University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Ephemera Collection, 1918-2025

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Summary

Abstract:

This collection primarily consists of ephemera-materials created for a specific event or purpose and intended to be discarded after use-related to events, departments, and organizations at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Examples of ephemera include flyers, brochures, event posters, and class projects.

Extent:
41,800 items (57 linear feet)
Language:
Materials in English
Library Catalog Link:
View UNC library catalog record for this item

Background

Scope and content:

Series 1: Campus Life Ephemera. This series consists of ephemera related to campus organizations, events, classes, and other aspects of university life and organized by year. Much of the ephemera is collected from bulletin boards in the R.B. House Undergraduate Library and residence hall bulletin boards. Materials from 1821-2016 were formerly cataloged as part of the North Carolina Collection (Call number VC378 UL2), and integrated into this collection in April 2025.

Series 2: Howard Waynick Music Ephemera. This series consists of programs from concerts and other musical events at the University of North Carolina between 1936 and 1940. They were collected by Howard Waynick, UNC class of 1938, a musician in Greensboro, N.C.

Series 3: C. Hawkins Ephemera. This series consists of materials collected by C. Hawkins, UNC-Chapel Hill class of 2000, between 1997 and 2004. The series includes ephemera related to UNC-Chapel Hill athletics, the General Alumni Association, the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black History and Culture, theater at UNC-Chapel Hill, the Black Student Movement, campus elections, C-TOPS and TSOP orientations, the Masala Fashion Show, Fall Fest, and other campus events.

Series 4: James Lynn Kapp Ephemera. An invitation sent to members of the class of 1893 for a reunion of the classes of 1917, 1913, 1908, 1903, 1898, and 1893. The letter, addressed to Mr. James Lynn Kapp, is accompanied by its original envelope and an enclosed list of members of the class of 1893. There are also pictures of campus landmarks that may have been included with the invitation as well as two later photographs of Wilson Library and Manning Hall.

Series 5: Class Strike Ephemera. This series consists of materials related to a 1970 class strike and student petition challenging the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's disruption policy. The class strike was called to protest the United States's invasion of Cambodia. Following the strike, students submitted a petition, signed by 600 to 800 students, to UNC-Chapel Hill President William C. Friday declaring that they had violated the University's disruption policy. This was intended to overwhelm the University's system for investigating and responding to violations of the policy. In response, Dean of Students C.O. Cathey sent letters to all students who signed the petition, asking them to confirm that they had signed and to further explain their signature of the petition within ten days.

Series 6: Elsie Earle Lawson Modern Dance Ephemera. Ephemera collected by Elsie Earle Lawson, a UNC dance instructor, dance associate of the Carolina Playmakers, and advisor to the Carolina Modern Dance Club. Materials include programs for performances and conferences, photos of dancers, and news releases and clippings about the dance program.

Series 7: UNC Labor Support Group Ephemera. Materials related to the UNC Labor Support Group and labor activism at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Series 8: Helen Louise McDevitt Ephemera. This series consists of materials documenting McDevitt's time on campus and in Chapel Hill, including a letters regarding her admission to UNC and her graduate teaching fellowship, her Athletic Association membership card, a newspaper clipping, and photos. Included is a letter of recommendation from Cordelia Camp, director of the Training School at Western Carolina.

Series 9: Student's Letter Home, 1988. This series consists of a single letter on UNC letterhead dated April 5, 1988 and addressed to "M + D" (presumably "Mom and Dad") from "Janice."

Series 10: Student Body President Campaign Materials, 2012-2015. This series consists primarily of flyers, photos, posters, and other promotional materials related to student campaigns for Student Body President of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Also included are some planning materials, candidate platforms, and correspondence related to campaigns.

Series 11: Frank Carter Jubilee Footage, 1970. This series consists of footage taken at the Jubilee music festival on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus in May 1970. Student Frank Carter (class of 1972) took the footage as part of an assignment for a class in the Department of Radio, Television, and Motion Pictures (RTVMP).

Series 12: UNC Men's Soccer Posters, 1977.

Series 13: Campus contextualization signs, 2018. This series consists of signs highlighting historical and ongoing instances and symbols of white supremacy and examples of racial justice activism on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. Another identical set of these signs were placed around campus in 2018.

Series 14: Scrapbook created by UNC-Chapel Hill student Hayden Park for AMST 202 (Historical Approaches to American Studies) as part of a Spring 2021 class project. The scrapbook contains excerpts from the Karen Parker Diary, Letters, and Clippings, 1963-1966, interspersed with reflections from students in the class. Parker was the first African-American woman undergraduate to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating in 1965. Her diary documents her experiences as a student.

Series 15: Collection of 16 fliers and signs for programs and protests created by students in elin o'Hara slavick's art classes, 2000s-2010s. Topics include the Confederate Monument and the commercialization of the university. Slavick was a Professor of Visual Art, Theory and Practice at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for 27 years.

Series 16: Collection of five color slides documenting a "Freedom March" sponsored by the "Chapel Hill Committee for Open Business" in the summer of 1963. The Chapel Hill Committee for Open Business (COB) was a grassroots organization formed to promote the de-segregation of local businesses and to pressure city officials for policy change regarding public accommodation laws. Photographs were taken by UNC faculty member Don Irish. The related blog post "Walking Down a Black-and-White Road," written by Irish's daughter Sharon Irish, is also included.

