One week ago a group of students were detained by police at an encampment on the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill campus. It's the same sort of thing we've seen at a bunch of campuses around the country. Students were asked to leave, those who refused were told they could face detention and arrest.
UNC interim Chancellor Lee Roberts and Provost Chris Clemens announced in a statement at 5:37 a.m. that the protesters “must remove all tents, tables, and other items and depart from the area” of the encampment — Polk Place, the university’s main quad in the central part of campus.
“Failure to follow this order to disperse will result in consequences including possible arrest, suspension from campus and, ultimately, expulsion from the university, which may prevent students from graduating,” Roberts and Clemens stated...
“During that time, the protesters attempted to block the UNC Police vehicles by standing in front of them and throwing items at officers,” the UNC release stated. “Polk Place was cleared in approximately 45 minutes. Afterwards, UNC Facilities cleared the area of significant debris.
“After the area was cleared, the remaining protesters escalated their tactics, attempting to forcibly enter South Building by pushing officers and refusing to comply with requests from Facilities and UNC Police,” the release stated.
That particular day at UNC-Chapel Hill is probably best known on the right because of a moment when a bunch of frat guys refused to let the mob pull down the American flag.
Students at UNC Chapel Hill protect the American Flag from pro-Hamas anti-American protesters who reportedly attempted to remove it. pic.twitter.com/oBDO9CjWLu
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) May 1, 2024
In any case, 30 people were detained that day and six were arrested, for a total of 36. Only 13 of them were UNC students. Most of those students appear to have been suspended.
The UNC chapter of Students for Justice for Palestine (SJP) — which organized the encampment and is now suspended “on an interim basis” by the university for possible violations of campus policies — has said in social media posts that more than a dozen students have been suspended from the university in connection to the protests.
Now a group of 800 professors at the school are signing a letter demanding that the school reverse all of the suspensions.
The student encampment located on Polk Place was an example of the kind of peaceful free expression that our university claims to uphold. Free speech is often challenging; it can make people uncomfortable, and it can grow heated. But until that speech crosses the line into violence or obstruction, it must be protected, even at the cost of discomfort or patches of grass yellowed by tents. The administration’s decision to call in police from across the state to storm our students’ encampment at 5:30 in the morning on Tuesday, April 30, created a militarized and unsafe climate on the UNC campus. It subjected the very students it is charged with protecting to violence and trauma...
The university must immediately dismiss all suspensions and other charges against students involved in the protest, return the confiscated belongings of our students, remove the fence around the flagpole in the quad, and re-open Campus Y in recognition of its central importance to our university community.
In short, they want amnesty for everyone involved in the protests. There were no threat included in the letter signed by the professors but the UNC Chapter of SJP is trying to add one. If amnesty isn't granted, they want professors to withhold students' grades.
UNC SJP is seeking to use withheld grades to pressure administrators to reverse student discipline. The group said in a news release that instructors are “withholding grades and demanding the UNC-CH administration grant all protesters amnesty.” The move is reminiscent of similar actions nearly six years ago as the university dealt with the controversy surrounding Silent Sam, the Confederate monument that previously stood on campus and for years was the subject of on-campus protests and outcry.
At least one professor has indicated he is going to do this until the school meets his (or her) demands.
"On May 13, if the administration has not reinstated the suspended students, you will see a NR (for Not Reported) on your transcript," the message board reads. "An NR does not change your GPA positively or negatively, and can remain on your transcript until the end of the following semester. I will keep a personal record of your grades so that, once the administration meets our demands, the grades you earned will be recorded."
The school has since responded to this new trend by threatening to sanction the professors.
"Dear Deans and Department Chairs, we are asking you to please work with your faculty and graduate students to ensure that we follow exemplary practice in our work as educators," Clemens and Mayer-Davis wrote. "We strongly support the right of faculty and graduate students to express their opinions freely but there are better ways to do this than hurting our students and abrogating our contract with the people of North Carolina who support our university."
They continued, "We are counting on your leadership in this matter."
"The provost's office will support sanctions for any instructor who is found to have improperly withheld grades, but it is our hope we can resolve this matter amicably and without harm to students," the letter states.
It's a good thought but I wonder if they'll actually do it or if this is just another empty threat. We probably won't have to wait very long to find out. The spring semester ends this week and graduation takes place this Saturday, May 11.
