Orange County Joins Carrboro Asking UNC for Action After Racist Events

The Orange County Board of Commissioners, following the lead of the Carrboro Board of Aldermen last week, passed a resolution Tuesday night asking for more action to be taken by UNC after a series of racist actions on the campus.

But Orange County’s resolution went beyond the initial premise of Carrboro’s, chair of the commissioners Penny Rich said at Tuesday’s meeting, because of additional instances that have taken place in the interim that the board felt needed condemnation.

“In the meantime, we had some anti-Semitic action happen on campus,” Rich said. “So we felt that…it was important to make sure that we call that out as well.”

UNC Police are investigating after anti-Semitic posters were found on the campus. Interim chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz also issued a statement regarding a conference on Gaza co-sponsored by UNC where a performance “contained some disturbing and hurtful language.”

One of the members of the public addressing the board Tuesday, Riley Ruske, said he felt the board was being hypocritical. He said that he supported the board calling for the prosecution of individuals who have broken laws on the campus – such as when at least one member of a pro-Confederate group brought a firearm onto the campus in mid-March – but Ruske said the board should have also condemned the actions of Silent Sam protesters who toppled the Confederate monument last August.

“One of the founding principles of this nation was equal justice under the law,” Ruske said. “This resolution demonstrates the bias, inequality and inequity of Orange County officials in regard to this principle. Why allow one group of mobs and thugs to act illegally with no consequence, but demand application of laws to another group of thugs and vandals?”

An Orange County attorney, who said she had previously served as a magistrate in the county for two years, told the board there was a clear distinction in how police treated Silent Sam protesters with how pro-Confederate groups were handled.

“I was shocked, I mean really shocked, that police officers that I had seen be responsible for arresting and justice in this county were basically attacking students,” she said. “I think some of that has born out through the criminal proceedings that have occurred in the interim.”

Some of the more than two dozen individuals who were arrested at Silent Sam rallies throughout the fall have been found guilty of charges, while others have had their charges dismissed or been found not guilty.

Another speaker, Ashley Harris, said she was a member of the of the Silent Sam Coalition while at UNC.

“It’s very interesting that people can equate the act of practicing hate speech and hate crime to people of color, students of color addressing that something that has been historically racist and historically against them makes them uncomfortable.”

Commissioner Mark Dorosin also rejected the idea that the board had been hypocritical in its actions.

“We have been consistent in our opposition to racism and to racial intimidation and white supremacy,” Dorosin said. “And I think exactly what we’re calling for is the full and equal application of the laws. And what we know is that student protesters were treated one way, and that the white supremacists on campus were treated another way.”

Another distinction in Orange County’s resolution as compared to Carroro’s is that the commissioners also requested a response from UNC, rather than just sending the resolution to university administrators.

Orange County Joins Carrboro in Asking for More Action from UNC After Racist Events

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