss forward Khadim Sy, Oklahoma guard Alondes Williams, Indiana State forward Jake LaRavia and East Tennessee State forward Damari Monsanto, who suffered an Achilles tear this summer. The group will need to provide adequate support for returning leading scorer Davien Williamson (12.9 ppg), junior forward Isaiah Mucious (10.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and former Top-100 point guard recruit Carter Whitt if the Demon Deacons hope to climb out of the league cellar.
The university's campus is informally divided into three regions, usually referred to as "north campus," "middle campus," and "south campus." North campus includes the two quads along with the Pit, Frank Porter Graham Student Union, and the Davis, House, and Wilson libraries. Almost all classrooms are located in north campus along with several undergraduate residence halls.[73] Middle campus includes Fetzer Field and Woollen Gymnasium along with the Student Recreation Center, Kenan Memorial Stadium, Irwin Belk outdoor track, Eddie Smith Field House, Boshamer Stadium, Carmichael Auditorium, Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History, School of Government, School of Law, George Watts Hill Alumni Center, Ram's Head complex (with a dining hall, parking garage, grocery store, and gymnasium), and various residence halls.[73] South campus includes the Dean Smith Center for men's basketball, Koury Natatorium, School of Medicine, UNC Hospitals, Kenan–Flagler Business School, and the newest student residence halls.[73]
In August 2018, the university came to national attention after the toppling of Silent Sam, a Confederate monument which had been erected on campus in 1913 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy.[60] The statue had been dogged by controversy at various points since the 1960s, with critics claiming that the monument invokes memories of racism and slavery. Many critics cited the explicitly racist views espoused in the dedication speech that local industrialist and UNC Trustee Julian Carr gave at the statue's unveiling on June 2, 1913, and the approval with which they had been met by the crowd at the dedication.[61] Shortly before the beginning of the 2018–2019 school year, the Silent Sam was toppled by protestors and damaged, and has been absent from campus ever since.[62] In July 2020, the University's Carr Hall, which was named after Julian Carr, was renamed the "Student Affairs Building."[63] Carr had supported white supremacy and also the Ku Klux Klan.[63]
Also located in McCorkle Place is the Davie Poplar tree under which the university's founder, William Richardson Davie, supposedly selected the location for the university. The legend of the Davie Poplar says that as long as the tree stands, so will the University.[84] Because of the tree's questionable health from damage caused by severe weather such as Hurricane Fran in 1996, the university has planted two genetic clones nearby called Davie Poplar Jr. and Davie Poplar III.[84] The second clone, Davie Poplar III, was planted in conjunction with the university's bicentennial celebration in 1993.[85][86] The student members of the university's Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies are not allowed to walk on the grass of McCorkle Place out of respect for the unknown resting place of Joseph Caldwell, the university's first president.[87]
The University of North Carolina men's basketball team will begin Atlantic Coast Conference play December 5 at Georgia Tech in the first regular-season ACC game for first-year UNC head coach Hubert Davis. Carolina's ACC opener will come in its eighth regular-season game, four days after the Tar Heels host Michigan in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. (GoHeels.com)
