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Faculty and staff who plan to be Commencement guests are urged to arrive early
May 16 and use campus shuttle buses, because parking spaces near Kenan Stadium
will be difficult to come by.
Commencement begins at 9:30 a.m. in Kenan Stadium. The ceremony typically
attracts 28,000 to 30,000 people. Seating is first-come, first-served, and no
tickets are required for admission.
Parking is available in any campus lot not reserved for special guests or
disabled visitors. Guests can park in public lots south and southwest of the
stadium. Those lots include the Dean E. Smith Center and Craige Parking Deck
off Manning Drive and Mitchell Hall off South Columbia Street. Public parking
within walking distance will be available in lots north, east and west of Kenan
Stadium.
Free shuttle bus service will run between these public lots and the stadium
continuously every 10 minutes between 8:15 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., and again from
the end of the ceremony until 2 p.m. University officials recommend that Smith
Center parking and shuttle service be used by faculty and staff who will be on
hand to watch children or friends taking part in ceremonies.
Gates 3, 5, 6 and 7 will be open to the public this year. This will allow for
seating in the south-side stands as well as the new west end zone. Guests may
enter gate 1 on the north side after the processional has passed.
Immediately after the Commencement ceremony in Kenan Stadium, a University
reception for graduates and their guests will be held in Polk Place.
Also following the Kenan Stadium event, a special shuttle will operate from
Cameron Avenue to park-and-ride lots for people attending separate school and
department Commencement activities.
In the event of severe weather -- lightning or dangerous conditions, not just
rain -- the ceremony may be moved to the Smith Center and the chancellor's
reception to Fetzer Gyms A and B. University officials will make a decision
about possible site locations by 6:30 a.m. Check for details about such changes
on local radio and television stations or by calling the special events line at
558-5961.
If the ceremony is moved to the Smith Center, shuttle bus service will run
continuously to the arena from five sites between 8:15 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
Those sites will be Chase Hall, Bennett Building, Mitchell Hall, the Bell Tower
and the Ramshead lot near Kenan Stadium. Shuttle service back to the parking
lots, Fetzer Gymnasium and north campus will run from 2 to 5 p.m.
People wanting more information about individual school and department Commencement
activities can check the web at http://www.unc.edu/news/newsserv/commencement
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