Trustees Get Silent Sam Deadline After Hours of Closed Meetings
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Bird Scooters at UNC Go to page 2 for more infomation on how a company dropped their product on campus without permission. 125 YEARS OF SERVING UNC STUDENTS AND THE UNIVERSITY WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2018 VOLUME 126, ISSUE 32 Trustees get Silent Sam deadline BOG passes res- after hours of closed meetings olution for By Preston Lennon Senior Writer Silent Sam Behind closed doors in conference By Eva Ellenburg rooms separated by a seven min - Senior Writer ute drive, the Board of Trustees and UNC-system Board of Governors Chancellor Carol Folt and the UNC concocted two statements that insti- Board of Trustees members must tute a Nov. 15 deadline for Silent formulate a plan for Silent Sam’s Sam’s future. future by Nov. 15, according to a res- Chancellor Carol Folt was com- olution passed by the UNC Board of municating with both groups, work- Governors during a special session ing with leaders of both the school Tuesday. and state university system to put The resolution, coming a little over UNC in a position to develop a “law- a week since the forced toppling of ful and lasting” plan that will con- Silent Sam by protesters at UNC, clude the statue’s travels. orders the BOT to develop and present “We believe that we will spend a plan to the BOG for the Confederate a great deal of the time in closed monument’s “disposition and preser- session,” said BOT chairperson vation” by the November deadline. Haywood Cochrane. “But we will According to the resolution, the come back into open session from BOG expects a course of action that time to time as we need to discuss “protects public safety, preserves the things openly.” monument and its history, and allows After Folt gave remarks, the BOT the University to focus on its core mis- left the room and entered closed ses- sion.” sion. The emergency meeting went into During this time, the BOG closed session for nearly two hours released a brief statement, in which before the BOG adopted the resolu- they directed the Chancellor and tion. Only one member, Joe Knott, was the BOT to generate a plan for the physically present at the meeting, with monument’s “disposition and pres- the other members present via phone ervation” by the November deadline. and Skype. The meetings didn’t generate Before the vote took place, BOG solutions for the relocation of the DTH/ESHA SHAH chairperson Harry L. Smith, Jr. statue, just a confirmation that Student Body President Savannah Putnam attends a special meeting of the Board of Trustees Tuesday morning. requested the members’ backing of the the ones responsible for executing resolution to give UNC plenty of time the next steps will be the Board of nected via intercom. edging Folt. He was met with heavy ceedings were too open-ended for to create a solution. Trustees and the Chancellor. First, Hari Nath asked for a few pushback from other BOT members. the Board to provide the document “I ask for the membership’s sup- “We are grateful for (the BOG’s) words to be added to a sentence Multiple Trustees made statements in advance. port in allowing UNC-Chapel Hill the support in putting this back in the in the third paragraph — a small affirming the Chancellor’s impor- “These events are somewhat real- proper time to allow them to bring us hands of the campus that has the request that was not pursued. Then, tance in the upcoming decision time, very fluid,” Cochrane said. a recommendation that they feel like issue,” Cochrane said. Bill Keyes offered the more aggres- process, and spoke about the specif- Student Body President Savannah is in the best interest of their campus,” The Trustees returned to the open sive suggestion of rewording the doc- ic directions they received from the Putnam was asked to leave a con- Smith said via telephone. “I could tell session at around 2 p.m. They then ument’s language, taking emphasis systems Board to collaborate on a ference call last week, in which you I have tremendous faith in the issued their own stand-alone state- off the Chancellor’s name, and reaf- solution with the Chancellor. sensitive information was discussed trustees and leadership to do that.” ment, which reiterated that dealing firming the importance of the BOT. After a few more Trustees spoke among the BOT, Cochrane said in The only BOG member to vote with Silent Sam was now a task of “This is a statement about the out in Folt’s defense, Nath came back an email to UNC Media Relations against the resolution was Thomas the University. board’s view,” Keyes said. “Every in over the intercom: “I’m completely Manager Kate Luck. Goolsby, who said the November “This is a compilation