Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / March 24, 2004, edition 1 / Page 4
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4 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, 2004 Pair launches site on college life BY KIRSTEN VALLE STAFF WRITER Andrew Clark still sounded sleepy at noon..“l’m recovering from last night,” he said, laughing. Clark was out until early morn ing at the clubs of South Padre Island, Texas, but he’s not your typ ical college spring-breaker. Two years out of college, Clark is vice president of marketing and sales for http://ULife.com, a Web site designed for college students nationwide and launched Jan. 21. His “Spring Break” is actually part of a yearlong Winnebago tour of U.S. colleges, during which he and Barrett Masso, ULife’s chief executive, are worldng to get the word out about the Web site. “The site is a place where people can excel academically and social ly,” Clark said. “We want it to be like what would happen if AOL and MTV had a baby.” ULife offers a variety of services, Thursday, March 25, Bpm Solemn Evensong for the Feast of the Annunciation Magnificat, BWV 243 Johann Sebastian Bach Soloists: Molly Quinn, soprano Roberta Van Ness, soprano Linda Everhart, alto Craig Everhart, tenor Ron Wood, tenor Gerald Whittington, bass The Senior Choir of the Chapel of the Cross, and Orchestra Wylie S. Quinn, Organist-Choirmaster The Chapel of the Cross 304 East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill (Adjacent to tfce Morehead Planetarium) $ HOMO MONO B wmsrMt r S S LUNCH ALL DAT BUFFET Monday to Friday 11am - 4:30 pm 1. Seafood Bar Saturday & Sunday 11am - 4pm 2. Italian Food Bar Adult 05.49 3. American Food Bar Children (ages 6-9) 03.25 „ .. „ 4. Chinese Food Bar Children (ages 3-5) 02.00 5. Garden Salad Bar 6. Seasonal Fruit Bar DIMER 7. Dessert Bar Monday to Friday 4:30 pm-10 pm 8 ‘ /ce ( ream Bar \ With Without Crablegs Adult sll.99*r‘ Akult $7.99 ''*>**£s* M) mis Children (ages 6-9) 04.55 j / Jj \ f Children (ages 3-5) 03.00 Erwin 2 Europa | | Ci McDonald’s x - - - y/ ;| ★ Carry out by the pound. 8 HOtiQ 1501)0 Seniors get 10% discount (60+ years old). BUWHT 901 Tel: 919.918-3068 • Fax: 919.918.3978 I | 1742 North Fordham Blvd. • Chapel Hill, NC 27514 \ 9 J including textbook trading and a dating network. The site also is tai lored to fit the needs of students at different schools, a concept that has been evolving since ULife’s launch. Clark is interested to see which services will be most popular among students. He predicted that the textbook-trading section will see heavy traffic when school resumes in the fall. Masso came up with the idea for ULife two years ago, while he was a freshman at Arizona State University. He brainstormed for a year about the logistics of such a comprehensive Web site, one that Clark hopes might become the largest online college community. Masso then worked for several months to find investors. “This was harder than I imagined,” he said. “It’s not easy to find people to give a 20-year-old time and money.” The resources came from private investors, family members and friends, who contributed funds and connections to cheap resources. These resources, which included assistance with the Web site’s con struction, proved important. “We don’t write any code,” Clark said. “We tell (the programmers) what we want, and that’s what we get.” Clark met Masso through a friend last year. After graduating from Indiana University, Clark was beginning a career in sales. “I knew after talking to (Clark) that he was a very good salesman,” said Masso, who looked to Clark initially for feedback and later for a partnership. “After two or three months of talking, I asked him if he wanted to join me, and he said he was interested.” Since then, the Web site has become a colorful center of online activity. “The site is fun and func tional,” said Rebecca Colgate of Vaward Communications, a Boston advertising agency promoting ULife. “I like the travel site myself? 1 Clark said ULife is improving constantly. In the near future, it will include additions such as personal Web sites for members, he said. “As creative and smart as college students are, there are no limits to what can be posted,” Clark said. “We want artists and rock ‘n’ roll.” Right now the focus is on pro What: Semi-formal Admission Where: George Watts Hill Alumni Center Student Members mgy When: Thursday, March 25 buy tickets for them -9 p.m. - midnight selves and one guest. Cost $lO per ticket Fir ? 