Series 17: The materials in this series include a selection of the messages created and shared as part of an impromptu memorial and show of support for fellow students following the deaths of two Carolina students in October 2021. The memorial materials were removed after several days by staff at the Carolina Union, who then transferred the collection to the University Archives. The materials include handwritten notes on Post-Its, index cards, and other slips of paper. The series also includes digital photos of the memorial as well as chalk messages written on the bricks near the Pit. Series 18. Contains Navy Pre-flight School postcards and Student Government campaign materials, 1940-1942. These materials were found between the fireplace and the wall in the "social room" at Stacy dorm by student Thanai Votanopoulos in April 2025. Votanopoulos brought the materials to Davis Library. The materials were then transferred to the Wilson Special Collections Library.

Series 19. Craige Dorm Ephemera, 1970-1971 contains party announcements, "The Craige Miscellany" containing dorm facts, "Howard Brook's Guide to Eating in Chapel Hill and its Environs," football ticket stubs, and a small poster for the UNC-Vanderbilt football game.

Series 20. Hugh Stevens Ephemera, contains documents pertaining to Hugh Stevens' student life at UNC in the 1960s, including Selective Service student certification documents, Delta Upsilon newsletters and brochures, football game ticket stubs and programs, a program for the Order of the Golden Fleece, and a brochure for the band Doug Clark and the Hot Nuts. This series also contains documents related to Stevens' written work, an opinion piece in the News and Observer on the search for a new UNC chancellor, and Daily Tar Heel editor campagin posters. Two issues of academic magazines are included: The Literary Calvalcade and Popular Government by the UNC Institute of Government, which includes a memorandum on the 1964 Civil Rights Act and an article by Stevens on intern programs. Also included are UNC commencement programs and invitations from 1965 and 1968, and a transcript of the 1968 commencement address by Albert Coates, founder of the Institute of Government at UNC.

Acquisition information:

Donated by C. Hawkins, October 2015 (RT 20151023.2); Howard Waynick, October 2016 (RT 20161028.1); Charles C. Harris in December 2016 (RT 20161219.1); Reverand Lane Sapp on behalf of Ethel Armstrong, the daughter of UNC alumnus James Lynn Kapp, in December 2016 (RT 20161215.1); Rebecca Lawson in January 2017 (RT 20170128.2); Cindy Hahamovitch in January 2017 (RT 20170128.3); Deborah Potter in August 2017 (RT 20170809.1); in October 2017 (RT 20171031.1); Hetali Lodaya in March 2013 (RT 20130306.1); Nikita Shamdasani in April 2014 (RT 20140407.2); Andrew Powell in June 2014 (RT 20140616.1); David Marsh in March 2015 (RT 20150302.1); Frank Carter in July 2018 (RT 20180727.2); Danesha Byron in June 2019 (RT 20190613.2); Hayden Park in September 2021 (RT 20210901.5); elin o'Hara slavick in February 2022 (RT 20220214.3); Sharon Irish in February 2020 (RT 20220406.1); the Carolina Union in November 2021 (Acc. 20220316.1); T. L. Herbert, 2025 (Acc. 20251110.2); Hugh Stevens in January 2026 (RT 20260109.2); and collected from UNC Libraries staff in December 2016 (20161231.1), January 2018 (RT 20180105.1), January 2019 (RT 20190107.1), January 2020 (RT 20200109.2), July 2021 (RT 20210702.3), February 2022 (RT 20220222.1), March 2023 (RT 20230315.1), February 2024 (20240215.3), March 2026 (20260324.1).

Materials in Series 18 (RT 20250422.1) were found between the fireplace and the wall in the "social room" at Stacy dorm by student Thanai Votanopoulos in April 2025. Votanopoulos brought the materials to Davis Library. The materials were then transferred to the Wilson Special Collections Library.

Materials in Subseries 1.1A (Campus Life Ephemera), were formerly cataloged as part of the North Carolina Collection (Call number VC378 UL2), and integrated into this collection in April 2025.

Processing information:

Processed by: Jennifer Coggins and Carson Fish, November 2016.

Updated because of additions by University Archives staff in December 2016, January 2017, September 2017, November 2017, December 2017, January 2018, April 2018, August 2018, January 2019, June 2019, October 2019, and January 2020.

Encoded by: Gergana Abernathy, November 2016

Revisions by: Nancy Kaiser and Laura Smith, Feburary 2020; Dawne Howard Lucas, August 2021, October 2021, March 2022; Dawne Howard Lucas and Rebecca Stubbs, April 2022; Davia Webb, Dawne Howard Lucas, and Laura Smith, March 2023; Patrick Cullom, May 2023; Lucia Cimarusti, Davia Webb, and Laura Smith, November 2023 and March 2024; Dawne Howard Lucas, April 2025; Priya Dames, November 2025; Lydia Hendrick, March 2026; Andrew Crook, April 2026

Sensitive materials statement:

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Access and use

Restrictions to access:

No restrictions. Open for research.

Restrictions to use:

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Ephemera Collection #40446, University Archives, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Location of this collection:
Louis Round Wilson Library
200 South Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27515
Contact:
(919) 962-3765
wilsonlibrary@unc.edu