UNC Students Ambushed in Belltower Paint Wars

February 11, 1988 | For three UNC fraternity brothers, what started as an early morning prank at the N.C. State Belltower two weeks ago ended several hours later in the Wake County Jail.

Don Fratguy, Jim Whatme and Jack Duh, all three members of the Upsilon Nu Kappa fraternity, set out Friday, Jan. 29, to even the score between the rival universities. UNC’s belltower received a splattering of red and white paint before the first NCSU-UNC men’s basketball clash in January, but no arrests were made.

Disclaimer: Don't be fooled! This article was reprinted from Technician's annual spoof edition and doesn't contain a shred of truth. For the real scoop on what's happening at NC State, visit the Technician Web site. As a public forum for student opinion, solely funded by advertising dollars, the Technician is the student newspaper at NC State. In the fall of 2005 and spring of 2006, the Technician won its first national award, a Silver Crown from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, although it had been a finalist for national awards in the past. Individual photographers and designers have also won top national awards, including several first places in the Associated Collegiate Press individual competitions. More information on the accolades of the student newspaper are available here.

After arriving at the Belltower at 3 a.m., the trio quickly got to work, covering the base of the monument with blue and gold finger paint and several colored crayons from box of Crayolas. “It’s the only thing that we had around the house.” Fratguy explained during an interview from his jail cell.

To conceal their activities, the students turned off the lights of their car several miles from campus. Once at the Belltower, they sang the State fight song and occasionally shouted “Go State” in the quiet night air.

“Hell, well should anyone suspect us?” Duh said. “It just looked like we were a bunch of State fans sitting around the Belltower.

NCSU Public Safety officers were tipped off to the vandals several hours earlier. “Some guy called about nine o’clock and asked the dispatcher where the bellower was and what kind of colors would look good on it,” said Capt. John Manly.

“I guess that wasn’t too smart,” Duh remarked.

A squad of Public Safety officers descended on the Belltower at dawn, apprehending two of the UNC students. A third was found sometime later cowering under nearby bushes.

The three fraternity brothers were each charged with defacing a public monument, a misdemeanor. But those also were slapped with two counts apiece of felony gross stupidity, which carries life imprisonment of a four-year scholarship to UNC.

©1988, NCSU Student Media

Wold-Class Hunter to Give Commencement Speech

February 9, 1989 | Due to faulty telephone lines at the Dainty Tar Heel office, a story reported in last Friday’s DTH was totally and completely incorrect. The story stated that television journalist Roger Mudd would deliver the UNC commencement address this year.

The actual speaker will be Elmer Fudd.

According to Senior Class President Steve Tupperware, students and faculty seem to be “excited as heck” about this year’s choice, despite the initial confusion.

Disclaimer: Don't be fooled! This article was reprinted from Technician's annual spoof edition and doesn't contain a shred of truth. For the real scoop on what's happening at NC State, visit the Technician Web site. As a public forum for student opinion, solely funded by advertising dollars, the Technician is the student newspaper at NC State. In the fall of 2005 and spring of 2006, the Technician won its first national award, a Silver Crown from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, although it had been a finalist for national awards in the past. Individual photographers and designers have also won top national awards, including several first places in the Associated Collegiate Press individual competitions. More information on the accolades of the student newspaper are available here.

“I mean, Mr. Mudd is a nice guy and all, but Elmer is much more in tune with this year’s graduating class,” Tupperware said. “The vote was unanimous—Mr. Fudd beat out Willard Scott, Michael Jordan and Woody Durham.”

Fudd’s characteristics made him the obvious choice, Tupperware added. One committee member said Fudd was “the archetypal wimp. He personifies everything this university is about—soft and round, pink and lumpy, bald and befuddled.”

In a telephone interview Tuesday, Fudd said he was “vewwy excitied” about being chosen.

“This will be my first twip to the Twiangle,” Fudd said. “I am wooking forward to meeting all those Cawawina gwaduwates.”

Fudd said he feels honored to be speaking at the starting place of such lovable cartoon characters as Warren Martin, Brad Daugherty and Dick Crum.

As for the speech itself, Fudd said he hasn’t written it yet. But he’s got a vague idea of what he wants to say. “I think I will talk about the citizenship, weadership, and wesponsibiwity,” he said. “I just hope everwybody will be vewwy vewwy quiet, because what I have to say will be vewwy intewesting.

“These gwaduates face a twemendous chawenge in the world,” Fudd added. “I hope they will aspire to gweater things.”

Helen Jones a senior [majoring in] pornographic arts, said, “I really respect him and the work he’s done. I expect he’ll make a very good speech.”

Dick Coleslaw, dean of the School of Journalism, said he thought Fudd could teach his students a lot about the communication industry.

“I think Elmer is a wonderful television personality, a guy my students can certainly look up to,” Coleslaw said. “He is one savvy guy.”

Fudd began his show business career with Warner Bros. in 1940. Since then, he has hunted such cartoon greats as Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.

Fudd had only one question about his speech.

“This will be my first gwaduwation speech,” he said. “Will I have to wear bwue?”

©1989, NCSU Student Media