Maya Little, the grad student who infamously defaced Silent Sam with red paint back in April, finally received sanctions from the Honor Court on Friday.
Already having been convicted by the Orange County court system of defacing a public monument, Little received 18 hours of community service as punishment from the University.
The day before the sanctions were issued, Little’s defense raised an issue over pro-Silent Sam comments made by one of the adjudicators, Frank Pray. Pray’s impartiality was discussed until the court’s recess Thursday; he remained on the panel when the trial resumed on Friday. Little walked out and her lawyer waived any additional defense or evidence for her case. Ultimately, Little was sentenced with a slap on the wrist.
Let me start off by saying that I don’t support Little. I especially don’t support the often hysterical crowd of admirers that follow her around from quad-rally to court date. These people are the reason I swung to the right when I decided to immerse myself in campus life at UNC. I found, with undeniable clarity, that the students and faculty that make up this cavalcade of clowns can’t step outside themselves to see how nasty, pettish and immature they seem to an outside observer. As you might have guessed, I don’t support the anti-Silent Sam movement.
All that being said, I saw at her last court date that Little is something I never thought I’d say before: she’s right — at least in regards to her treatment by the Honor Court.
We already know that the Honor Court is not equipped to deal with anything other than academic dishonesty cases. This is evidenced by the use of the "preponderance of evidence" standard in cases of sexual assault between January and August of 2012, when the court stopped hearing those cases. It isn’t a legitimate judicial body because it doesn’t guarantee due process.
One of the adjudicators had previously expressed his disapproval of Little’s cause on social media. It is obvious that this compromises his impartiality. His disapproval of the movement generally is essentially the same thing as disapproval of Little’s actions. If there was a high-profile criminal shoplifting case, it would never be presided over by a judge who had taken a public stance that the court should throw the book at shoplifters. That would be unethical. Pray should have recused himself. It’s a no-brainer.
That’s why Little walked out of the hearing on Friday. She didn’t respect the court nor should she have. It was a kangaroo court. It’s just unfortunate that these same students can’t generalize the importance of due process to issues that they don’t support. Everyone deserves due process: frat boys, whiny activists, Antifa members and Supreme Court nominees.
As much as it pains me to say this, Little got this one right. People in her camp will probably say they don’t want or need my support — I don’t care. We all have a moral obligation to stand up for the rights of the accused.
