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]
The Residence Hall Association, the school's third-largest student-run organization, is dedicated to enhancing the experience of students living in residence halls. This includes putting on social, educational, and philanthropic programs for residents; recognizing outstanding residents and members; and helping residents develop into successful leaders. The organization is run by 8 student executive officers; 16 student governors that represent each residence hall community; and numerous community government members. RHA is the campus organization of NACURH, the largest student organization in the world. In 2010 the organization won the national RHA Building Block Award, which is awarded to the school with the most improved RHA organization.
Leonard Hamilton has built quite the program in Tallahassee, developing both elite recruits and lesser-known talents into NBA-ready prospects. The Seminoles have lost some key pieces from last season’s squad – guards Scottie Barnes and M.J. Walker and forwards Raiquan Gray and Balsa Koprivica – although sharpshooting wing Anthony Polite, forward Malik Osbourne and wing RayQuan Evans are back. There’s also the arrival of Houston standout guard Caleb Mills, who will join a Top-5 recruiting class, which is headlined by Top-25 forward Matthew Cleveland, and fellow transfer Cam’Ron Fletcher (Kentucky).
The principles of sustainability have been integrated throughout much of UNC-Chapel Hill. In the area of green building, the university requires that all new projects meet the requirements for LEED Silver certification and is in the process of building the first building in North Carolina to receive LEED Platinum status.[76] UNC-Chapel Hill's award-winning co-generation facility produces one-fourth of the electricity and all of the steam used on campus.[77] In 2006, the university and the Town of Chapel Hill jointly agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 60% by 2050, becoming the first town-gown partnership in the country to do so.[78] Through these efforts, the university achieved a "A−" grade on the Sustainable Endowment Institute's College Sustainability Report Card 2010.[79] Only 14 out of 300 universities received a higher score than this.
UNC took the field last Monday at Boshamer Stadium for its first baseball scrimmage of the fall. The Tar Heels followed that up with scrimmages Friday and Saturday. After going 2-for-4 with two RBI in UNC's first scrimmage, freshman Vance Honeycutt continued to show why the San Francisco Giants picked him in the 20th round of July’s MLB Draft. (Boshamer Bulletin)
The Siena Saints, who went 12-5 overall last season and 12-4 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play, have one remaining scholarship available for the 2021-22 season. They could certainly use an experienced player like Platek, who was afforded a fifth season of eligibility due to the NCAA’s decision to grant one addition year to student-athletes following the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic had on the 2020-21 calendar year.
In 2003, Chancellor James Moeser announced the Carolina Covenant, wherein UNC offers a debt free education to low-income students who are accepted to the university. The program was the first of its kind at a public university and the second overall in the nation (following Princeton University). About 80 other universities have since followed suit.[161]
Tar Heels have made their mark on the basketball court with Southern Methodist University head coach Larry Brown,[260] title winning coach Roy Williams,[261] Charlotte Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak,[262] college player of the year award winners George Glamack,[263] Lennie Rosenbluth,[264] Antawn Jamison,[265] and Tyler Hansbrough,[266] Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Michael Jordan,[267] Billy Cunningham,[268] and Robert McAdoo,[269] great defender Bobby Jones,[270] and NBA All-Star Vince Carter.[271] Other notable Tar Heels include football players Lawrence Taylor,[272] Julius Peppers, Harris Barton, Hakeem Nicks and Dré Bly,[273] soccer stars Mia Hamm,[274] Ashlyn Harris, Heather O'Reilly, Meghan Klingenberg, Whitney Engen, Allie Long, Lori Chalupny, Crystal Dunn and Tobin Heath,[275] baseball standouts Dustin Ackley[276] and B.J. Surhoff,[277] and Olympians April Heinrichs[278] and Vikas Gowda.[278] Vic Seixas is a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and won 15 Majors.[279]
One of the fiercest rivalries is with Durham's Duke University. Located only eight miles from each other, the schools regularly compete in both athletics and academics. The Carolina-Duke rivalry is most intense, however, in basketball.[181] With a combined eleven national championships in men's basketball, both teams have been frequent contenders for the national championship for the past thirty years. The rivalry has been the focus of several books, including Will Blythe's To Hate Like This Is to Be Happy Forever and was the focus of the HBO documentary Battle for Tobacco Road: Duke vs Carolina.[182] Duke was Carolina's biggest rival from the 1930s until the early 1960s, when Duke's declining athletic program shifted Carolina's rival focus to North Carolina State.
From the late 1990s and onward, UNC-Chapel Hill expanded rapidly with a 15% increase in total student population to more than 28,000 by 2007. This is accompanied by the construction of new facilities, funded in part by the "Carolina First" fundraising campaign and an endowment that increased fourfold to more than $2 billion within ten years.[45][46] Professor Oliver Smithies was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2007 for his work in genetics.[47] Additionally, Professor Aziz Sancar was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2015 for his work in understanding the molecular repair mechanisms of DNA.[48]
The most enduring symbol of the university is the Old Well, a small neoclassical rotunda based on the Temple of Love in the Gardens of Versailles, in the same location as the original well that provided water for the school.[83] The well stands at the south end of McCorkle Place, the northern quad, between two of the campus's oldest buildings, Old East, and Old West.
North Carolina's athletic teams are known as the Tar Heels. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) sub-level for football), primarily competing in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for all sports since the 1953–54 season.[162] Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, fencing, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, track & field and volleyball.
The ACC schedule-makers produced a helpful first league schedule for new UNC basketball coach Hubert Davis. Davis’ first Tar Heels team plays Florida State, Virginia, Syracuse, and Pittsburgh only at the Smith Center. Trips to Charlottesville, Va., and Tallahassee, Fla., which have been rough ones for UNC in recent years, aren’t part of the schedule. (Tar Heel Tribune)
