Brandon Bowland sits in the backseat of his friend’s SUV on their way to dinner. His friends smile as they glance over at their girlfriends in the seats next to them. They laugh and joke around while deciding where to eat. But something makes Bowland, a junior in civil engineering, different from his friends.
Bowland’s thoughts are back in Chapel Hill with his girlfriend Anna Cole.
Just as Bowland begins to talk about how much he misses her, he hears a giggle from behind him. He turns around and she pops her head out from under a blanket in the back of the vehicle.
Sometimes, relationships between students at N.C. State and UNC-Chapel Hill can be difficult, but according to those involved, there are many moments that make it worthwhile.
“I really like how when we see each other it’s a treat. That’s what makes it special!” Anna Cole, a junior in communication at UNC, said.
Brandon and Anna have been dating for about two years, but like many couples who dare to cross the line between Raleigh and Chapel Hill, they knew each other before they came to college.
“We’ve been going to school together since sixth grade but we never really talked until we had a class together our senior year [of high school],” Bowland said.
Paul Mobley, a 2006 graduate from the University in mechanical engineering, and his girlfriend Meghan Clarke, a senior in biology at UNC, met in high school as well. They have made it through more than four years together.
Mobley thought for a minute about how long they had been dating while Clarke watched hopefully for the right response.
“We’ve been dating four years, eight months, and 14 days,” Mobley said with a grin.
Clarke linked her arm through his and pulled him closer, smiling.
Dating long distance can sometimes be tough, with schoolwork and other things keeping the typical college student busy. But Dmitri Moundous, a junior in chemical engineering, is still able to find time to see his girlfriend Miranda Roberts, a sophomore in exercise and sports science at UNC, about two or three times a week.
“It’s not really long distance. The fact that she’s twenty or thirty minutes away isn’t a problem at all,” Moundous said.
Like any other relationship, there are ups and downs. The couples spend a lot of time apart, but that makes it all the better when they have the chance to go out together.
“It gives us a chance to have a life outside of each other and it makes it special when you finally see each other,” Bowland said.
But of course, a Tar Heel and a member of the Wolfpack will have their differences.
The year that UNC won the National Championship, N.C. State played Carolina at home first and Bowland was not able to make it to the game. The second time NCSU played against UNC in Chapel Hill, Cole decided to get Bowland a ticket to go with her to the game.
“She got us tickets in the risers,” Bowland said. “There were Carolina students jumping up and down all around me and the security guard was saying ‘These State fans are going to get out of control, we better watch them’ when I was standing under their nose the whole time!”
Although Cole is not really into sports, she picks her battles with Bowland.
“We have friendly feuds about UNC. Her older brother went to State and I grew up a UNC fan so when we went to college we basically switched,” Bowland said.
Mobley and Clarke have the same issue. Mobley said he gets very upset when UNC beats State and Clarke doesn’t understand why. But Mobley never fails to abide by the ABC rule — Anybody But Carolina. “We went to a UNC preseason game in 2003 when they played Nike Elite, and I cheered for Nike Elite,” Mobley said. “She hasn’t taken me to a game since.”
But it still seems that people at N.C. State are drawn to the opposite sex at UNC. With UNC just down the road, it isn’t too hard for a couple to be away from one another.
And the Tar Heels are not afraid of the idea of dating a Wolfpack student either. Some feel NCSU guys are simply better.
“They’re more polite and mannerly. That’s what I like about [Bowland],” Cole said.