RES-2019-025 Resolution in response to recent acts of racial and ethnic intimidation at UNC-CH

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RES - 2019 - 025 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS A RESOLUTION IN RESPONSE TO RECENT ACTS OF RACIAL AND ETHNIC INTIMIDATION ON THE CAMPUS OF UNC - CHAPEL HILL WHEREAS , Orange County is home to many students , employees , and alumnae /- i of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , including an estimated 29 , 000 undergraduate , graduate , and professional students , and the life of the southeastern portion of our County is intertwined with the life of the University ; and WHEREAS , on March 31 , 2019 , two persons desecrated the Unsung Founders Memorial in McCorkle Place on the UNC - Chapel Hill campus by defacing it with racist graffiti and with urines and someone vandalized an installation outside Hanes Art Center with racist languages and WHEREAS , on March 16 , 2019 , persons associated with a white supremacist group carried firearms and other weapons onto the UNC - Chapel Hill campus in violation of the North Carolina General Statutes and campus policy ; and an Alert Carolina emergency notification was not issued % and no arrests were made and no citations or trespass notices were issued ; and WHEREAS , on April 10 , 2019 a statement was released by UNC Hillel that a number of anti - Semitic flyers have been found in Davis Library with references to " an evil Jewish plot " and the missive , " do everything you can to fight the silent covert Jewish attempt to enslave and kill good Americans " ; and WHEREAS , student anti - racist activists have been prohibited indefinitely from entering certain areas of the campus , including McCorkle Place , despite having been found not guilty of the criminal charges related to their trespass notices or having had those charges dismissed ; and WHEREAS , the Chapel Hill - Carrboro Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP ) , the Carolina Black Caucus , and others have called on UNC - Chapel Hill to take bolder action in response to acts of racial and ethnic intimidation and threats by white supremacists to the safety of the community ; and WHEREAS , the Orange County Board of Commissioners appreciates Interim Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz ' s statement that " we must nurture an environment where all people in our community can live , learn and work without fear" , and the Board is encouraged by the arrests on April 8 of the persons believed to have desecrated the Unsung Founders Memorial ; NOW , THEREFORE , BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Commissioners urges its neighbor and partner , UNC - Chapel Hill , to rescind trespass warnings against student anti - racist activists ; to press charges and issue trespass warnings against persons who on March 16 carried firearms onto the campus ; to clarify when the community may expect the presence of an armed person on or near the campus to trigger an Alert Carolina emergency notification ; and to invite community members not necessarily affiliated with the University to participate in the campus safety commission being convened by the interim chancellor . BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the County wishes to partner with UNC - Chapel Hill in a shared commitment to helping students feel safe through better communications , education about the Orange County Sheriff' s Office and other law enforcement agencies , opportunities to participate in County programming and advisory committees , continued participation in the Good Neighbor Initiative , and other efforts . BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board asks the Clerk to the Board to share this resolution with the interim chancellor of UNC - Chapel Hill and the members of the Chapel Hill T n Council , the Hillsborough Board of Commissioners , and the Carrboro Board of Ald rm n . This the 16th day of April , 2019 . l ; , Pen y' ich , Ch it Orange County Board of Commissioners