Protesters Once Again Shut Down UNC Board of Governors Meeting

The UNC Board of Governors meeting on Friday was once again brought to a halt by protesters.

The meeting was being held in Chapel Hill at the Center for School Leadership Development on the campus of the Friday Center after it was moved from the campus at UNC – Asheville due to “potential for large numbers of protesters.”

Between 75 and 100 protesters made it to the Friday Center on Friday and about 20 were allowed into the meeting.

Listen to the report from WCHL’s Blake Hodge below:

 

Chanting could be heard throughout the meeting from those protesters who were not allowed into the packed room.

During the President’s Report from Margaret Spellings, about 30 minutes into the meeting, protesters inside the room interrupted Spellings as the newly-installed President updated the board on her visits to campuses across the System.

Warning: Video contains strong language:

The chanting continued through request from board chair Lou Bissette for them to stop and the meeting went into a recess.

UNC Chief of Police Jeff McCracken then gave the protesters the option of voluntarily leaving or being arrested.

The protesters walked out voluntarily.

There was a heavy police presence, with an estimated 40 law enforcement officers from varying local agencies on hand.

Bissette made it very clear when speaking with reporters after the meeting that the board is ready to move past the continued protests.

“I don’t like it,” Bissette said of the protests. “I particularly don’t like the rudeness and a lack of common decency that a number of these protesters have, but I understand it. I’m a big boy. I’ve been around a long time.

“They’re protesters. They’re doing what they think they need to be doing, although I don’t agree with it.”

Protests have been a common scene at board meetings over the last year as the board announced that President Tom Ross would be leaving that post, in a move that many protesters viewed as politically-motivated.

Bissette said the board will be implementing a public comment period during the board’s next meeting to allow concerns to be voiced.

“Where people can sign up and come in and tell the Board of Governors what they want us to hear,” Bissette said. “The problem now is, these people out there, they’re not advancing their cause because they’re out there screaming.”

Bissette said he is hopeful that the public comment period will alleviate some of the protesters concerns.

“I think for some people who really want to convey their feelings and have a dialogue, I think that’ll help,” Bissette said. “For those who want to scream ‘F You’ and ‘Margaret Spellings has got to be gone by the end of the year,’ it probably is not going to affect them.”

Bissette did have a simple message for those protesters saying they would only be satisfied when Spellings is removed from the role of President of the UNC System.

“If that’s the case, they’re not going to be happy for a long time,” Bissette said, “because she’s not going anywhere.”