CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One person was arrested when a pro-Palestine encampment at UNC Charlotte was removed on Tuesday, university officials confirmed.
The incident happened around 7:30 a.m. According to a social media post from UNC Charlotte encampment group "unccencampment," the person detained is a student. The group claims they were given little warning before campus police raided the encampment.
"They gave two verbal warnings with very little time in between before they started the raid," a statement from the group says. "Many students and community members did not have enough time to gather their things before they were forced to leave or face the threat of arrest."
A statement from UNC Charlotte's chancellor said campus police removed the encampment over repeated campus policy violations.
"Violations were highlighted verbally and in writing, and exhaustive efforts were made to encourage protesters to exercise their right to free speech in a manner that respects the right of those not protesting to do their work and pursue their education," Sharon L. Gaber said.
"These actions are not free speech, they disrupt campus operations and pose a threat to campus safety," the UNC Charlotte statement reads.
Beginning at 2:15 p.m. Tuesday, a 49er identification card was required to access campus buildings, the school told students and staff later Tuesday morning.
A video posted to Instagram shows a group of police officers making their way through the camp emptying tents. Protests continued later Tuesday, and protesters said the same student who was arrested that morning was arrested for a second time that evening.
“I really want to see the culture of this university change, when the institutional neutrality is really just nowhere, at this moment, to be found," one person said.
Gaber issued the following statement to students on Tuesday:
"Dear Niner Nation,
As you may be aware, for more than a week, there have been protestors on campus. They were originally on the quad outside of the College of Health and Human Services and the Cato College of Education, and they recently relocated to the lawn outside of Fretwell and Cato Hall.
What began as peaceful protesting has transitioned over the past several days to intentionally and repeatedly violating University policy, despite repeated warnings by our Demonstration Activity Resource Team (DART) and other University personnel. Violations were highlighted verbally and in writing, and exhaustive efforts were made to encourage protestors to exercise their right to free speech in a manner that respects the rights of those not protesting to do their work and pursue their education.
UNC Charlotte promises a robust intellectual environment that values social and cultural diversity and free expression. However, expression must be conducted with the reasonable time, place and manner restrictions established in law and policy.
Protestors – many of whom are not members of the University community – instead chose to erect tents, fencing, displays and other structures in violation of University Policy 601.6, Scheduling University Facilities, and University Policy 601.9, Sales, Solicitations, Distribution of Materials and Campus Displays, and they continue impeding access to buildings and otherwise violating University access control policies, disrupting and threatening to disrupt final exams, and vandalizing University property.
These actions are not free speech, they disrupt campus operations and pose a threat to campus safety.
That is why this morning, despite multiple efforts to avoid this outcome, UNC Charlotte Police, with support from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, dispersed the group of protestors in the encampment on the lawn outside of Fretwell and Cato Hall. The situation was resolved peacefully, and only one person was detained.
As a public institution, UNC Charlotte is committed to upholding the right of individuals to exercise free speech on campus in a manner that prioritizes physical safety and ensures that faculty, students and staff can proceed with their normal activities without unreasonable disruption. Enforcing law and policy is critical to providing space for our community to express competing ideas safely. We will uphold any expressive activity that respects the time, place and manner restrictions established to permit the University to operate and serve its mission, and will address any activity that does not.
Our top priority is the safety of our campus, and we are focused on ensuring that is maintained for our students as they finish exams and as we prepare to celebrate the Class of 2024."
Daily student-led protests turned into an encampment in late April. The UNC Charlotte protest is one of several that popped up across the country, including UNC-Chapel Hill and Columbia University. UNC Charlotte said at the time that its Demonstration Activity Resource Team met with students to explain campus policies and the consequences that can result for students and other protesters who don't follow the rules.
On Monday, more than 700 faculty and staff members at UNC-Chapel Hill called on university officials to provide amnesty to students who were suspended during pro-Palestinian protests that led to students and protesters clashing with police. A separate letter from faculty and staff said the university undermined public trust by calling in police to remove an encampment. The instructors, who support the students, said they will withhold grades until 15 suspended students are reinstated.
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