This Just In – I love our college students … I really do.
If I’m being honest, it’s a bit more complicated than just “I love them.” That’s because my affection and appreciation for the thousands of young people who become our fellow residents on the Hill is based on a deep love of the renewal they represent.
I love springtime because when the new leaves bud on the trees it’s clear that particular shade of bright green that envelops my house convinces me that new energy is forthcoming. I even catch myself believing I could plant something that a deer won’t eat. Hope springs eternal.
Like our student population, I first arrived in Chapel Hill in the fall. September and October are (except for the occasional hurricane) weather perfection in our particular corner of paradise. The air turns crisp, the sky is bright Carolina blue and thoughts turn to campfires and s’mores, once the mosquitoes fade away.
When I arrived, the uncountable number of people who engaged in casual conversation with me at the A&P at Ram’s Plaza or the Mack’s Department Store at Eastgate asked if I had come to Chapel Hill to go to school here.
Wistfully, I answered … “no.” I had come here because my husband had joined Blue Cross Blue Shield and they had moved us down from Connecticut. Invariably the response was surprise and assurance that we would love it here, regardless of the reason for coming.
We bought our first house in Durham and for several years, I had little or no experience with the great August migration (the return of students). In 1985, we came back to the Hill (with our 3-year-old son) and have been here ever since.
Since the 4th of July, I’ve made three trips to the UNC Emergency Room. All three of them were very much in a hurry as my husband was urgently hospitalized (no worries- he’s okay now). It was striking to me each time as I zipped into town to meet his ambulance at the ER that driving into town and around the Carolina Inn, then over to the hospital … it was like driving through a ghost town.
No one on the sidewalks or hanging out around the edge of campus. Had they closed the downtown for an event or for paving? Nope. The students were away and you could shoot a cannon through the middle of town and hit nothing at all.
As nice as it is to pop into downtown and get into any restaurant without delay, it’s disorienting to me when the students are not here.
And yet … on Tuesday, I went into my doctor’s office for an annual checkup. I’ll be clever and avoid driving the way I normally would – right past the hospital. The students are back, I thought, so I’ll be clever and avoid driving through the middle of campus. Over to 501 and the path to Manning Drive from the other direction.
Yes. I hear you laughing. I sat in traffic for 10-15 minutes with my many friends and we inched along toward the access to campus from the East. As we got nearer, I saw an information sign: “Expect delays during student move-in.”
So, they’re back. Thank goodness. I used to look at the faces of these kids and see myself. Then for a few lovely years it was me coming to class after dropping my kids at school and daycare. Then, my own kids were in college (though not at Carolina). Soon enough it will be my grandkids. One of them starts kindergarten in a few days. I happen to know it’s the blink of an eye until he’s turning a tassel.
Welcome back, y’all!
Jean Bolduc is a freelance writer and the host of the Weekend Watercooler on 97.9 The Hill. She is the author of “African Americans of Durham & Orange Counties: An Oral History” (History Press, 2016) and has served on Orange County’s Human Relations Commission, The Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina, the Orange County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, and the Orange County Schools’ Equity Task Force. She was a featured columnist and reporter for the Chapel Hill Herald and the News & Observer.
Readers can reach Jean via email – jean@penandinc.com and via Twitter @JeanBolduc
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