“Administrative abuses,” wrote Faculty Executive Committee member Joy Renner during an out-of-cycle meeting about the nature of the Board of Governor’s decision to give the Sons of Confederate Veterans the Silent Sam monument and a $2.5 million trust.
#onassignment @dailytarheel
#onassignment @dailytarheel
Provost Robert Blouin came to reiterate that the University found itself presenting the Board of Governors with a “binary decision”: a “legal” option that meant returning Silent Sam to campus, or the “illegal” option of partnering with the North Carolina Museum of History.
Blouin later said that the Board of Governors has the authority to force a member institution to a pay a settlement, much like the pre-arranged $2.5 million.
The Committee expressed a desire to “move forward” and “demand” that UNC seek an alternative or recourse against this settlement. They also wish Guskiewicz would take a stance against the issue instead of, as he did during December 7’s FGC meeting, neither condemn nor support it.
“I think [Guskiewicz] is in a situation where he can either represent us with what he heard on Friday and speak clearly and loudly against this idea, or potentially lose the goodwill of the faculty and the students,” said Cary Levine.
