Ongoing Rally on UNC's [Chapel Hill] Polk Place Leads to Classes, Non-Mandatory Operations Suspended
UNC campus moved to Condition 2 shortly after 3 p.m. on Tuesday, suspending all non-mandatory operations and cancelling all remaining classes as a rally of pro-Palestine demonstrators developed into a broader struggle with campus police over the flagpole at Polk Place.
Footage from the central open space on the Chapel Hill campus showed university police retaliating against community members who removed the United States flag around 2 p.m. and replaced it with a Palestinian flag. The group had marched over to the area — which had been the site of an encampment established by the UNC Students for Justice in Palestine chapter in the days prior — and removed temporary barricades put up by police after law enforcement arrested demonstrators Tuesday morning. While UNC Police officers and Interim Chancellor Lee Roberts came out of South Building and raised a replacement U.S. flag, members of the pro-Palestinian group removed the American flag a second time. During the police response, officers used pepper spray on the crowd.
The incident happened around two hours after a rally organized by UNC Students for Justice in Palestine began a few yards away at the steps of South Building — where demonstrators criticized the university for arresting colleagues earlier on Tuesday and inaction regarding their requests for UNC to divest from any contracts with companies who have ties with Israel. Until its movement to the flagpole, the gathering was peaceful and consisted of speakers using megaphones to talk with participants and lead chants.
Condition 2 is reserved for when “safety risks or logistical challenges are severe, and there is substantial interest in having a relatively limited number of individuals travel to or remain on campus,” according to the university system’s Adverse Weather & Emergency Closing guidelines. It asks all non-mandatory employees to not report to work and leave campus immediately.
https://chapelboro.com/news/unc/ongoing-rally-on-uncs-polk-place-leads-to-classes-non-mandatory-operations-suspended