Three North Carolina Schools Versus Maryland

I have always been of the impression that, with the right attitude, happiness and success can be found at any school. If a high school senior asked for my advice, I would indicate that the most important deciding factors in school choice should be tuition, academic programs, and geographic location. No matter where you go, you will make friends, you will engage in campus traditions, and you will adapt to life as it is on campus. However, it is fun to visit other schools to identify contrasts on these latter levels; that is, not to compare one school's computer science program with another's, but to compare the various other aspects of the campus that truly define a student's experience.

In April 2004 I visited three rival ACC schools: Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the North Carolina State University. The following are some noted differences between these schools and my alma mater, the University of Maryland at College Park.

(During the trip I used a bad camera that had been lying around the house. What appeared in the viewfinder was not, in fact, what the lens captured. Thus the pictures from the trip are fairly shoddy [they look like 1970s photographs] and often the focus of my picture was not fully captured.)

Duke

The Duke campus is ridiculously beautiful, with large, looming stone buildings surrounded by carefully sculpted gardens and acres of forest. While Maryland has a very nice campus, in terms of natural beauty, it pales in comparison with Duke. Duke wins on this point. However, Duke is split into two campuses, an undesirable feature. A bus system zips students back and forth, but the ideal campus should be fully and easily walkable. Maryland wins on this point.

Duke requires that students live on campus for their first three years. This encourages strong on-campus ties and fosters a nice sense of community. Duke wins on this point. Duke also has hundreds of student groups; if a student is involved in a club for all four years, at some point he will participate in a Dream Trip. Students engage in some activity relevant to the club, and Duke pays the way. For instance, the equestrian team recently went on a trip to Ireland. On this point, Duke clearly wins.

Basketball is huge at Duke. Cameron Indoor Stadium, however, is quite tiny, which lends to it a nice charm. Duke wins on this point (though clearly they had trouble scoring points against Maryland in the 2004 ACC Championship game).

Here we see the remains of the grass upon which sits the bonfire that Duke sets after beating their rival UNC. If I understood the tour guide correctly, they also now celebrate after beating Maryland, so though they deny a rivalry, I sense that the future could be increasingly hostile and interesting.

UNC

One thing UNC has going for it is its location. Chapel Hill is considered a fantastic college town, with plenty to do in terms of shopping, eating, bars, and clubs. Listening to people talk lets you know that you're in the South, but there is elegance to that fact. UNC easily beats Maryland (that is, College Park) on this point.

As the nation's first public university, UNC also has a lot of history. It stayed open in some fashion during the Civil War (despite fighting near the campus), graduated President Polk (who is responsible for the major land acquisitions of the West), and has a storied history involving slaves, astronauts, and everyone else. Maryland is about a hundred years younger, so UNC wins on this point.

UNC is also great because I had good luck running into people that I know. Walking around the student union, I randomly stumbled upon a friend from high school days whom I hadn't seen in years. UNC wins on this point. Where UNC loses is in comparison to the University of Virginia. It is my impression that UNC is sort of like UVA, only less impressive and less beautiful. Plus, of all the schools thus mentioned, only Virginia has true, interesting, and deep-rooted traditions.

NC State

Of the three schools I visited, NC State reminded me the most of Maryland and also turned out to be my favorite visit. (Their cafeteria paled in comparison to Maryland's, however.) What all three schools have that Maryland lacks is a distinguishing landmark. Duke has its chapel, UNC its Old Well, and NC State has a bell tower. NC State is located in Raleigh but doesn't feel like it is in a city of more than a million people. As with Duke, NC State's campus is split in several parts, with the major sports complex across a major expressway, not in walkable distance of the main campus. Maryland clearly wins with its tight and focused campus.

NC State also was great because of Gary, an evangelical preacher who apparently alternates proselytizing at these three Research Triangle schools. I happened to catch Gary on a great day. He was talking about the sins of homosexuals, how crack and rap music go hand in hand, and more. Students clearly had a good time with him. Gary beats Maryland's LaRouche people any day of the week.

There was a bridge in Durham by Duke that was painted with all sorts of fun expressions and shout-outs and notes about upcoming events. Virginia also has a bridge like this. NC State beats them all. Railroad tracks run through the campus, separating the campus' residential side from its academic side. The tunnel that crosses under the tracks is painted and various parts change daily. The tour guide told us that we might want to our watch our eyes; apparently sometimes there is pretty scandalous content on the walls, only to be replaced the next day with new material. Maryland needs a forum (other than lame sidewalk chalkings) to express student opinion.

Finally, while I liked the feel of NC State, I laughed when I walked onto the Court of the North Carolinas. Maryland's McKeldin Mall clearly beats it, not only in size but also in attractiveness. The other ridiculous thing about NC State was that the campus bookstore sold cigarettes. Admittedly North Carolina is a tobacco state, but that seems a bit excessive.

Maryland does a lot of things right. It's located only a couple miles from Washington, DC, which gives it a nice urban feel, but while on campus there is no sense of being located near a dense metropolis. Maryland's organized and relatively compact campus also is a major asset. However, Maryland does need a landmark that will distinguish itself from other schools. It needs more solace spots on campus like the gardens at Duke. Maryland also needs true traditions, better evangelists, and somewhere on campus where painting is acceptable. (Some people might remember that chalk drawing of Juan Dixon near Byrd Stadium; imagine how amazing a whole tunnel of similar paintings would have been after our 2002 basketball championship.) But every school is unique, and Maryland does indeed have so much going for it. When living on its campus all seemed great, but it is only when you see what other possibilities exist that you wonder how great Maryland could possibly be.