UNC faculty asked to weigh in on Silent Sam during private meetings

UNC-Chapel Hill faculty began private sessions Wednesday to offer their ideas for what to do with Silent Sam, the toppled Confederate monument.

Two meetings were held Wednesday, the first of a dozen such gatherings across campus in the next week, meant to seek input from professors about where the statue should ultimately be located. The university has also created a dedicated email address, uncmonument@unc.edu, for anyone to submit a suggestion.

After years of controversy, the monument was ripped from its pedestal by protesters on Aug. 20. Since then, groups have clashed around the pedestal in several demonstrations that drew heavy police presence.

Now, internal debate is under way about what to do with the statue.

UNC Chancellor Carol Folt and the campus Board of Trustees have until Nov. 15 to submit a plan for the statue’s disposition and preservation to the UNC system’s Board of Governors. At least one Board of Governors member has said the statue should be reinstalled on its pedestal in McCorkle Place, but Folt has said it belongs in a safe location on campus but not at the university’s “front door.”

On Wednesday, a reporter was not allowed in to the first faculty session. A UNC spokeswoman said the gatherings are not meetings of a public body but rather informal discussions, and faculty leaders had requested that they be closed to promote honest dialogue.

Professors leaving the first workshop declined to reveal the ideas that had been put forth.

Kelly Giovanello, a psychology and neuroscience professor who facilitated the first session, said a group of about 20 faculty discussed obstacles, principles and ideas for the ultimate placement of the statue.

“We want to create a very safe environment that people are comfortable sharing their idea, even if it’s a perceived unpopular idea,” Giovanello said, adding, “I think that the faculty really do appreciate these sessions because it’s their way of being heard.”

A report that compiles all the ideas will eventually be sent to Folt, she said.

Martinette Horner, who teaches educational leadership in the School of Education, said the gathering had allowed for conversation about polarization in a safe space.

“I do have some strong opinions about it, and I’d love to hear what others say about it,” Horner said. “One of the things I commented on in there is that we’re just in a place and time where it’s difficult to hear the different opinions.”

Last month, 63 black faculty signed a statement that said the statue did not belong anywhere on the UNC campus, and more than 400 faculty signed on in support. “A monument to white supremacy, steeped in a history of violence against Black people, and that continues to attract white supremacists, creates a racially hostile work environment and diminishes the University’s reputation worldwide,” the statement said.

The first faculty gathering was convened at Wilson Library, the home of the university’s special collections and rumored possible location for Silent Sam.

This week, the Friends of the Library board weighed in strongly against that idea.

In a letter Tuesday to Folt, the board said putting the eight-foot statue at Wilson woud be “extremely costly, logistically challenging and culturally inappropriate.” The board said the monument would jeopardize security and the library’s very mission, ultimately resulting in fewer people using the library. “Wilson Library is not a museum, and should not become one,” the letter said.

The letter echoed sentiments of the Administrative Board of the Library, which made a similar statement in August.

The Friends of the Library board also offered an alternative idea: creating a university museum in a historic building such as Gerrard Hall or the historic Playmakers Theatre.

Faculty brainstorming meetings will continue through Oct. 10.

At one of the sessions Wednesday, Horner said a question was raised about whether political agendas would silence the faculty voice.

“If we’re going to take this much time and energy to invite faculty to a conversation, I sincerely hope we’ll be listened to,” she said.

This story was originally published October 3, 2018 at 7:00 PM with the headline "UNC faculty asked to weigh in on Silent Sam during private meetings."