Student protesters from UNC-Chapel Hill interrupted a Board of Trustees committee meeting this afternoon.
Shortly after the BOT’s budget and finance committee started their meeting, about a dozen protesters arose and shouted “disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest.”
Protesters interrupted a @UNC Board of Trustees committee meeting. Several students yelled "disclose, divest" as they were being escorted out by police. This is the same BOT committee that voted to redirect $2.3 million in DEI funds to public safety. #nced pic.twitter.com/1mWrOSSsYn
— Brianna Atkinson (@batkinson2501) May 15, 2024
Earlier this week, the same committee voted to redirect $2.3 million of diversity, equity and inclusion funding to public safety. Trustees specifically mentioned recent campus protests as a reason for why additional funding was needed for campus law enforcement.
The protesters continued shouting as university police escorted them out the building.
As protesters were removed by police, they threw fliers saying “shame on you Marty Kotis” along with his picture. Kotis was one of several vocal board members who advocated for the DEI funding shift.
A demonstrator, who chose to not reveal her name out of fear of retaliation, said the DEI funding shift is a blatant attack against students.
“This (will fund) more cops, more police, more surveillance, more violence at our school,” she said.
Trustees in the budget and finance committee meeting suggested adding a financial penalty for protesters who damage university buildings. Kotis proposed the option pursuing civil action against them, and Chair David Boliek suggested going after “specific student organizations that sponsor protests.”
“There were some costs that were incurred because of vandalism,” Kotis said. “And I think it's important that we identify those costs and seek to recover them financially so that those costs don't impact our budget.”
At Monday’s special meeting, the full Board of Trustees approved a $4.5 billion budget request to send to the UNC Board of Governors.
At the UNC Board of Governors’ meeting next week, members will vote on whether to remove a policy that requires DEI initiatives at all public universities in North Carolina. A BOG committee has already voted to eliminate that policy.
