Free Republic

Should UNC-Chapel Hill, the flagship university of North Carolina, represent the diversity of the state? That is a question that seems to be on many minds. Because diversity does offer benefits, such as exposure to different cultures, interaction with others from different backgrounds, and opportunity for everyone, the answer usually comes back as an emphatic “yes.” And, of course, Carolina is known here as “the university of the people.” However, to thoughtfully answer the question, one must ask, “Represent the diversity of the state in terms of what? Ethnicity? Gender? Sexual orientation? Economic class? Viewpoint?” Depending on their politics, I’d...

Larry Chavis is clinical professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC. He has taught there for 18 years on a renewable contract. He has now been told that his contract will not be renewed this year. The university has apparently acted in a totally legal way, but Chavis and his supporters are upset: Because of his long service, which seemed to promise some job security. Because a few of his lectures were apparently recorded, by built-in security camera. This arrangement is also apparently legal, though it seems tacky. As far as I know, the faculty...

Dolly Parton has been accused of “white saviourism” for giving millions of free books to poor children. The reading scheme, called Imagination Library, was launched by the country and western star in the US more than three decades ago. It now operates in the UK, Ireland, Canada and Australia, and has been lauded for helping to drive up literacy rates. It gives disadvantaged pupils the same access to books as their middle-class peers by sending high-quality titles directly to the homes of under-fives. But according to a recently published academic paper, the award-winning scheme is racist by reinforcing notions...

The recent protests at UNC are only one example of the unrest at several campuses across the U.S. (albeit mostly “elite” ones) in response to events in the Middle East. By April 2024, protests had been going on for months at UNC. An escalation occurred when, after students at Columbia University introduced the tactic of encampments on their campus—i.e., camping out in a public space—the tactic spread to other universities, including Carolina. While free expression, including protests, are extended broad license on campus (especially at public universities), they still must comply with university policies and government laws regarding time, place,...

The University of North Carolina’s 16 campuses spend no less than $90 million per year in pay and benefits on no fewer than 686 staffers under the “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI) umbrella. On Wednesday, the system’s governing board may end the controversial program that institutionalizes bias and prejudice based on neo-Marxist principles and falsehoods. Our audit team at OpenTheBooks.com reviewed official university payrolls after filing records requests and searched university websites for DEI committees and their membership lists. Here’s how the UNC program breaks down: 288 are employed in DEI-related roles listed on the UNC system’s payroll. Another 398...

Nearly three years ago I wrote about a mandatory diversity training that took place at UNC-Chapel Hill after the conservative paper on campus got an audio recording of the event.Ms. Parle started the presentation with an ‘indigenous land recognition,’ after which the hundreds of Greek attendees were advised that they should make a habit of repeating the political catechism in their daily lives and taught how to do so. After establishing her lecture was on stolen land, Ms. Parle asked students their feelings about ‘the system.’ Were they warm towards it? Apathetic? Or, the last option: ready to dismantle it?The...

UNC-Chapel Hill's Board of Trustees on Monday approved the transfer of $2.3 million in diversity and inclusion spending to public safety priorities in the 2024-25 budget. The trustees held a special meeting Monday morning. The board is scheduled to hold its regular meeting Wednesday and Thursday. The UNC System Board of Governors is expected to vote next week to eliminate diversity goals and jobs at member institutions, including UNC-Chapel Hill. A Board of Governors committee last month approved a complete rewrite of the system's existing diversity, equity and inclusion policy. The move is likely to create job losses at the...

The University of North Carolina is facing criticism after instructors announced they would withhold grades from students until the school reinstated individuals suspended for pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus. On Monday, the university at Chapel Hill confirmed reports of professors punishing students by refusing to submit grades unless the school administration ends suspensions of those who engaged in protests last week. Nick Craig, a local radio host in Wilmington, North Carolina, published a screenshot of a professor’s message to students about holding their grades hostage. “The University has suspended 15 of your and my fellow students for their participation in a...

A University of North Carolina student who defended the US flag from anti-Israel protesters said he was willing to put his life on the line and said they would have had to take the flag “over my dead body.” Like many other US campuses, the quad of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was attacked by anti-Israel protesters who descended on a flag flying at half mast to commemorate four Charlotte officers who were killed in the line of duty. Stompel, who is a junior majoring in political science, recalled thinking, “I don’t understand how people can act...

A student who held up her own American flag at a North Carolina campus Tuesday, after an anti-Israel mob desecrated an American flag flying on campus, said she would die for Old Glory. Anti-Israel protesters targeted the American flag on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's quad — which had been flying at half-mast after four Charlotte officers were killed in the line of duty. At one point, they replaced it with a Palestinian flag – enraging students and inspiring members from the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity to take action. "I definitely was emotionally a little bit shaken,"...

