Last month, on Monday, Feb. 20, the Office of University Relations (OUR) at the University of North Carolina Wilmington received information from the University Police Department (UPD) regarding an inaccurate report of an active shooter near the Watson College of Education.

In honor of Rosa Parks' birthday, Feb. 4, Wave Transit in Wilmington, North Carolina reserved a seat through Feb. 6 in the front of the bus in remembrance of her contribution to the Civil Rights Movement. The seat contained a placard describing Park’s role in desegregating public transportation.

When the Supreme Court repealed the long-standing abortion rights established by Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey in Dobbs v. Jackson at the end of June 2022, the discussion around abortion caught the attention of the country. Now, the legality of abortion is up to each state to determine for themselves, and as the midterms approach, students across the political spectrum at UNCW are determined to make their voices heard at the ballot box.

On Sept. 27, 2022, UNCW’s Student Government Association unanimously passed a resolution vocalizing support for increased accessibility to childcare for UNCW’s students, faculty and staff. This resolution, coauthored by Student Body President Hannah-Valentina Horowitz and Student Services Chair Halie Walker, offers a first step toward on-campus childcare, a long-standing issue for UNCW.

In 2015, UNCW launched the "Like No Other" campaign intending to expand key elements that make the university unique for its students. With over 32,000 donors since the launch of the campaign, the school has reached its goal of $100 million, resulting in the most successful campaign in UNCW history. The promise to expand and enrich the programs does not stop there; UNCW will now be stretching the amount of the original campaign, with a new goal of $125 million.

UNCW’s annual Seahawk Safety Week is coming to campus on Sept. 26. It will host a variety of events that aim to educate students on topics ranging from healthy relationships to Title IX compliance.

Dr. Aswani K. Volety has been elected to be UNCW’s seventh chancellor and tenth leader overall. He was nominated by UNC System President Peter Hans during a Board of Governors meeting on May 26, 2022 after a rigorous nationwide search process that involved input from students, staff, faculty and alumni, as well as the Board of Trustees.

On Friday, April 22, Chancellor Sartarelli delivered his final address and 28th report to the UNCW Board of Trustees at their quarterly meeting. The chancellor’s retirement in June will end his nearly seven years of employment at the university, during which UNCW experienced the highest rate of growth in the UNC system. Sartarelli’s time as chancellor has been marked by both academic and economic successes as well as social backlash and controversy.

Of the ten cases only one is listed as closed, while eight are under further investigation. In all cases except the closed one, the perpetrators were listed as known to the victims. The tenth case, which is the most recent, concluded because the assault took place outside of UNCW’s police jurisdiction, as it did not occur on campus. Despite this new information, though, the question of what UNCW resources are doing to address sexual assaults on campus is ongoing. Many students have worried for their safety this academic year as these unusual cases drew their attention to the issue.

Over 400 students were evacuated out of Terrapin Hall last night beginning at 10:30 p.m. due to a pipe burst in the building, causing significant damage to at least 16 students’ residences. The evacuated students were placed in temporary housing for the night. This afternoon, most students were notified the building passed safety assessments and they could return to their rooms at 2 p.m. via an email from UNCW Housing and Residence Life Director Kevin Meaney. However, the rooms of 16 students are in need of repair before the students can move back in. The scheduled repair will take place in one to two weeks, and until then these students will remain in temporary housing.

In response to an ice storm warning for southeast North Carolina, UNCW announced classes are canceled on Friday, Jan. 21. Campus dining will continue to provide services for residential students during the storm, and areas with heavy foot traffic across campus will be salted by Housing and Residence Life. However, the university is urging students to remain indoors and avoid unnecessary trips across campus.

There will be a new person at the top of UNCW’s chain of command come July, and the university is currently in the process of finding out who that person will be. Since Chancellor Jose Sartarelli's retirement announcement in September, UNCW has been searching for a new chancellor. Part of this process is the formation of an 18-member search committee charged with identifying and recommending chancellor candidates to the UNCW board of trustees. That was accomplished on Oct. 13, and since then there have been seven public forums where committee members heard feedback from the UNCW community. Feedback from these sessions helped the committee craft leadership statements to draw in potential candidates that fit the university's needs.

In a change from previous guidelines, UNCW will now require all students living on-campus to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test in order to return to campus. Previous guidance stated only unvaccinated students were required to participate in return-to-campus testing. Guidance for vaccinated faculty, staff and off-campus students attending on-campus classes will remain the same. These groups are not required to participate in return-to-campus testing. This guidance goes into effect among the rise of the fast-spreading omicron COVID-19 variant as students return from various places following winter break.