Trespass Notices Dropped for Silent Sam Demonstrators
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Win over Georgia Tech Flip to page 3 to read about UNC’s 77-54 win over Georgia Tech last night. 126 YEARS OF SERVING UNC STUDENTS AND THE UNIVERSITY WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2019 VOLUME 127, ISSUE 10 Trespass notices dropped for Silent Sam demonstrators Trespass notices warn an ents of trespass notices are allowed to seek relief from the notice by con- individual they are not to tacting the Chief of Police. return to a specific location. So, Dixon began trying to appeal the notice. By Taylor Buck UNC trespass notices contain a Assistant University Editor section on appeals, which states that a written appeal must be postmarked Dwayne Dixon, a professor in the to the UNC Chief of Police — in this Department of Asian Studies, was case, Chief Jeff McCracken — within charged with simple assault during 10 days of receiving the notice. The a protest at Silent Sam over alle - appeal letter should include reason for gations of striking Patrick Howley, being on University property, future the editor-in-chief of Big League need to be on University property and Politics, on Aug. 30. grounds for appeal. The Chief’s deci- Along with his arrest, Dixon sion is the University’s final decision. received a trespass notice from UNC Just 11 days after receiving his tres- Police, barring him from entering pass notice, Dixon wrote the police McCorkle Place, where Silent Sam department a letter requesting the once stood. notice be nullified, citing his need “to The Daily Tar Heel was unable to travel freely in (his) place of employ- find UNC’s policies and procedures ment” and his First Amendment right on issuing trespass orders online. In to free speech and assembly. an email to The Daily Tar Heel, Randy In an email, McCracken respond- Young, media relations manager for ed that Dixon was entitled to an UNC Public Safety, said a trespass cita- “appeal hearing” that could consist tion is not issued unless an individual of a written appeal or interview. violates their trespass notice. Dixon said he tried to contact a DTH FILE/TARYN REVOIR “The notice itself reflects no puni- Durham-based lawyer for represen- tive action,” Young said in the email. tation. But according to an email Assistant Professor Dwayne Dixon is followed out of the Orange County Courthouse while Patrick Howley records him on “It simply warns an individual that sent from McCracken to Dixon’s law- Nov. 29. Dixon and Howley were in court for a civil case in which Howley recorded Dixon the night Silent Sam was top- they are not to return to a specific yer, “the University does not permit pled. Dixon was charged with simple assault and recieved a trespass notice, barring him from entering McCorkle Place. campus location or the entire cam- attorneys to participate in Trespass pus depending on the circumstances.” Notice hearings.” The Daily Tar Heel asked McCracken responded to Balamucki sidered a public forum available Young also said that trespass At that point, Dixon said he cut McCracken for comment on Monday, and asked for the individuals’ email for public assembly, protest and notices can be issued in a variety correspondence with the police Jan. 28. McCracken was not available addresses in order to “send each debate under First Amendment law of situations that may or may not department. for comment, Young said. a copy of the rescinded Trespass and the Campus Free Speech Act. involve related criminal citations. “There’s no way to get it removed On Jan. 23, Gina Balamucki, Notice for their records.” Only narrowly tailored time, place Almost three months after Dixon’s in any sort of open, due-process a UNC law student, emailed In an email to The Daily Tar Heel, and manner restrictions, which are arrest, Judge Samantha Cabe of the mechanism,” Dixon said. “As far McCracken the names of seven activ- Young said that individuals whose considered content-neutral, may be Orange County Courthouse dis - as I can see, the only way to get it ists, including Dixon, whose charges trespasses orders were being dropped imposed on public forums. missed Dixon’s case due a mistake removed without having to make a were dismissed or who were found would be notified Wednesday. “It’s very weird having large por- in the charging document. But the bogus appeal to a cop, is to do a court not guilty, saying that the dismissal According to the proposal for tions of the campus that are deemed trespass notice, which bans Dixon challenge, which means to actually of their charges indicated that they Silent Sam presented to the Board that you’re not allowed to go there, as from McCorkle Place indefinitely, break it and have it taken to court to posed no harm to UNC’s campus. of Governors by the Board of remained. After two years, recipi- have its constitutionality