In a meeting Monday, the Faculty Executive Committee discussed a petition signed by 101 UNC faculty members concerning police presence on campus.
Jay Smith, a professor in the Department of History, created the petition, which calls for an external investigation of UNC Police and its handling of recent campus events.
The petition appears to be a direct response to accusations of a UNC police officer giving false testimony against history graduate student Mark Porlides, who spoke at the meeting.
The Editorial Board has always believed in standing with student activists and holding the University accountable. Time and again, the actions of UNC Police have endangered student activists and the student body at large. Whether it’s lying under oath, shaking hands with armed white supremacists or antagonizing student activists, these actions are simply not acceptable — they represent a complete abdication of responsibility, a lack of morality and an utter disregard for student safety.
UNC Police has one job: to keep students safe. Their job is to protect us, yet they are doing exactly the opposite.
This isn’t the first time the Board has spoken out against UNC Police, and unfortunately, it probably won’t be the last. We will not stand by while members of the Carolina community are threatened repeatedly by UNC Police and its gross misuse of power. We will not remain silent while UNC Police continues to provide more protection to white supremacists than the students they are meant to protect. We cannot ignore the escalating pattern of police violence that plagues our campus.
Respect is not simply given — it must be earned. It’s a two-way street. And through their excessive use of force, complicity and dishonesty, UNC Police have shown they have little respect for students, activists and people of color on this campus. Being in a position of authority does not guarantee immunity to criticism or investigation. Even those who enforce the law have to follow it.
Thousands of students call UNC home — but home is a place where you feel safe and protected. Or at least it ought to be. And it is both devastating and terrifying to watch the school we all love so much become a source of danger and fear for so many.
Students and their safety (not donors or white supremacists) should be the University’s number one priority. If UNC Police has truly done nothing wrong, as Jeff McCracken claims, then an investigation will prove that. But as a community, we deserve answers that only an investigation can provide.