50 9 uests t 0 ar ™L ~ “ ~ . . will receive a special gift. Maximum of two tickets per GAA student member Bu V t ' c * <ets online at alumni.unc.edu or Dress is semi-formal. in the Pit on March Hors d'oeuvres and beverages will be 23-25. Tickets are lim provided, with music by a local DJ. first come , first serve. Sponsored by the GAA Student Membership Advisory Board General Alumni As so ciat ion News motion. As the site is perfected in the coming months, students might see low-budget commercials adver tising ULife on MTV, Masso said. And the Winnebago tour, which has taken the duo across the west ern United States, will continue with visits next fall to schools including UNC and promotion of the site at concerts and other events. “It’s a great way to get out there and promote,” Clark said. “We want to hit the major schools and show them we like to have fun and that we’re college kids, just like them.” Life on the road has been any thing but relaxing, especially for Masso, who decided to take a year off from college to launch ULife. “The hardest thing was definite ly to balance my time,” he said. “I tried to work on (ULife) while I was in college for a semester, and .1 made passing grades but was work ing on the project during class and not really learning anything.” Masso plans to return to Arizona State after the site gamers more publicity. Until then, he and Clark plan to concentrate on the most important element: feedback. “We’re really just ears open right now,” Masso said. “Talk to me. That’s what I want.” Contact the Feature Editor atfeatures@unc.edu. Town Council debates future of parking lots BY ASHLEY DUNCAN STAFF WRITER The Chapel Hill Town Council heard from residents Monday who voiced concerns over the develop ment of two parking lots that could change the dynamic of downtown. The public forum was in response to a market analysis study on the development of Parking Lots 2 and 5, conducted by Economics Research Associates. Lot 2 is located on the comer of East Rosemary Street and Columbia Street. It has 105 spaces. Lot 5 has 170 spaces and is bound ed on the south by West Franklin Street, on the west by Church Street and on the north by West Rosemary Street. Citizens expressed interest and concern in the potential uses the lots might provide. Robert Koontz from the Chapel Hill Transportation Board argued for transit options and pedestrian concerns. He raised the idea of cre ating a downtown transportation transfer center. He emphasized that it could be a place for people to go when it was raining or snowing, to use the bathroom or get something to eat. “A downtown transfer center would keep riders downtown,” he said. Andrew Ross of the Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission suggested using the space for art exhibits and performances. “Make Chapel Hill a destination for the arts,” he said. “It will bring people downtown, J U 3T IN! All New for Spring: fantastic tops, sportswear, shorts, capris & dresses. Famous labels, fabulous prices. LOOK OUT A DIFFIRINT KIND OF OUTLIT 83 S. Elliott Road @ Franklin Street • Chapel Hill (next to Whole Foods) 91 9.933.3003 • Mon-Sat 9 am-? pm • Sun 12 noon-6 pm • www.lookoutcasuals.com (Ufa SaUy ®ar Jfcri not just give them another option while they are there.” But Jan Sassman, from the University United Methodist Church, said he feared the devel opment of these lots would cause a loss of available parking spots. He stressed that downtown churches need parking for activities, and he believed that the market analysis study was ignoring the religious community. “Churches in downtown Chapel Hill are a vibrant part of the com munity,” he said. “We provide diversity beyond pizzas, T-shirts and movies.” Vivian Olkin, owner of The Inside Scoop, said adequate down town parking is important, but cautioned council members to weigh their choices carefully. “A parking structure doesn’t need to be as ugly as some of our existing parking structures,” she said. Last October, the council hired Stainback Public/Private Real Estate LLC to evaluate the poten tial demand for developing com mercial, residential, arts and enter tainment space in Parking Lots 2 and 5. Stainback hired the project out to ERA, which determined that “functional, efficient and conven ient parking solutions are critical to support increased develop ment.” Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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