30The Tar Heel Thursday, July 14, 1988
"Ten.
Old East
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The oldest state university building is
located on the UNC campus.
Old East's cornerstone was laid Oct. 12,
1793, and nearly two centuries later its date
is honored as University Day, a celebration
in which professors don the traditional caps
and long gowns of scholars.
In the late 1700s, both the residential and
instructional life of the University was
centered in Old East. Students would erect
huts in the "forest" beside it and in the
unfinished shell of South Building to escape
their fellowmen. When the weather was too
bad for students to study in their huts, it was
considered a valid excuse for unprepared
lessons.
Old East has been honored by the National
Historic Society as a national landmark for
possessing "exceptional value in commemo
rating the history of the United States."
Today, the structure operates as a male
dormitory. Recently, University administra
tors decided to turn Old East into offices but
reversed their decision after students and
alumni protested the break in tradition.
Tar Heel file photo
Old Well
At the heart of the campus stands the white
columned Old Well, the visual symbol of
UNC.
For many years the Old Well served as the
sole water supply for Old East and Old West
dormitories, which gave rise to a campus joke
that the only place in Chapel Hill you could
get a bath was in jail.
Another well-known campus legend is that
if you take a sip of water from the Old Well
on the first day of classes, you will do well
throughout the semester.
The Old Well is pictured frequently on
University literature, Christmas cards and
student souvenirs.
It was given its present form in 1897 by
the suggestion of President Edwin Alderman,
who said he derived the idea largely from the
Temple of Love in the Garden of Versailles.
The well was built by a local lumberyard for
$200.
The Pit
From about 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day,
the Pit is the place to be between classes.
Bordered by Lenoir Hall, the Student Union,
the Student Stores and the Undergraduate
Library, this open-air assembly is a popular
meeting place for students throughout the
day.
During the warmer months, the entrenched
area becomes a stage where students can hear
speeches from campus groups on the latest
controversy or maybe listen to their
favorite evangelist as he preaches his words
of wisdom.
Students who pass the Pit during the day
should also check out the Cube, an all-purpose
billboard. The Cube is regularly painted and
re-painted with announcements of upcoming
campus events, including union films, concerts
and speakers.
"Pit sitting" has become a noted phenom
enon on campus, with some students actually
skipping class to enjoy a can of soda and the
newspaper while sitting in the sun. Experience
has it that if you sit in the Pit all day, you
can see everyone you know at least once.
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Tar Heel file photo
Tar Heel file photo