Bell Tower Keeps UNC Students on Time--Awake or Asleep

Thanks to a Bell Tower upgrade, students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill always know what time it is--even when they’re trying to sleep.

“I manage to get to sleep after a while, but I have to put in earplugs,” said Joanna Jordan, one of two dormitory residents who wrote a letter to the editor of the student newspaper complaining about the noise. “It’s bearable, but I don’t see why there’s any reason for it.”

The Westminister Chimes play every 15 minutes, day and night, and the tower also plays a randomly selected song from a computer database of 68 tunes four times a day: 8 a.m., noon, 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.