UNC Board of Governors directs trustees to come up with plan for 'disposition and preservation' of Silent Sam

Tuesday, August 28, 2018
CHAPEL HILL, NC (WTVD) -- The University of North Carolina Board of Trustees and Board of Governors met in special meetings on Tuesday, more than a week after the controversial Silent Sam statue was pulled down.

In that meeting, the Board of Governors directed the Board of Trustees to develop and present a plan for the "disposition and preservation" of Silent Sam by Nov. 15.



This comes after a tense protest broke out over the weekend in response to those who brought down the Confederate statue last Monday.

In all, 11 people have been arrested in connection with the demonstrations. UNC-Chapel Hill said none of those arrested are affiliated with the university



During the Board of Trustees meeting, Chancellor Carol Folt said what happened "brought the eyes of the nation on us."

She said there is an urgency to find a path to "protect the public, protect the monument and allow us to return to what we are doing right now-our core mission of education, research and creating the next generation of leaders."

Thom Goolsby, member of the UNC Board of Governors, voted against the resolution, telling ABC11 something needs to be done sooner.

"I'm worried about the violence, the ongoing threats, the dangers that these outside groups pose," he said.

"We know that the monument has been divisive for a long time," Chancellor Folt said Tuesday. "But what happened on Monday was wrong. It was absolutely not the solution that we wanted and we will follow the process as I've been saying. We're reviewing Monday's and now Saturday's demonstrations and the actions that are appropriate will be taken."
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