CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Pro-Palestinian protesters once again took to the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill campus Friday. This time, marching around campus, after university administration used police to break up a protest and erected a large metal fence on campus earlier this week.
About 100 people gathered at the Peace and Justice Plaza outside of the courthouse on Franklin Street Friday morning, according to UNC police.
Wearing keffiyehs an carrying signs that said things like "Free Palestine" and "Hands off Rafah," the protesters then walked across Franklin Street, through campus, and then did a lap on Cameron and Columbia, ending their march back at the Peace and Justice Plaza, police said.
UNC police were on scene for traffic control, but there were no arrests, officials said. Protesters dispersed after getting back to the plaza.
All of this comes after Interim Chancellor Lee Roberts, flanked by police, showed up on campus Tuesday after protesters replaced the American flag on Polk Place with a Palestinian one.
A large metal fence now surrounds the flag pole on Polk Place, and police have been seen next to the fence.
Leaders at UNC sat down for an emergency meeting on Wednesday after pro-Palestinian protests on campus hit a breaking point earlier this week.
Demonstrators clashed with police on Tuesday after they took over the school’s main quad and replaced the American flag with the Palestinian flag. UNC leaders say those actions were unacceptable and not representative of the school’s values. Some government leaders are echoing the same sentiment, but others say the university’s actions went too far.
As of Thursday morning, UNC’s campus has been relatively quiet after a five-day pro-Palestinian encampment reached a breaking point on Tuesday. The demonstration started April 30 and was organized by UNC’s Students for Justice in Palestine. Protesters say their list of demands include UNC stopping all of its financial support of Israel.
During the early hours of Wednesday morning, crews began cleaning up the quad area, removing graffiti from walls and taking down many of the metal barricades on the quad. However, fencing remained around the flag pole while portable security cameras and lights were set up on Polk Place.
The UNC-Chapel Hill Faculty Executive Committee called an emergency meeting on Wednesday afternoon to, “discuss events related to the protests on campus.”
During Wednesday’s meeting, committee members said they wanted to acknowledge the “pain, distress and trauma of the last few days.”
“The presence of violence on our campus is distressing no matter what side you are on,” said Dr. Beth Moracco, associate director of the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center.
The committee reaffirmed that caring for each other is a core value of UNC.
“Protecting students is our first job no matter where students stand politically,” said Dr. Claudia Yaghoobi, Roshan Distinguished Professor of Persian Studies.
The committee also mentioned the lack of information and communication from administration during the entire situation, while adding that they expect and “hope” there to be protests in the future because they’re a part of free speech.
“Faculty and staff were involved in the events as well. We support students, but we are people too with our own feelings and experiences. We may also need extra care in this time,” said Suchi Mohanty, head of Robert B. House Undergraduate Library.
The committee also said it would be looking for administration to provide guidance on whether provisions would be made for students who do not want to be on campus currently, if deadlines would be extended and if finals would be adjusted to accommodate the situation.
Elected officials react
The actions from UNC have drawn support from some elected officials as well as criticism from some students and even town council members in both Carrboro and Chapel Hill.
On Wednesday, eight total members from the two town councils released a statement, condemning what they call an “overreaction” by UNC’s administration toward “peaceful protesters.”
The statement reads, “We additionally urge DA Nieman to dismiss the charges against all those arrested and to prioritize restorative justice rather than punitive measures.”
Jeff Nieman, the district attorney for Chatham and Orange Counties, issued a statement in response that reads in part, “Once we have received and reviewed all the evidence in these cases, then and only then will we make decisions regarding their prosecution. Our office remains committed to our core responsibility of public safety. Peaceful and lawful protesters, as well as law enforcement officials carrying out their duties, have the right to these activities free from violence. I made a promise to fairly and impartially administer the criminal laws of this State free from bias, prejudice or any type of outside influence, and I pledge to do just that with these cases.”
In response to the demonstrations at UNC, state Senate leader Phil Berger said, “I cannot imagine anyone thinking that was something they support. I think Chancellor Roberts did exactly what needed to be done.”
Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson shared a video statement on X, saying, “They sent a strong message that that’s not going to be tolerated on that campus, and I hope that that type of strong message continues. And I’d love to see that continue all across the state. So, guys, appreciate you over at UNC and your efforts to keep peace and security on that campus. Continue to ramp that up.”
U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis said on X, “College admins who have sat back as mobs have taken over their campuses need to watch this and take notes. UNC interim Chancellor Roberts has displayed real leadership.”
As of Thursday morning, Gov. Roy Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein have not shared public statements on social media about the events at UNC.
Timeline of Tuesday's events at UNC
The encampment on UNC’s main quad started on Friday, April 26 and remained peaceful while growing in size over a few days.
On Sunday, the university issued a notice to vacate and ordered participants to remove the camp. However, the demonstrations continued into Tuesday morning.
Around 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday, a notice to vacate the area by 6 a.m. was issued to protesters at the encampment. A few minutes after 6 a.m., a line of about two dozen officers started pushing in on the encampment on the quad. The officers gave verbal warnings to protesters, telling them they would be in violation of the university’s policies if they did not leave.
Protesters were heard chanting, “Disclose. Divest. We will not stop. We will not rest.”
Tensions quickly rose as protesters did not comply with police, and that’s when police started detaining people, using zip-tie handcuffs and placing them in police vehicles on the quad. Police also began tearing down some tents that were set up at the encampment.
As police tried to drive away with detained protesters, other protesters began throwing objects in the path of the vehicles so they could not leave.
Protesters eventually retreated to the sidewalk near South Building and the Old Well on West Cameron Avenue. While protesters were off of the quad, police and crews in yellow vests started removing items from the quad and placing them in black trash bags.
Around 7:30 a.m., protesters went back toward the quad area then gathered on the steps of South Building while chanting and making it clear they were not willing to leave.
Around 8 a.m., a demonstration organizer said over a megaphone that the people who were detained were being taken to the Orange County Courthouse and was asked people to go to the courthouse in order to support whoever was detained.
By 8:30 a.m., a majority of the quad was fenced off with metal barricades, and police stood by the area monitoring the situation.
Some of the protesters who attended the demonstration were not affiliated with the university, including Hashim Ayesh who graduated from N.C. State in 2023.
Ayesh said he felt compelled to join the demonstration at UNC because of his close ties to the war.
“It's also very personal for me because my family is Palestinian, my family is in Gaza. I can either sit at home, and I feel helpless, and I sit there, and I think about them like, ‘Gosh, what can I do? What can I do?’ Or I stand up and I do something. This is my way of doing that,” Ayesh said. “I think it's not just an obligation on a person with that familial connection that I have, but it's an obligation on all humanity. If you see something that's wrong, say something. Do something. Stand up. Don't think that you're powerless, because at the end of the day, even if you take a small action, that is something even if it's simply just quenching any desire that you have to stand up, that is something that's a first step.”
Ayesh also believes this moment in history has some parallels when it comes to police involvement in past protests.
“To [police] I say, ‘There comes a time in your life to where you have to ask yourself if what you're doing is the right thing. Sixty years ago, cops in the same exact uniforms as you stood against protesters protesting for civil rights,’” Ayesh said. “Now, were those cops in the right for following their orders today? We would say, ‘no.’”
Shortly before noon, a silent vigil was held on the steps of the library overlooking the quad. Some faculty joined the vigil, holding a sign that read “UNC Faculty for Justice in Palestine.” The vigil concluded with a march around the perimeter of the quad to the steps of the South Building.
Activity died down on UNC’s campus for a few hours but then reached another point of contention in the afternoon, when protesters took the American flag off the flag pole and replaced it with a Palestinian flag.
“I'm not really choosing sides but I saw on social media that the American flag was taken down. And I'm just trying to see what's going on here. I'm opposed to taking the American flag down. Now, we all do live in this country. And I think that's a symbol of our freedom and the liberties that we do have as a country,” said Max Gruberger, a UNC sophomore.
