Thankfully, North Carolina universities have taken far different approaches to handling the pro-Hamas campus protesters than administrators have at places like Columbia University and Northwestern.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), led by interim Chancellor Lee Roberts, has shown the way on this front, with Lee personally walking the American flag back to the campus flag pole in late April and re-raising it after the Palestinian one put up by the agitators was taken down. He later declared in an interview that the U.S. flag would remain flying as long as he remained the chancellor.
And shortly after the encampment was dismantled, administrators got in front of the anticipated narratives from the protesters and their defenders by issuing a statement detailing the offenses of those arrested and suspended, pointing out that they had not in fact been "peaceful protesters."
Some two weeks after that, and a few days after UNC-CH commencement ceremonies where pro-Hamas protesters were booed out of the aisles, Roberts is speaking out again about the protesters, confirming during a Thursday Board of Trustees meeting that action would be taken against the worst offenders:
“No one has the right to disrupt campus operations, threaten or harass others, shut down a speaker or destroy public property,” Roberts said. “Now that commencement is over, information collected during recent events is being reviewed to pursue potential violations of policies and applicable laws.”
Roberts specifically mentioned two demonstrations. One where protesters blocked all exits of an administrative building and followed people who left the building to their cars and blocked traffic on Franklin Street as administrators drove away.
Another demonstration was hours before UNC’s graduation commencement, where protesters poured red paint over the steps of South building and wrote messages outside of it. South Building houses the Chancellor’s office.
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Roberts said that while the university plans to “take action” against those involved in various demonstrations, it will only be done at the university level.
Anything related to breaking the law will be handled "by the legal system," according to Roberts.
This is reassuring to see in light of what we've learned about higher education institutions like Harvard University, which capitulated to the mob by giving in to most of their demands, and Columbia, where administrators green-lighted professors either canceling final exams or making them optional while emphasizing that a student's grade on the exam should not negatively impact their final grade for the course.
On the flip side, UNC-Charlotte is another NC-based university that has played no games with occupiers, as we previously reported. Within days of the UNCC encampment going up, not only was it taken down "QUICKLY," according to a local reporter, but administrators also unapologetically explained in the aftermath exactly why they did it and how they would proceed going forward with any further attempts to establish another encampment:
In the aftermath of the dispersal, various concerning items were discovered, including knives, box cutters, a collection of baseball-sized rocks, and a mattress that was used to collect and store feces.
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Our community should be able to hold and express those views without facing intimidation, disruption, and exclusion from the campus where they work, learn, and live. UNC Charlotte will continue to take all necessary steps to preserve the rights of those not protesting to do their work and pursue their education.
What leadership looks like. How refreshing.
Related: Ouch: UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees Lowers Boom on DEI Program After Pro-Hamas Campus Mayhem
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