UNC administration to reopen Campus Y building

UNC students received an email Friday afternoon from Student Affairs stating that they will reopen the Campus Y building on Monday, May 6, with revised hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

“We are now cleaning a significant amount of debris and ensuring that hallways, entrances and exits are clear,” the email stated. “We will continue to monitor the building.” 

According to the Instagram statement the Campus Y released on Friday evening about the reopening of the building and Sari Ghirmay-Morgan, Campus Y co-president, to their recollection, the space did not reflect the way the University described it before they lost access to the building, and "there is no public evidence of such debris."

Late Wednesday evening, the Campus Y announced on its Instagram that it had been closed indefinitely by UNC administration. The Campus Y is a student organization that has been a part of the University for the last 160 years, promoting social justice and activism.

After the announcement of its closure on Instagram, there was an outpouring of support in the comments section of the Campus Y’s post, with people expressing how safe the organization has made them feel at the University, and how upset they were to see this happening. 

"It was your fervent responses and unwavering solidarity that brought about this partial re-opening," the Campus Y's Instagram statement on Friday night.

The email from Student Affairs included a link to a webpage entitled “Safety Update About Recent Campus Events.” One of the questions posed on the webpage was “Why was the Campus Y building closed? When will it reopen?” in which it reiterated the information stated above. 

“Campus Y student organizations or other student organizations housed within the building can contact Student Affairs for more information,” the statement reads. 

In Friday evening's Instagram post made by the Campus Y, the organization said they are "wary to call this a victory" due to the lack of information they have received from the University.  

The statement explained that 30 minutes before the release of the University-wide email, University administration was still asserting that the building would not be reopening any time soon.

“We've been trying to organize meetings with [the University], and discussions,” Ghirmay-Morgan said. “They told us there was no timetable. So for them to open it up, it's a clear response to student outreach.”

Ghirmay-Morgan said that students need to keep paying attention, even with finals ongoing, to the situation and cannot start to relax with the announced reopening. 

Additionally, with the revised hours, students will be unable to use the Anne Queen Lounge within the Campus Y building because, when the organization was operating under their regular hours, it was prohibited to students until after 5 p.m.

The event space has been an important place for the Campus Y committees and executive members to meet, Ghirmay-Morgan explained, and it is the only location in the building that can serve multiple wheelchair users.

"Our community remains unable to gather. Given these facts, we believe that the partial re-opening of the Y was not a decision made in good faith," Friday’s Instagram statement said.

According to their statement, they have not received clarity on what the University monitoring the building will mean, but they have noticed increased police presence, as well as surveillance technology around the building. 

"Any attempt to divide or displace us will not be successful. We are the social justice hub and heart of this university. We are here to stay," they stated.

In an email statement to The Daily Tar Heel on Friday evening, Beth Keith, associate vice chancellor of communications at UNC, wrote that the "only information available is in the campus email and the FAQs linked in the message." 

This is a developing story, and was updated on Saturday at 5 p.m. to include comments from Campus Y co-president, Sari Ghirmay-Morgan. Check back for updates.