In response to Palestinian flag being put up, Interim Chancellor Lee Roberts showed up with a police escort to put the American flag back up.
“This university doesn’t belong to a small group of protesters. It belongs to every citizen of North Carolina. Everybody in North Carolina. Everybody who goes to school here. Everybody who lives and works here. The flag represents all of us. To take down that flag and put up another flag, no matter what other flag it is, that’s antithetical to who we are, what this university stands for, what we have done for 229 years,” Roberts said.
When asked if he had a message for Jewish students on campus, Roberts said, “Tell the students that we’re going to keep them safe from a very small minority of students who want to disrupt their experience. This university is for everybody.”
According to UNC, 36 protesters were detained on Tuesday, and 16 of those detained have ties to the university while the rest do not.
On Tuesday, Roberts and Provost Chris Clemens released a statement saying, “We were disappointed that we had to take action this morning regarding protesters, including many who are not members of the Carolina community, who violated state law and University policies that provide for a peaceful demonstration.”
In that same statement, Roberts and Clemens promised students that this year’s commencement would be a “joyous day for them and their loved ones.”
Trevor Lan, a Jewish student who attends UNC, said he tries not to be too concerned with things going on, but this tension on campus feels different for him.
"You feel it this week on campus. I feel it as a Jew. I’m wearing my necklace proudly because I never won’t. But it makes me concerned for the first time,” Lan said.
Some other students shared their thoughts, expressing the importance of protests on college campuses.
“I think we've seen that college campuses are really, really important, hotbeds of protest in a liberal activism. And I was really heartened to see the incredible response, not just in the beginning, but as more people joined the protest here,” UNC student Hadas Hacohen said.
“Students, I feel like sort have a job, historically have, had a role of speaking up to power, and this is a part of that the fact that U.S. is involved, funding the sort of war effort,” Benjamin Lee, a junior at UNC Chapel Hill, said.
Tuesday marked the final day of classes at UNC and, shortly after 3 p.m., the university announced classes were canceled for the rest of the day and non-mandatory operations were suspended.
Tuesday evening, UNC’s Students for Justice in Palestine posted on its Instagram account, “We are not returning to Polk Place for an encampment now. Please stay safe! Heavy police presence in the area.”
Police agencies that responded to UNC on Tuesday include campus police from UNC, N.C. State, Appalachian State and UNC Wilmington as well as the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
UNC protests garner social media reaction and national attention
There's been a large show of support for some students who say they helped stop the American flag from being removed on campus.
The description for a GoFundMe campaign, that’s getting national attention, says it was created to help raise money to throw a party for members of a fraternity on campus.
Roberts and police were the ones who originally replaced the Palestinian flag with the American flag on the quad.
Afterward, fraternity members were seen holding the American flag up off the ground, claiming they prevented it from being taken down again.
As of Friday afternoon, the online fundraiser has raised more than $516,000.
An update, posted on the fundraiser's website on Wednesday said, “We have identified a world class event planner named Susan and she is already hard at work. She worked in the White House and knows what she's about … Go Fund has dispatched a member of their team to work closely with us and ensure your donations do as God intended — to show these guys enough fireworks to blow their Oakley aviators straight off their faces.”
Sen. Ted Budd shared the photo of the students holding the American flag on the pole at UNC’s campus and said, “Proud of these UNC students. Right on!”
Meanwhile, the Campus Y at UNC Chapel Hill is closed indefinitely. According to the university’s website, the Campus Y serves as a hub for student leadership and social activism. UNC has not given a reason for the closure.
An Instagram post by Sari Melitte Ghirmay-Morgan, a co-president of the Campus Y, reads, “these actions come as a result of the Campus Y supporting student activists in their endeavors to bring awareness and justice to the people of Gaza. Unfortunately, we have been receiving animosity from the university for years, and this is the final degradation.”
Ghirmay-Morgan also shared a link to a form where people can share their “grievances due to indefinite Y closure.”