TO THE EDITOR:
April 11: Chancellor Holden Thorp sends an email to the campus community stating the following in reference to an aggravated assault being investigated by the DPS: “Based on the available evidence to date, the University plans to report this incident as a hate crime to the federal government.”
April 12: Chancellor Thorp sends another email to the campus community stating, “The Department of Public Safety has determined that the alleged aggravated assault reported to campus last night did not occur.”
From these emails and the coverage in the local news, we can reconstruct a timeline. April 5 a police report was filed. Six days later, the University declared they will report the incident as a hate crime to the federal government. Less than 24 hours after this, the University recanted their position.
There are questions to be asked, answers to be heard.
I challenge every Tar Heel to individually and collectively shoulder the burden of making the following weeks become a transformative experience. How do we foster alliances for individuals and social identity groups, how do we hold institutions responsible for the safety of their students, how do we show compassion and understanding, how do we own this and make it into something positive for ourselves and our campus community? I hope and pray for supportive, kind and critical dialogue.
Andrew Heil
Sophomore
Italian and Philosophy
