Tragic graduation day: Weekend marks 25 years since UNC fraternity fire killed 5 students

Posted May 16, 2021
This weekend's graduation day marks 25 years since a tragic fire in a UNC fraternity house killed five students. The painful date is etched in local memory: May 12, 1996. It was graduation day – and Mother's Day. A smoldering cigarette sent the Phi Gamma Delta house up in flames. “It rocked my soul,” said Bonnie Woodruff, who lost her son, Ben. (WRAL.com)

Related: Campus Connections

Chapel Hill's Carolina Inn ranks among the ‘most haunted’ in America
Investigating everything from ghostly encounters to eerie histories, a team with Airport Parking Reservations researched the 13 most haunted hotels in the U.S. This paranormal...
Sun Oct 26, 2025

A taste of five new restaurants on Franklin Street
One40 Social brings a new energy to Franklin Street's sports bar scene, with plenty of giant TVs, games, and upbeat music. It is the kind...
Wed Oct 22, 2025

UNC Researcher Earns MacArthur ‘Genius’ Grant to Support Work Preventing Drug Overdoses
Nabarun Dasgupta, an epidemiologist and researcher with UNC’s Gillings School of Public Health, is the latest Chapel Hill faculty member to earn a MacArthur Foundation...
Tue Oct 21, 2025

Video: Carolina Insider - Interview With Former Denver Nuggets Coach and Tar Heel Dad Michael Malone
Former Denver Nuggets Head Coach, Michael Malone, also a proud UNC Volleyball parent, joins Jones Angell and Adam Lucas to talk about what it took...
Mon Oct 20, 2025