Freshman Minority Recruitment into Student Government
Realizing the need for more minorities in Student Government committees, the council started an outreach program with the Black Student Movement. Members of the council met with the BSM's Freshman Class Council during one of their weekly meetings. Topics discussed included the purpose and structure of FFC, opportunities for involvement with FFC and the Daum administration, and opportunities to resolve campus issues.

On-going Projects
Because members of the council will remain in office until September 2003, encompassing both the Daum and Tepper administrations, the council will continue to meet and represent the class. All pending projects will be completed during the Tepper administration. The selection of a new advisor, who will lead the selection process of the 2003-2004 Freshman Focus Council will take place before May. The FFC will work throughout the summer and beginning of the next academic year to advertise the organization to new freshmen.

Representing the Class of 2006
The first task of the FFC was to provide adequate representation on Student Government committees and external appointments. A member of the council serves on each of the eight executive committees of the Student Government, and the co-coordinators serve on the Student Body President's cabinet. In addition, members of the FFC serve on the New Students Coordinating Committee, the Board of Elections, the Student Undergraduate Teaching Awards Committee, the Chancellor's Awards Committee, and the Student Congress committee to review the Carolina Computing Initiative. In addition, a member of the council took part in a credit seminar in which students reviewed the new curriculum proposed for the University.

The Freshman Day of Service
The council declared December 3, 2002, the first Freshman Day of Service. Many freshmen contacted the FFC, concerned about losing money through the Carolina Dining Service meal plan. Many freshmen purchased large meal plans but discover they are not able to eat all of the meals included in their plan. Realizing that the class wanted constructive ways to use meals, the council organized a food drive in which students purchased "to-go" meals from Lenoir Dining Hall and donated them to the Inter-Faith Council Food Kitchen in Chapel Hill. Students were able to feed 289 people that day, a number which was 139 over the program's goal.

Freshman Central
The council has updated and is working to launch a new Freshman Central website. The website was initially launched in 2000 as a means to engage the freshman class, but the site has been inactive since 2001. This year's FFC has enacted a project to upgrade the website. The first phase of the project involves deleting all out-dated material on the site and updating basic information. The second phase launches an entirely new website design, with a focus on providing the incoming freshman class with pertinent information while informing them about campus culture. The new site will include a graduated guide to Carolina from the student perspective, profiles of Carolina community members, and useful information about parking, housing, dining, academic life, social activities, athletics, and transportation. The first phase was completed in November, and the second is underway with an April 1, 2003, deadline.

Beat Hunger! Beat State!
The FFC participated in a canned food drive to benefit the Food Bank of North Carolina. Chancellor Moeser and the Campus Y challenged Chancellor Marye Ann Fox and the students of North Carolina State University to a canned food drive in February.. The losing school's chancellor had to wear the colors of the winning school. This was a campus wide event as organizations all over campus competed with their State counterparts. The FFC challenged the freshman senators in State's Student Senate. If the FFC did not return the most cans, the Freshman Central website would have a red homepage for a week. Also, FFC co-coordinator Derwin Dubose and advisor Matt Compton agreed to dance in the Pit, wearing Wolfpack athletic gear. Through fundraising, the FFC was able to donate 288 cans to the canned food drive. Although UNC-CH lost the overall competition, the two schools donated almost 10,000 pounds of food.

The Freshman Election Forum
The council held the first Freshman Election Forum for this year's student body elections. Elections are a hectic time, and the council realized that many freshmen may get confused with all of the propaganda and excitement. The council decided to hold a forum where freshmen could pose questions and concerns to the candidates for Student Body President. Difficulties with securing a meeting room prevented the FFC from having a physical forum, so the council decided to hold the forum online. Candidates for Student Body President and President of the Residential Hall Association were asked to complete questionnaires with questions concerning freshmen. The questionnaires were posted on the Freshman Central website with essays on the importance of each office. Also, a description of Student Congress and a listing of all candidates and contact information were provided. Technical difficulties delayed the posting of the website and decreased its effectiveness, but the problems have been noted and addressed.

South Campus Lighting Focus
The Freshman Focus Council was one of the student organizations present at the bi-annual lighting tour held by the Department of Public Safety and University Power Services on November 19, 2002. The tour went around most of the main parts of campus and addressed lighting concerns while officials took note of problem areas. Members of the council explained lighting needs on South Campus, especially problems created by the construction of the Ramshead development.

C-TOPS Reform
The council has made reforming the C-TOPS program a main priority. Student Body President Jen Daum appointed Lily West, one of her executive assistants, to work specifically with the FFC and another freshman student to devise a plan to reform orientation programs. The Orientation office has been very receptive to the FFC input, and it will be compiled with other suggestions.

Big Sibling Program
Scott Burr, a member of the FFC, has extended the C-TOPS reform to propose the creation of a "big sibling" program for incoming students for the Week of Welcome (WOW) and throughout the year. After getting approval from the council, Scott has been working hard to develop this program. He has met with Lily West, executive assistant to Student Body President Jen Daum; the coordinators of FFC; C-TOPS leader Sang Shin; and Dr. Cindy Wolf-Johnson, vice chancellor for student learning. He is not assembling a central committee for the program, and it will hopefully be launched before August.