The Confederate statue known as Silent Sam is continuing to cause safety concerns and is taking away attention from the mission of UNC. That was the sentiment expressed by Chancellor Carol Folt during her address to the university’s Board of Trustees on Thursday.

“I do believe that as long as Silent Sam stands in its current location, it runs the risk of continuing to drain energy and good will that we’ve worked so hard to maintain on our campus and truly does distract us from reaching the important goals that we all share,” Folt said during her remarks Thursday.

Silent Sam has been a focal point of protests on campus following a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last month protesting a decision to remove Confederate statues in that university town. A counter protester was killed at that rally when an alleged white supremacist drove his vehicle into a crowd.

A protest of Silent Sam was held in late August to mark the first day of the fall semester at UNC.

The calls for the removal of the Confederate statue have continued, and trustee chair Haywood Cochrane said the board would open the floor for public comment later this fall.

“At the chancellor’s suggestion,” Cochrane said, “this board will provide an opportunity for campus and public input at our next Board of Trustees meeting in November.”

The protests against Silent Sam have taken several forms, including a boycott of some campus commerce which was launched recently and is expected to continue at least until the university’s fall break in mid-October.

Folt said that she had attended meetings with members of the campus community recently that are “not easy meetings but these are honest meetings, every single one of them.” Folt has said she would order the statute be removed due to safety concerns, if she felt the university had the legal authority to do so. But she has also maintained that a 2015 law prevents her from issuing that directive.

Governor Roy Cooper recently petitioned the North Carolina Historical Commission for removal of Confederate monuments in Raleigh, but Silent Sam was not part of the agenda.

Folt, Cochrane, UNC System President Margaret Spellings and chair of the Board of Governors Lou Bissette wrote to Cooper just before the August protest against Silent Sam asking Cooper to “address the urgent concerns” of the “safety and security threats” presented by Silent Sam. Cooper wrote back that if university officials “believe there is a real risk to public safety, the law allows them to take immediate measures.” But language in the law over who has the authority to deem the statue a public safety risk seems to have led to a legal pickle for the campus.

Folt said on Thursday that the university was not asked whether it would like for a petition to be put before the state Historical Commission at its meeting last week to look into moving Silent Sam. Cochrane reiterated Folt’s statement, adding that it was a decision that would have to come from the system.

“We were not asked,” Cochrane said. “We were not approached about joining the petition. We believe the system was because that is the right hierarchy of governance that we live under.

“So, it would be a system request to join, not a campus request.”

The News & Observer previously reported that a letter was sent to Spellings and Bissette from other members of the Board of Governors – which is appointed by members of the Republican-led General Assembly – who disagreed with their decision to seek advice from the Democrat Governor Roy Cooper.

The commission voted last Friday to move forward with a plan to form a committee to study – in consultation with the UNC School of Government – the monuments that Cooper petitioned to have moved in Raleigh. The results of that study are expected to come back before the state commission in April 2018.

Related Stories
‹
Chapel Hill to UNC: Relocate Silent Sam Away from the Town
Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger and members of the Town Council sent a letter to UNC following the voided lawsuit between the university and a pro-Confederate group. Last week, Judge Allen Baddour ruled that the Sons of Confederate Veterans lacked evidence to prove the group had legal standing to bring action against the UNC System and dismissed […]
Groups Celebrate Anniversary of Silent Sam Toppling at UNC
Singing and chanting started a rally Tuesday night celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Confederate monument on the UNC campus known as Silent Sam being toppled by protesters. A coalition of groups organized Tuesday’s event, including a land acknowledgment from a member of the Carolina Indian Circle and remarks from Barbara Sostaita with UndocuCarolina – […]
Silent Sam Decision Clouding Start of UNC Academic Year
Protesters pulled the Confederate monument known as Silent Sam down from its pedestal on McCorkle Place on the UNC campus one year ago. But the monument’s future – whether on or off campus – is still undecided. That event on August 20, 2018, was the culmination of protests calling for the university administration to remove […]
Silent Sam Decision Looms Over UNC, Search for Police Chief
Jeff McCracken’s retirement as UNC Police chief, which was announced earlier this year, is effective Monday, and the university has named Thomas Younce as his interim replacement. UNC – Chapel Hill Board of Trustees chair Haywood Cochrane said after a special meeting of the board last Thursday that the national search for a permanent police […]
After Tumultuous Academic Year, UNC Board Still Divided on Silent Sam
While the Confederate monument known as Silent Sam wasn’t officially on the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting of the UNC System Board of Governors, it was still on the minds of many at the meeting. The initial mid-March deadline for a new plan for the statue that stood on the UNC – Chapel Hill campus for […]
UNC Governors Will Not Discuss Silent Sam at May Meeting
Continuing a series of delays, the UNC System Board of Governors will not discuss the future of the Confederate monument on the UNC – Chapel Hill campus known as Silent Sam at the board’s May meeting. Board chair Harry Smith made the announcement Tuesday afternoon. “In early March, we set the May meeting of the […]
UNC, Chapel Hill Planning for Possible Demonstrations Saturday
Officials from UNC and the Town of Chapel Hill are preparing for the potential for demonstrations in downtown where the campus and town meet on Saturday. The UNC administration sent a message to the campus community on Friday that said the university “is preparing for the possibility of opposing demonstrations on and near campus.” The […]
UNC Chair Says Faculty had Good Meeting Discussing Silent Sam with Board of Governors
Leslie Parise announced late last month that she would be stepping down from her role as faculty chair. She joked during her address to the Board of Trustees University Affairs committee on Wednesday that leaving two years into the three-year appointment was fitting with recent university turnover. “Because, as you know, interim is kind of […]
UNC Police: 'Permanent Marker and Urine' Used to Deface Unsung Founders Memorial
UNC Police have sworn out warrants for two suspects wanted in connection with two “racist actions” on the campus on Sunday. Authorities on Monday afternoon released incident reports for the two instances. The suspects used “permanent marker and urine” to vandalize the Unsung Founders Memorial on McCorkle Place. An outdoor art installment near the Hanes […]
UNC Investigating 2 'Racist Actions' on Campus Sunday
UNC Police are investigating multiple “racist actions” that were carried out on the campus on Sunday. “Two individuals defaced the Unsung Founders Memorial, writing racist and other deplorable language on it,” interim chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz wrote in a message to the campus Sunday evening. The Unsung Founders Memorial was a donation from the class of […]
›