Welcome to Pit Perspectives Season 5! Thanks for joining us and returning to the show for our third year.
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Taylor Swift has lived in news headlines for over a decade now. Recently, her Ticketmaster drama and criticism of her private jet usage have ruled her public image, though her new relationship with NFL player Travis Kelce is starting to rewrite the media cycle.

Today we're staying out of the politics and diving into the personal; what do UNC students think about Taylor Swift as an artist, a businesswoman, a girlfriend, a celebrity, and an industry powerhouse?

Students shared both their love of her music and their visceral hatred for the community she's created; some accused her fandom of being just privileged white women and others celebrated her for paving the way for other women in the industry. Some complained that they've heard enough of her breakups and others wished we'd stop treating her as if she's no more than the men she dates.

Today's episode is a short and sweet introduction to Pit Perspectives Fall 2023. But although we aren't diving as deep into history, philosophy, or politics, you'll leave the episode with just as many new questions and curiosities about yourself and your peers.

We end the episode with a question: what does your Taylor Swift opinion say about you?

We'd like to thank Jesse Ainslie for this episode's music. His work can be found here: jesseainslie.com

Pit Perspectives is a student-run podcast. We record your candid and anonymous opinions in The Pit, add commentary and supplementary materials, and create episodes on relevant social issues facing college students at UNC and across the country.

Find us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/pitperspectivesunc/) and online (https://www.pitperspectivesunc.com/).

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With election day around the corner, UNC students are struggling to balance their interests in their votes: hometown ties or the fight to turn NC blue?

College students today have a unique opportunity to strategize when they take to the voting booth- vote in Chapel Hill or in your home state? Or, don't vote at all? While UNC students expressed an overwhelming excitement for political activism, young people are projected to be least likely to vote in the upcoming election. Why?

What does it mean to abstain from voting?
Has politics in this country outgrown the use of our voting system?
Is voting obsolete?

Today's episode begins with a forgotten moment in NC and US history and an attack on voting rights and democratic government itself: the Wilmington Massacre of 1898. Next, we examine why UNC students do and do not vote. Finally, we examine the philosophical concerns behind our right to vote: are we supposed to act out of self-interest, or with social empathy?

We'd like to thank Jesse Ainslie for this episode's music. His work can be found here: jesseainslie.com

Pit Perspectives is a student-run podcast. We record your candid and anonymous opinions in The Pit, add commentary and supplementary materials, and create episodes on relevant social issues facing college students at UNC and across the country.

Find us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/pitperspectivesunc/) and online (https://www.pitperspectivesunc.com/).

Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FokdCdrJy-6GokbM8Y47imlbUxA5Nfl-Lk1imIoGuW4/edit?usp=sharing

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Fast fashion, online reselling, and class consciousness are on the rise; how do UNC students feel about today's practices of consumption?

Here in Chapel Hill, students have access to Rumors- a secondhand boutique, Frat Court Flea- a UNC-alumni-run vintage vending event for students, and a Goodwill just a few minutes away. Students also have access to millions of secondhand items on their phones via apps like Depop, Poshmark, and eBay. As social media pressures us to fit in, the rise in the trendiness of thrifting has created pressures to stand out. But, as much as we want to dress like (or unalike) our peers, we're bombarded with a new class consciousness fueled by Gen Z's renewal of environmentalism, marxism, and social justice.

Where does thrifting fit into the puzzle? Some UNC students worry that affluent thrift shoppers are taking away from low-income shoppers who need thrift prices, but others place the moral wrongdoings only with resellers who take from thrift stores and sell online at 100%+ markups.

Today's episode begins with a short history of thrift stores and thrifting practices in Chapel Hill, then, we examine the ethical pros and cons of thrifting, retail shopping, and reselling. Along the way, hear from Marshe Wyche, co-owner and co-founder of Rumors Boutique, and Jennifer Le Zotte, UNCW History Professor and author of Goodwill to Grunge (https://www.amazon.com/Goodwill-Grunge-Secondhand-Alternative-Economies/dp/1469631903).

We end with a question: how should we make decisions about our consumption?

We'd like to thank Jesse Ainslie for this episode's music. His work can be found here: jesseainslie.com

Pit Perspectives is a student-run podcast. We record your candid and anonymous opinions in The Pit, add commentary and supplementary materials, and create episodes on relevant social issues facing college students at UNC and across the country.

Find us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/pitperspectivesunc/) and online (https://www.pitperspectivesunc.com/).

Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MRpFOCpKin22a27R7agx81e6FXPCFcqiDoh1r4NpfIQ/edit?usp=sharing

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The abortion debate has been framed over the last decade as a matter of pro-life vs. pro-choice. But, is this distinction productive?

Here at UNC, students engage with important social topics every day in and outside class. A college campus is supposed to be the marketplace of ideas, but what preconditions are required for civil discourse? In the abortion debate, it seems that we're lacking a common ground. Students have to wrestle with morality, religion, biology, and federalism when discussing abortion with their peers, although a majority of students we spoke to seemed to skip straight to "choice."

We ask, however, if a pro-choice mindset presupposes that abortion is not murder? And, do students understand the assumptions they bring into their discussions?

Today's episode begins with a short history of the abortion debate in America with a focus on social control. Then, we examine several possible solutions to the chaotic nature of abortion discourse, looking at a website worked on by UNC students (https://www.respectpeople.org/) and a research report produced by Dr. Timothy Ryan (https://fecdsurveyreport.web.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/22160/2022/08/FECD_Report_8-21-22.pdf).

We end with a question: how do we move forward?