Hamas students at UNC are so confident in their protective circle. Their bubble of delusion is quickly disturbed: https://twitter.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1786283415928549430 This is what happens next: https://twitter.com/i/status/1786283415928549430 Bob Lonsberry Via Twitter/X: Chancellor Lee Roberts personally took down the Palestinian flag and raised the U.S. flag at Chapel Hill. He is the son of journalists Cokie and Steven Roberts, and the grandson of House majority leader Hale Boggs. We need more like him . . . https://twitter.com/BobLonsberry/status/1785421898534339043

A fundraiser to throw a “rager” for the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill frat brothers who protected the Stars and Stripes from an anti-Israel mob this week has raised an eye-watering $400,000. And billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman is a fan — donating $10,000 to the cause. The GoFundMe contribution — spotted Wednesday night by an eagle-eyed X user — will help throw the patriotic pack of Pi Kappa Phi members “the party they deserve,” according to a description on the fundraising site.

More than 1,300 people have been arrested at pro-Palestinian protests on at least 40 college campuses across the U.S. over the last two weeks. Why it matters: University administrations have cracked down on student demonstrators in unprecedented ways as protests grow in size and intensity. The majority of arrests have occurred at encampments and sit-ins. Dozens of smaller-scale college protests haven't seen altercations between demonstrators and police. More than 100 universities have had encampments or sit-ins.

Several politicians praised students from the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill for protecting the American flag from anti-Israel protesters. UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Lee H. Roberts was seen raising the American flag back to the top of the flag pole after pro-Palestinian protesters took it down and replaced it with the Palestinian flag. After Roberts left, pro-Palestinian protesters reportedly once again began attempting to remove the flag, leading a group of students to move in to hold the flag up off the ground and defend the flag from protesters.

One of the problems with the campus radicals and useful idiots is that they don't really live in reality. They talk about an occupation when there is no occupation of Gaza by Israel. They talk about a genocide when there is no genocide by Israel. There is a genocide being attempted by Hamas against Israel, but the radicals and idiots seem to refuse delivery on that reality. Fox's Lawrence Jones asked one of their people hawking propaganda material on the street outside of Columbia University some important questions, and her responses show how empty their positions truly are. He asked...

Earlier, we reported on the pathetic and disgraceful display being put on this week by pro-Hamas protesters on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). To quickly recap, demonstrators who were upset over early morning arrests at an attempted encampment took down the American flag at the main campus and replaced it with a Palestinian flag.Though the agitators were amused, the university's interim chancellor, Lee Roberts, was not. Roberts proceeded to walk to the flag pole himself, remove the Palestinian flag, and re-fly the U.S. flag, to the appreciation of the Jewish students nearby. In...

A chaotic scene at UNC-Chapel Hill continued Tuesday afternoon, hours after police began detaining pro-Palestinian protesters on campus. University police said 30 people were taken into custody Tuesday morning because they refused to leave. On Tuesday afternoon, already tense situation escalated after the American flag was lowered and replaced with a Palestinian flag on the main quad. Dozens of police officers entered the main quad along with UNC Interim Chancellor Lee Roberts. Classes were canceled for the rest of the day and non-mandatory operations were suspended. According to university police, protesters attempted to block UNC police vehicles by standing in...

Editor’s note:Since the barbaric Hamas attacks against Israel on October 7th, American universities have become an undeniable locus of Jew hatred within our nation. Much attention has deservedly been paid to the radical campus groups like Students for Justice in Palestine who call for the genocide of the Jews and cheer the terrorists of Hamas. What has received less attention—but should in fact rank as the universities’ worst offense—is the Jew hatred promoted by official departments and institutes of the universities themselves. In the case of our campuses, Jew hatred is “the call coming from inside the house.”The Freedom Center...

If you are up on the latest trends in academia, you’ll know that “institutional neutrality” is in the news as more universities consider or adopt it. In my view, this is a good thing, as it maintains the role of the university as a neutral arena in which faculty and students can freely express and debate a wide range of viewpoints constructively rather than feel stifled when their university takes a public stance on a political or social issue. However, there is confusion within academia on what institutional neutrality means and how to implement it. The free-speech organization FIRE (Foundation...

During the last dozen years or so, one of the more common higher-education stories has been a college or university rushing to judgment against a male student or faculty member over an allegation of misconduct with a female. The Obama education department encouraged schools to “get tough” by employing procedures that were grossly unfair to the accused individuals, usually resulting in their suspension or expulsion. Subsequently, many lawsuits were filed against colleges for having violated the rights of those who were disciplined. In most instances, the school lost, with the judges frequently denouncing the “kangaroo court” nature of the proceedings...