The aims of the UNC Boycott are clear: to put pressure on the N.C. General Assembly and Board of Governors, to implore Chancellor Folt to explicitly request the removal of Silent Sam and to mobilize students across campus.
From Sept. 18 to Oct. 18, many of the Editorial Board members will be participating in this boycott. Others of us will not.
Even though we could not reach a consensus in endorsing UNC Boycott, the board found it imperative to provide a balanced take on the action for our peers and classmates to decide to engage or pass for themselves.
Our biggest concerns lay with how the boycott could negatively affect UNC staff and workers. According to the UNC Boycott FAQ, strategy meetings were held in conjunction with representatives of staff and the workers’ union.
The boycott will not affect students with pre-paid meal plans, though students with flex or plus swipes are encouraged to avoid using their accounts for the remainder of the protest in solidarity.
However, the organizers of the boycott took great care to provide alternative, affordable food options. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays, Nourish-UNC will provide low-cost meals near the Eve Carson memorial behind the Campus Y for the duration of the boycott. Vimala’s Curryblossom Cafe is also offering a 10 percent discount for students who bring proof of their signatures on the Boycott UNC petition.
There is no one perfect form of protest. However, the planning and pointedness behind Boycott UNC compelled many of our members to join.
Hopefully, you’ll know enough about the boycott and your values to decide if you want to, too.
