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Invisible University of North Carolina

Invisible University of North Carolina

In the fall of 1970 graduate student Nyle Frank started the Invisible University of North Carolina. The (very) informal "invisible university" offered alternative classes in the style of 1960s teach-ins. Anyone interested could sign up to take a class, or to teach one. The first course, taught by campus police chief Arthur Beaumont, was called Cooperation between the Fuzz and the Fuzzies. Other courses included graffiti interpretation and pumpkin carving. Frank, a native of Los Angeles, was a well-known figure on campus in the early 1970s. He was easily recognizable, wearing elaborate, colorful clothing and his distinctive "goastache" (half mustache, half goatee). Not satisfied with just an invisible university, in December 1970 Frank was crowned King of the Invisible Universe in a three-and-a-half hour ceremony in the Pit, attended by more than 2,000 students.


Date Established: 1970

Date Range: 1970 – 1972

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