UNC-Chapel Hill’s graduating class of 2024 listened to an astronaut at Kenan Stadium on Saturday night, but first they listened to the pro-Palestinian protesters who have brought national attention to their campus throughout the day.
On Saturday, protesters gathered at several key locations on campus. They set up a new camp at the UNC Bell Tower near the stadium, but it quickly disappeared as protesters converged on the South Building, the chancellor’s office.
They sprayed red paint on the steps of the South Building; maintenance workers later arrived to clean the steps with a pressure washer.
At Saturday night’s graduation ceremony, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, who graduated twice from the school, delivered a keynote speech that she said scared her more than the prospect of her first space flight, which will soon take her to the International Space Station.
And as Interim Chancellor Lee Roberts said in the final moments of his speech to the graduates, “You will always be Tar Heels,” several people began walking up the aisle carrying two Palestinian flags.
The protesters were quickly met with boos and people shouting “This is America” and “USA! USA!” Within moments, they were escorted off the square by police.
Immediately afterwards, Roberts thanked the university staff.
Protesters and police at the Old Well
It has been a turbulent few weeks for UNC and other schools across the country, marked by protests against Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in response to the October 7 terrorist attacks.
The protesters called on UNC to disclose and then divest from all Israel-related investments in its endowment. They also called on UNC to end study abroad programs that send students to Israel and to “recognize the ongoing genocide in Palestine.”
Unlike universities like the University of Southern California and Columbia University, UNC decided to hold the graduation ceremony despite the protests. The university enacted a policy that limited the number of bags that could be brought to graduation ceremonies to baggies or small purses. In addition, the university required graduates to show their student ID to gain access to the seating area.
Protesters, including two in graduate robes, chanted behind graduates taking photos near the Old Well on Saturday.
At around 5:15 p.m., a group of about 100 protesters circled the Old Well. UNC police officers attempted to create a gap in the circle so that a handful of remaining students who wanted to take photos of the landmark could do so.
Then, just after 5:30 a.m., Orange County Sheriff’s officers arrived. When a handful of protesters climbed the Old Well, officers and UNC police dragged them down. No one was arrested.
Afterwards, police and lawmakers gathered on the sidewalk near the fountain while protesters climbed the fountain and gathered around it. Protesters momentarily set up a tent with the Palestinian flag on the fountain’s granite base.
“Carolina doesn’t belong to you”
A previous encampment was broken up by UNC and other police officers from UNC system schools in the early morning hours of April 30. That resulted in 36 people being charged, with 30 of them being charged with trespassing for refusing to leave Polk Place, UNC’s main courtyard, The News & Observer previously reported.
Later that afternoon, pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with university police after protesters tore down the American flag and attempted to replace it with a Palestinian flag. Ultimately, Roberts led UNC police to the chaotic scene and worked to re-hang the U.S. flag.
In his welcoming speech to the graduates on Saturday, Roberts said: “Being a university of the people means that we embody everything that is great and everything that is troubling about our society.”
He continued, “It means that Carolina does not belong to you. And she certainly does not belong to me. And she does not belong to any one person or group. The university is something we share.”
The boos that initially accompanied Roberts’ remarks turned to cheers as he finished his thought.
Anti-Semitism legislation
Some Jewish groups said the camps coincided with Passover, an important Jewish holiday that celebrates the liberation of Jews from slavery in Egypt.
Last week, the North Carolina House of Representatives supported a bill that would adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of anti-Semitism, which the bill says would be used to provide training on anti-Semitism and to report and track anti-Semitic incidents.
The IHRA defines anti-Semitism as a “certain perception” of Jews, which can include rhetorical and physical expressions of hatred toward Jewish people or their property. Some have criticized the definition, saying it could limit constitutionally protected speech, particularly criticism of the Israeli government.
The bill passed almost unanimously, 105 to 4. It will now go to the Senate.
