Faculty members of UNC voiced their opposition to a settlement by the UNC System with a pro-Confederate group over the statue known as Silent Sam.

At its monthly meeting on Friday, the UNC Faculty Council passed a resolution criticizing the decision to create a $2.5 million trust fund and cede possession of the Confederate monument to the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

“While we continue to support the permanent removal of the Confederate monument known as Silent Sam from campus, we express our opposition to the settlement,” the resolution reads. “Such a settlement supports white supremacist activity and therefore violates the university’s mission as well as its obligations to the state,” the resolution read.

Faculty members also asked Interim Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz questions about the settlement during his remarks to open the meeting. Guskiewicz, who publicly opposed the return of the Confederate monument to campus when he assumed the interim position, reiterated the message he sent to the campus community earlier on Friday. He told faculty university leaders had no part in the negotiations, which were later found to have been determined before the SCV had filed its lawsuit against the university system.

The meeting came after UNC students and members of the campus community protested the decision on Thursday, holding a demonstration on McCorkle Place and the steps of South Building.

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