TO THE EDITOR:
While it has been excellent reading the conversations on Silent Sam, it has quickly become a series of oversimplifications with regards to the message behind the statue. Silent Sam does not represent just racism, or students who fought for their states or the Confederacy; it represents the entire Civil War time period.
This University has hundreds of years worth of history. With this history come reminders and remembrances in the form of statues, celebrations and murals.
Earlier this year, UNC and the Campus Y celebrated the return of the first African-American students to enroll at UNC. Why was this celebrated if it was a reminder of the days of racial segregation? It is celebrated so students enrolled now never forget how the University came to be as it is today.
This same idea goes to Silent Sam. It was erected as a monument not only to those who fought in the War Between the States, but also to those who simply lived at that time and suffered mightily. There are differences between these two examples, yes, but the reason they can be used as examples is the same.
It doesn’t matter whether we believe a particular period of history is good or bad; the point is it needs to be remembered. We cannot have selective memory, for that leads to the loss of history itself. We must remember this University’s positive history with the negative, because UNC is linked to it all.
Cameron Dunne
Freshman
History