challenged.” On Monday, hours after The Trustees and Chancellor Carol Folt Daily Tar Heel requested comment, on Dec. 3, McCorkle Place is con - SEE TRESPASSING, PAGE 7 Chapel Hill prepares for ice Students of color in N.C. in East Coast cold front suspended disproportionately By Jonny Cook essarily great for comparing school By Crystal Yu Staff Writer districts to each other. They really Staff Writer are kind of a more snapshot of that A new set of report cards are out, school district.” Temperatures will drop below and they don’t show good marks for Nicholson did acknowledge that freezing across central North Carolina many school districts across North problems with racial inequity and on Tuesday evening and lower into the Carolina. treatment in school suspensions 20s overnight, according to a state- The annual “racial equity report still persist. ment of the National Weather Service. cards” are produced by the Youth The matter of racial inequity in The National Weather Service Justice Project. The RERCs use data school suspensions has been an espe- also released a Hazardous Weather to provide a snapshot of a communi- cially pressing matter during the past Outlook on Tuesday afternoon for ty’s school-to-prison pipeline, includ- two presidential administrations. the area, which included Orange, ing any racial disproportionalities. In 2014, the Obama administration Durham and Wake counties. “Our overall mission is to ensure issued a letter of guidance instructing “Rain may briefly change over to that North Carolina’s institutions schools nationwide to seek alterna- a mixture of rain and snow through serving young people — namely the tives to suspension, aiming to reduce early evening, primarily near the education, juvenile justice and crim- the disproportionate use of suspension Virginia border and over the north- inal systems — treat the youth fairly, for Black and Hispanic students. ern Coastal Plain ... Any residual safely and equitably,” said co-director The guidance had been credited moisture on road surfaces will freeze, Peggy Nicholson. with helping to lead to a national leading to the formation of patchy DTH FILE/CHRIS CONWAY She said this latest round of report reduction in suspensions, including black ice overnight,” the NWS said. Snow fell in Chapel Hill on a Wednesday afternoon in 2014. North Carolina cards is the third year in a row the a 5.9 percent drop from the 2015- “Right now, the Town is not doing declared a state of emergency in response to winter weather that year. organization has seen a stark dispro- 2016 school year to 2016-2017, anything as far as preparing roads,” portionality. according to Public Schools of North said Ran Northam, community safe- Service, said overflow cots are avail- Kitchen operates daily as long as staff Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Carolina. However, U.S. Secretary of ty communications specialist for the able for those in need of shelter. can walk to work. It is located at 100 and Orange County Schools showed Education, Betsy DeVos, rescinded Town of Chapel Hill. “During inclement weather, when W. Rosemary St. in Chapel Hill. drastically different figures. In the Obama administration’s guid- “But we’re preparing to respond there are harsh temperatures or snow, Residents who rely on buses for Orange County Schools, Black stu- ance in December 2018, aligning with salt and sand trucks in those IFC opens our overflow cots,” she said. their commute likely don’t have to dents were 3.2 times more likely than with some conservatives’ perspective troubled spots that may freeze over- “We can take up to 17 additional men worry. Brian Litchfield, director of white students to receive a short-term that this guidance represented gov- night and telling our community to at Community House and three addi- Chapel Hill Transit, said in an email suspension. By comparison, Black ernment overreach and encouraged be prepared for the morning travel as tional women at HomeStart.” that extreme cold does not typically students were 13.9 times more likely misbehavior to go unpunished. it may be hazardous.” IFC is a social service organization result in impacts to CHT’s services. than white students to receive a short- In light of these evolving positions, The Town will have staff out at located 110 W. Main St. in Carrboro. Litchfield said they will notify cus- term suspension in CHCCS. Charlos Banks, senior executive direc- once monitoring the areas that may Its Community House is a 24-hour tomers if detours or significant delays Nicholson said the numbers are tor of student services for CHCCS, said become icy. It will then send out residential facility for homeless men, are expected due to weather condi- troubling, but not surprising. At the the focus of these conversations is too trucks to improve the conditions as and HomeStart is a 24-hour emer- tions.