The Daily Tar Heel

Serving the students and the University community since 1893

Wednesday March 29th

Higher Education


Judge Allen Baddour looks on as SCV lawyer Boyd Sturges speaks during the hearing on Wednesday. Feb. 12, 2020. Judge Baddour ruled to vacate the consent order and dismiss the lawsuit regarding Silent Sam.

UNC's $2.5 million Confederate payout won't be fully repaid despite backdoor deal reversal

The UNC System's now-infamous settlement with the North Carolina Division Sons of Confederate Veterans Inc. was struck down last month after a swarm of public scrutiny and legal challenges. The reversal by Orange County Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour returned possession of Silent Sam to the state's higher-education authority, but a $2.5 million trust of UNC's money that the System forfeited in that deal may not be coming back in full. More than $80,000 of those funds in total are set to pay the Confederate group's lawyer and the attorneys involved in operating the trust after its creation. However, a new legal challenge by UNC students and faculty seeks to change that.

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Protesters hold a sign during a demonstration in downtown Raleigh on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. About 250 people participated in the protest in support of DACA after President Donald Trump announced that he would phase out the program.

Universities are preparing for the future of dreamers amid DACA's potential rollback

Students who have benefitted from DACA are now facing uncertainty as a decision on the program's future rests in the hands of the Supreme Court. At the same time, colleges and universities across North Carolina are teetering the line between protecting students and complying with the law in a state that allows local law enforcement to collaborate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and prohibits sanctuary cities. While several schools have declared themselves sanctuary campuses, others are relying on student activism. No matter what the method is, they say they're trying to help DACA recipients carry the weight.

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Kevin Stone, commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans' North Carolina chapter, poses next to Silent Sam after suing and immediately settling with the UNC System and Board of Governors, a deal that gave the group possession of the Confederate monument and $2.5 million in UNC System money for its "preservation and benefit." Photo courtesy of SCV members. 

Sons of Confederate Veterans members oppose $2.5 million Silent Sam reward

Multiple current member of the North Carolina Division Sons of Confederate Veterans Inc. spoke to The Daily Tar Heel in the aftermath of the Confederate group's secretive settlement with the UNC System, which accrued it ownership of Silent Sam and $2.5 million in UNC System money. The members expressed desires to squash the deal and give the money back. They alleged financial impropriety and extortion among SCV leadership, referenced intermingling with gangs and hate groups, and described threats and slurs that have been issued toward members who raise questions. 

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Some fear the UNC System is going corporate as administrative searches continue

As the UNC System searches for a president and UNC searches for a chancellor, the prospect of a having a leader from the corporate world adds to the existing conversation among some faculty about the corporatization of higher education.  Corporatization at colleges refers to the infusion of corporate values into higher education, and many faculty members see it as an issue because of its effects on shared governance between faculty and administrators. Here is why some think corporate values in higher education is a positive thing, and some fear their influence. 

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