{"id":31510,"date":"2019-08-20T12:20:12","date_gmt":"2019-08-20T16:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=31510"},"modified":"2024-07-02T17:12:13","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T17:12:13","slug":"the-old-well-magic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=31510","title":{"rendered":"The Old Well magic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hundreds of Tar Heels started the first day of classes with a sip from the Old Well in hopes of securing some extra luck for the school year.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Students
Students line up to take their first sip from the Old Well.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n
\n

Campus was buzzing as Tar Heels returned to classes this morning, but no place was more popular than the Old Well.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of students lined up along Cameron Avenue to take part in the decades-old tradition of the first sip.<\/p>\n

Legend has it that a sip from the well, which has been a focal point of campus since the University opened in 1793, brings students luck in the form of good grades. But talk to Tar Heels in line, and you\u2019ll hear mixed reviews about the Carolina icon\u2019s ability to manifest perfect grades.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has never actually worked for me, but I think it\u2019s user error, not [the Old Well\u2019s] magic,\u201d said senior Meghan O\u2019Shaughnessy, who has participated in the tradition for the past four years \u2014 if not for the grades, then for the Instagram pictures. \u201cI believe in the magic. I think this is the year, for sure. It\u2019s going to happen this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

For transfer student Morgan Simmons, standing in line to sip from the well was less about the grades and more about being part of a community of students with big dreams for a new academic year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not super superstitious, but I think it\u2019s an important tradition,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve already met a lot of people, and I just feel like this is right. I belong here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether or not the Old Well delivers on its lofty promises, students agreed that the ritual brings Tar Heels together as they enter into a new semester.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou see everyone of every age and every culture lining up all the same,\u201d said sophomore Eli Grossman. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of nice to see seniors and freshmen and everyone doing the same thing, believing the same superstition. It\u2019s nice to keep the tradition going.\u201d<\/p>\n

By Emilie Poplett, University Communications<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hundreds of Tar Heels started the first day of classes with a sip from the Old Well in hopes of securing some extra luck for the school 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