of thoughts other paragraph we mention the lost,” he said. He said he wasn’t sure Putnam was asked to leave the deadline was too far away. He also from many Trustees,” Cochrane said. Chancellor. I love the Chancellor what the new motion was for. call because of the Board’s conflict referred to the Board’s support of a “I’ve lost count of the number of iter- as much as everybody else does. I “You’re no more lost than others of interest policy. The SBP had made stronger monument protection law ations this represents, but I think it’s respect the role of the chancellor and in this room,” Cocrane said. a public statement about the monu- but did not go into further details. either seven or eight.” all of that. I would like to just say, this Nath had one more suggestion. ment’s removal, presenting a prob- “I appreciate the Board of The only order of business left is what we believe as a board.” He asked for resolutions to present- lem for the Board. In a statement, Governors’ commitment to a greater was to confirm the statement of the Keyes wanted to erase the ed to the BOT six hours before meet- Cochrane said that she then had “a monument protection act, but I can- BOT’s public position, but before it Chancellor’s name in a few places, ings, to avoid laborious sessions of conflict of interest with her role as not support the motion as written,” could be ratified, dissent emerged reword some sentences and add in word-smithing. a trustee.” Goolsby said. “I believe the time frame from two Trustees who were con - the word “we” in lieu of acknowl - Cochrane told him the day’s pro- [email protected] is far too long, especially in light of the violence, the ongoing threats, and the continuing danger on our college cam- puses.” Med Deli owner optimistic about community Goolsby tweeted Aug. 23 that Silent Sam would be reinstalled within 90 with the Six-Day War and hostile By Jessica Hardison days after the toppling, referring to Israeli-Palestinian relations. Senior Writer North Carolina General Statute 100- Kadoura also lived in a refugee 2.1(b), which addresses monument It’s hard to believe the culinary camp for a while but eventually protection. Interpretations of the law success of Mediterranean Deli began immigrated to the United States and have varied, and the BOG did not con- with 12 chairs, six tables and one moved to Minneapolis, Minn., where firm Goolsby’s tweet. 6-foot deli case. Jamil Kadoura, an he began pursuing his education while After the special meeting, the BOG immigrant from Palestine, has built a washing dishes at a local Sheraton released a statement announcing it small empire despite facing social and hotel. will bring in an external firm to assess cultural challenges throughout his 27 Kadoura spent years gaining expe- UNC’s preparation for and response to years as a restaurant owner. rience in food service and quickly the Aug. 20 protest. Kadoura opened Mediterranean found himself rising through the ranks The statement announced an Deli in 1992 with the help of his fami- of the industry as a banquet manager upcoming review into UNC’s enforce- ly and has since expanded the business and eventually a food and beverage ment of the law and its policies on six times. Mediterranean Deli now has director. freedom of speech. an Elon location and serves various Although he saw success within “Therefore, to ensure that UNC communities across UNC’s campus the hotel food and catering business, institutions provide safe and secure and the Triangle area. Kadoura knew he wanted to open campuses and uphold the principles of “Our restaurant is successful his own restaurant. So, shortly after free speech and expression, the Board because we came to the right com- being transferred to North Carolina, DTH/JANET AYALA will examine in the coming months munity,” Kadoura said. “When you he and his wife officially opened Jamil Kadoura, owner of Mediterranean Deli, smiles at a customer. ways to improve and better enforce say UNC-Chapel Hill, to me, it’s like Mediterranean Deli. as the day he gained insight into groups. codes of conduct, policies on freedom I was born here. It’s like my days Kadoura now has 91 employees what values the people living in “I’m a Palestinian,” Kadoura said. of expression, and procedures and started counting when I came here.” at the Franklin Street location alone, Chapel Hill held. He said the support “I grew up in the Middle East in approaches to ensure UNC insti - Despite his successes today, and he attributes his business’ success he received in the community follow- Jerusalem. Sept. 11, 2001 defined tutions provide safe and secure,” the Kadoura comes from humble begin- to the support of the UNC community ing the day’s events showed him how statement said.