Chapel Hill is beginning to buzz again. You can feel it everywhere you go.

The sidewalks are getting a little more crowded, there are more cars trying to get down Franklin Street and that specific shade of blue is popping up everywhere. After a few weeks of calm, this little college town takes on a whole new group of newcomers and returning students ready to see friends, get back into the classroom, and yes, party. Chapel Hill would not be Chapel Hill if not for the University of North Carolina, the Mothership.

Let’s break it down. There will be around 5400 incoming freshmen and transfer students this year. Fun fact: over 57,000 applications were received for the class of 2027. Parents are driving to town, cars full of stuff to furnish dorm rooms. Then there is the shopping frenzy, bedding, desk accessories, bathroom sundries, dorm fridges and microwaves. Pillows will be brought from home, because let’s face it, everyone wants to bring that one special pillow. Parents will explore, dine and stay local before saying goodbye to their children with hugs, kisses and tears.  Wide-eyed teenagers will be learning how to navigate the campus, the town, how to feed themselves, and how to meet new friends. 

There are roughly 20,000 undergrads, including the class of 2027, and 11,800 graduate students. Faculty and staff total 13,000; 4000 faculty and 9000 staff. The population of Chapel Hill is around 63,000. Every August it grows by 30,000 and the town comes alive. When the students arrive we know it won’t be long before the first football game is played with all the hoopla and pregame tailgating. Remember, you can’t drive around town when a home football game is played. Take the bus.

What, you don’t have a kid in college? K-12 is also getting ready to begin; August 28 is the starting date for both Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and Orange County Schools. Good idea to start planning now on how to get around the morning and late afternoon bus traffic, school zone slow downs, and parents lining up to drop or pick up kids. CHCS attendance is about 12,000 with OCS 7100. That’s a lot of minivans and SUVs idling in the pick up area. Yikes! Take the bus.

What about us folks that don’t have children of school age anymore? Sit back and enjoy it. The college kids are great, without them we would just be another sleepy North Carolina town. Give them space to learn and grow. We were all there at some point, and created memories that will live on forever. Let them do the same. I still keep in touch with my college friends — many met their partners in college, and created a whole new generation of students eager to get away from home for the first time and create their own memories. Some long life relationships that began in college have turned out amazing music, art, companies and, yes, future leaders.

Good luck with back to school, y’all. I’ll be watching from my porch with a smile.  

Penny and her family moved to Chapel Hill in 1998. She soon joined the Town of Chapel Hill’s Telecommunications and Technology advisory board and was appointed by the town to the OWASA board of directors where she served 6 years and held the Vice Chair position. In 2009 she ran and was elected to the town council in Chapel Hill, and in 2012 ran and was elected to the BOCC where she served 8 years, the last two as chair of the board. Penny owns and operates a personal chef and catering company and has been published in Cary Magazine, Gourmet Magazine, INDY Week, Southern Neighbor and News14. She lives in Carrboro with her mom Jersey Jacky. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram

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