Could the University of North Carolina change the name of its athletic programs?
A group made its way to campus this week to advocate for such a move, arguing that the Tar Heels name has ties to the Confederacy and white supremacy, according to the Charlotte News & Observer.
The group wants UNC to change its name to the Rams, which would allow the school to keep its current mascot, which is named after a former player.
UNC has explained the Tar Heels as “workers who distilled turpentine from the sticky sap of pine trees and burned pine boughs to produce tar and pitch often went barefoot during hot summer months and undoubtedly collected tar on their heels,” according to the university’s website.