We'd like to thank Professor Timothy Ryan and Professor Jillian Hinderliter for their insights and support. Also, thanks to Jesse Ainslie for this episode's music. His work can be found here: jesseainslie.com

EDIT: Dobbs v. Jackson was decided on June 24th, not June 4th.

Pit Perspectives is a student-run podcast. We record your candid and anonymous opinions in The Pit, add commentary and supplementary materials, and create episodes on relevant social issues facing college students at UNC and across the country.

Find us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/pitperspectivesunc/) and online (https://www.pitperspectivesunc.com/).

Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WjrRfURWmor2oMcLjKick0Zhx-AXJRLQG8Ml9CUSOfk/edit?usp=sharing

Support the show

Pit Preaching on UNC's campus has been historically attributable to Gary Birdsong, a fundamentalist Christian preacher whose message is riddled with racism, homophobia, and sexism. This semester, student preachers have been growing in popularity, and we're forced to face the consequences of free speech and potential censorship on our campus. Today's episode includes student views on Pit Preachers, the First Amendment, Censorship, and methods used by religious student organizations to recruit new members.

This episode also includes recordings with Pit Preachers, taken in The Pit. Preachers were overwhelmingly excited to take the floor and spread God's word, but some students question whose word they're really spreading, and what their intentions are. What makes a conversation productive, and can productive discourse happen between preachers and students?

Pit Perspectives takes soundbites recorded candidly in The Pit at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and mixes them with commentary and statistics to create a comprehensive review of the student body's thoughts on an important social issue. Our method allows regular students to share anonymous opinions and gives a voice to those who have thoughts on the topic but do not have access to more formal outlets of expression.

Check out our Instagram @PitPerspectivesUNC to stay up to date on the podcast.

Click this link to view our sources for this episode.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kS87qlg7CfVNQIpjsqn5-n9MuympobR5/view?usp=sharing

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Study drug usage, specifically of Adderall and Vyvanse, has become ingrained into student culture at universities across the nation. Here at UNC, prescription stimulant misuse is no different, although it seems to occur in self-reinforcing social circles. This episode tells the story of an Adderall acquisition from the original prescription to a student with ADHD, through a diversion of the medication, and then use before an exam.

Pit Perspectives takes soundbites recorded candidly in The Pit at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and mixes them with commentary and statistics to create a comprehensive review of the student body's thoughts on an important social issue. Our method allows regular students to share anonymous opinions and gives a voice to those who have thoughts on the topic but do not have access to more formal outlets of expression.

Pit Perspectives does not condone the use of illegal substances, and we do not have any identifying information of the students featured on today's episode. These students offered to share their experiences, although we cannot verify if any of their statements are true. This episode offers insight into drug usage on our campus from the voices of students with firsthand experience, and to our knowledge, we are providing the first anonymous voice recordings on this topic at UNC.

Check out our Instagram @PitPerspectivesUNC to stay up to date on the podcast.

For a list of our sources, click this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Rb36-iPidfbdjZXdBoE_sjjlcSyzPlUd/view?usp=sharing

Additional links to explore:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5140739/
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2141368-adderall-might-improve-your-test-scores-but-so-could-a-placebo/

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This episode is the second in a two-part series on student-athletes. UNC, although a top-ranked academic institution, is known for its athletics. Student-athletes make immense contributions to the culture and reputation of our school, but are they deified by our student body, and are women's teams given the same respect? This episode covers gender disparities, viewership, revenue, deification, respect, and unfair resources. To learn more about the way student-athletes are compensated (or not) by the NCAA and UNC, check out Part 1: the Exploitation of Student-Athletes.

Pit Perspectives takes soundbites recorded candidly in The Pit at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and mixes them with commentary and statistics to create a comprehensive review of the student body's thoughts on an important social issue. Our method allows regular students to share anonymous opinions and gives a voice to those who have thoughts on the topic but do not have access to more formal outlets of expression.

Check out our Instagram @PitPerspectivesUNC to stay up to date on the podcast.

For a list of our sources, click this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15YcUsvwU2TkqIm0v6-B_gQCQCNI6rbOB/view?usp=sharing

Links:
https://static.goredfoxes.com/custompages/pdf/hour-limitations.pdf

http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/2022/Attend.pdf

http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2022/Attend.pdf

https://goheels.com/news/2017/8/25/2017-carolina-field-hockey-fast-facts.aspx

Support the show

This episode is the first in a two-part series on student-athletes. UNC, although a top-ranked academic institution, is known for its athletics. Student-athletes make immense contributions to the culture and reputation of our school, but are they given enough in return? This episode covers academic scandals, plantation mentality, graduation rates, and compensation through NIL. To learn more about the way students perceive athletes, check out Part 2: the Glorification of Student-Athletes.

Pit Perspectives takes soundbites recorded candidly in The Pit at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and mixes them with commentary and statistics to create a comprehensive review of the student body's thoughts on an important social issue. Our method allows regular students to share anonymous opinions and gives a voice to those who have thoughts on the topic but do not have access to more formal outlets of expression.

Check out our Instagram @PitPerspectivesUNC to stay up to date on the podcast.

For a list of our sources, click this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15YcUsvwU2TkqIm0v6-B_gQCQCNI6rbOB/view?usp=sharing

Links:
https://static.goredfoxes.com/custompages/pdf/hour-limitations.pdf

http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/2022/Attend.pdf

http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2022/Attend.pdf

https://goheels.com/news/2017/8/25/2017-carolina-field-hockey-fast-facts.aspx

Support the show