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Thousands of people pass them daily but don't really see them.
Silent Sam" the Unsung Founders Memorial and The Student Body are works of art meant to beautify the University but as Race Relations Week begins Monday the racially charged foundation of many campus statues is once again in question.
Since its Oct. 23 1990 unveiling the class of 1985's senior gift a sculpture called The Student Body has been scrutinized as being racist.
Artist Julia Balk was selected to create the piece to celebrate the racial and ethnic diversity of the campus which was to be placed in front of Davis Library.
But when the statue was unveiled the reception was anything but celebratory.
Of the seven students depicted in the sculpture" many thought the two black students were shown in a particularly stereotypical way.
""Almost immediately there was a huge student protest"" said Tim McMillan, associate department chairman and professor of African-American studies at UNC. Both black and white students protested.""
McMillan hosts a tour of the campus called ""The Black and Blue Tour"" that explores black history and its relationship with the campus.
McMillan said the figure of a black woman carrying a book on her head" reminiscent of an African tribal woman" and a black male student carrying a book by his side and spinning a basketball on his finger created the most controversy.
""Art is something that is interpretational"" said Archie Ervin, associate provost for diversity & multicultural affairs. It was clear to the naked eye that these were clearly stereotypical images"" and therefore subject to real interpretation.""
Due to the large outcry against the sculpture" it was never dedicated and was quickly moved to a gated courtyard behind Hamilton Hall.
Nearly 18 years later that sculpture still stands in the same place" without any plaque or picture showing the original representation of the statue — a fact that some criticize.
""What I'm most taken aback about" is that we don't know the history behind it" said Alysa Campbell, vice president of the Black Student Movement. It does an injustice to not know where it is and for why it is there.""
Despite preventive efforts during winter break of 1990-91" the black female figure was damaged after being kicked and the black male figure was bent and his basketball stolen. That black male figure was later stolen along with a figure depicting an Asian-American female.
Despite its troublesome nature McMillan said the piece is an important part of University history. He pointed to other controversial monuments like Silent Sam a tribute to Confederate soldiers; the Caldwell Memorial a monument to UNC's first president and former slave owner; and the Unsung Founders Memorial" dedicated to slaves who built the foundations of UNC.
""It lets us use the campus as a tool to learn"" McMillan said.
He said some of the monuments, like the Unsung Heroes Memorial, commissioned by the senior class of 2002, are unintentionally racist.
The piece consists of a stone table surrounded by five stools and held up by hundreds of figures of slaves.
McMillan said the memorial makes it too easy for people to be disrespectful to the statue and thus the people it memorializes.
All the little people holding it up are in the mud" and every time it rains mud gets splashed up on their faces McMillan said. And if you sit at it as you are intended to" you put your feet on the people.""
But Ervin" who was on the committee that chose artist Do-Ho Suh to create the piece" said it was meant to be an interactive piece of art.
""It was actually meant to be used" Ervin said. The artist wanted to create a piece of art that was not standoffish that was inviting to people to come up to it to look at it to inspect it" to make it friendly.""
Beth Braxton" director of the Carolina Annual Fund the group responsible for senior class gifts" said she's aware of issues with campus monuments. But she said she doesn't see the issue being resolved soon.
""My take on this is that it is art and it's subjective" she said.
I thought they looked mighty and powerful" but that is my opinion — it's art.""
Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.
