Social Host Ordinance Petition

Veterans and current members of the US military are eligible for discounts at the following Downtown Chapel Hill restaurants: Bandido’s: 15% Ben & Jerry’s: 15% Bonchon: 10% Brandweins Bagels: 10% Bul Box: 15% Carolina Brewery: 10% Carolina Coffee Shop: 10% Cholanad: 12% Cosmic Cantina: 10% Crumbl: 10% Might As Well: 10% Raising Cane’s: 10% Vegan Flava: 13% *Be prepared to show your veteran/military ID

By Mae Golden

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, not Christmas; college basketball season! While a great season for the Tar Heel men’s and women’s basketball teams can be exciting, there are also some things to remember in order to stay safe while celebrating in Downtown Chapel Hill. Here are some tips for staying safe and having fun from your friends at the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership, the Campus & Community Coalition , the Town of Chapel Hill , and UNC Student Wellness .

Excessive drinking leads to harm that often impacts the wider community, not just the drinker. This cost-of-illness analysis of excessive drinking in Orange County (OC), North Carolina uncovers just how much the community is paying, both literally and figuratively, for these behaviors. Excessive drinking cost OC $111.8 million in 2017 and is a leading cause of death in OC. The cost breakdown includes healthcare costs ($8.2 million), miscellaneous costs ($11.5 million), and productivity losses ($92.2 million). There were 234 alcohol-attributable emergency department visits and 237 alcohol-attributable hospitalizations involving both chronic and acute conditions. 15.9% of deaths in 2017 were due to excessive drinking, and those due to suicide and homicide largely impacted younger populations. While impactful, these analyses do not account for intangible losses like pain and suffering; excessive drinking impacts numerous aspects of society, and overall, the harms are preventable and can be mitigated.  CCC-The-Burden-of-Excessive-Drinking-in-Orange-County-NC-Final-ReportDownload

You can’t imagine Franklin Street without Julian’s. The retailer has been a downtown fixture for nearly a century, clothing local dignitaries, businessmen, and, of course, UNC athletes. Still family-owned and operated, the retailer maintains the highest standards by celebrating the old school sense of “prep” style mixed with a contemporary feel.

Relationship Violence Awareness Month (RVAM), also known as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, is a national observance in October that aims to raise awareness and coordinate efforts to fight relationship violence. UNC defines interpersonal violence (including intimate partner violence, dating violence, domestic violence, and relationship violence) as a broad range of abusive behavior committed by a person who is or has been: In a romantic or intimate relationship with the Reporting Party (of the same or different sex);The *Reporting Party’s spouse or partner (of the same or different sex);The Reporting Party’s family member; orThe Reporting Party’s cohabitant or household member, including a roommate. Interpersonal violence includes physical, sexual, emotional, economic, or psychological actions, attempted actions, or threats of actions that would cause a reasonable person in similar circumstances and with similar identities to fear for the person’s safety or the safety of others or to experience substantial emotional distress. Such behaviors may include, but are not limited to, physical violence and threats of violence to one’s self, one’s family member, or one’s pet. Throughout the month of October, offices across the UNC campus and downtown businesses will host different opportunities for you to learn more about RVAM. The following local businesses will have goodie bags filled with more information and resources on October 17-19 as well as special promos to raise awareness for RVAM: The Meantime CafeThe Gathering PlaceImbibe & ZogsLinda’sGoodfellowsGizmo BreweryBlue Horn LoungeEpilogue Book CafePurple BowlThe Northside DistrictBrandwein’sLanza’s CafeThe Spotted DogThe CaveLocal 506The Dead Mule Club

This report details qualitative interviews of residents in two historic neighborhoods, Northside Historic District and Cameron-McCauley Historic District, near the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) and downtown Chapel Hill. The Northside neighborhood is historically the largest African American community in Chapel Hill and has been experiencing a loss of homeownership for several decades and an increasing demand for student rentals, while Cameron-McCauley residents indicate that they are aware they are moving into a student-dense area when choosing to live there. Residents from both neighborhoods reported negative impacts of UNC-CH student drinking, such as vandalism, noise disturbances, and property damage. While both neighborhoods faced similar negative impacts, there were differences in residents’ perceptions. Cameron-McCauley residents generally had positive feelings toward student neighbors, while Northside residents felt disrespected, especially by white students, raising concerns about racial disparities in how drinking behaviors are addressed. Despite these issues, residents expressed a desire to address problems internally, suggesting the importance of community-level interventions to reduce alcohol-related consequences and financial burdens on the town. Community-level-consequences-of-high-risk-drinking_finalDownload

The Color of Drinking survey investigates the influence of the alcohol culture at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) on the experiences of undergraduate students belonging to diverse communities, including people of color and LGBTQ+ students. Adapted from the Color of Drinking Study at the University of Wisconsin – Madison (UW-Madison), this research aims to comprehend the perceptions and experiences of undergraduate students, with a specific focus on LGBTQ+ individuals and students of color, in the context of alcohol culture at a predominantly white institution. Additionally, the study examines secondhand harms encountered by these populations. Out of 1,788 survey participants, 1,465 responses were analyzed, revealing that students, particularly those of color and LGBTQ+, acknowledged the harmful effects of the alcohol culture at UNC-CH on their mental health and safety. While some expressed positive experiences, negative harms were disproportionately experienced by students of color and LGBTQ+ students, who reported drinking less compared to their white, non-LGBTQ+ counterparts. CCC-UNC-SWCCC-CoD-Final-ReportDownload

As the Innovation District takes shape in downtown Chapel Hill, we want to highlight some of the ideas, people, and products that have come out of it. We sat down with Willie Barron and Maddi Lane to discuss their app, WAVE .