Written by Hunter Klosty
The Hinton James community government was prevented from celebrating Thanksgiving this past November, according to emails obtained by the Carolina Review. In early November of 2023, a Resident Advisor Mentor, a university employee, wrote to the governor of the Hinton James community government, who had requested materials for a Thanksgiving card writing event. The governor was told that the event “should be renamed… because some people do not like Thanksgiving because of the history behind it.” The federal holiday is celebrated across UNC’s campus with it appearing on the public university’s official calendar and Carolina Dining Services holding its annual “Ramsgiving” celebrations every November. The event was scrapped and replaced with a card-writing event in celebration of the Veterans Day holiday.
Each of the 15 residential communities across campus elects individual community governments that are tasked with planning events in dormitories and advocating on behalf of students on housing-related matters. The collective community governments and a university-wide leadership team make up the Residence Hall Association. The RHA, as it is more commonly referred to, is funded by mandatory student housing fees and other monies gathered by Carolina Housing. Resident Advisors, Resident Advisor Mentors, and Community Directors, all employees of Carolina Housing and the university, advise and help plan events with the student-run community governments.
In addition to being prevented from celebrating Thanksgiving, the Hinton James community government was also stopped from referring to an event where students were to search for clues and answer questions relating to the history of Chapel Hill as a “scavenger hunt” according to a student in the community government with direct knowledge of the situation. The term “scavenger hunt” was allegedly deemed offensive towards Native Americans by higher-up RHA officials. In a since-deleted Instagram post, the Hinton James community government advertised a “scavenger hunt” for November 16th before they were allegedly advised against using the terminology. The post was later replaced by a nearly identical advertisement with “Chapel Hillstory” replacing “Scavenger Hunt” for the same date.
The opinion that the term “scavenger hunt” is too offensive to be used in university-affiliated events is unique to the Residence Hall Association and Carolina Housing, with the term appearing in the titles of many different events across campus this academic year alone. UNC’s official visitor’s guide, Sustainable Carolina, and Heels Care Network have all used the term within the past six months.
The Review reached out to the Executive Director of Carolina Housing, Allan Blattner, who through a representative told us “Carolina Housing is not aware of any staff members preventing a Thanksgiving celebration.” Furthermore, the Review was told that “…RHA members participate in leadership training that includes information and discussions to build intercultural understanding and a recognition of the impact some words may have because of their context.” The newly uncovered university-sanctioned banning of Thanksgiving and scavenger hunts in dormitories will certainly add to the ongoing debates surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion that have recently dominated UNC.