The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill announced this week that it would be cutting funding for the college’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) program and instead routing the money to the campus’ police department. The news came just weeks after a raucous anti-Israel protest that saw students protecting the American flag.
The college’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously Monday to remove its DEI programs and transfer the $2.1 million in projected spending to the college’s public safety programs.
Board Chair David Boliek described “administrative bloat” at the college and said that any “cuts in administration and diverting of dollars to rubber-meets-the-road efforts like public safety and teaching is important.”
Ultimately, one of the factors that sparked the decision was the anti-Israel protest on the campus earlier this month, according to one of the board members.
The decision came during a special meeting as the University of North Carolina Board of Governors is considering whether or not to restrict DEI programs throughout all of its colleges. The move came as the university’s Committee on University Governance recommended such an action.
In a meeting this morning, the UNC Chapel Hill Board of Trustees “unanimously moved to reallocate the $2.3 million that the university spends on DEI programs toward police and other public safety measures.”
Looks like the frat boys take another W. pic.twitter.com/z5Be9OhGxj
— OutKick (@Outkick) May 13, 2024
The proposed changes at UNC came after the University of Florida in Gainesville dismantled its DEI programs and planned to instead use the funds for faculty recruitment.
Protesters defaced a building on the campus over the weekend and set up a new encampment ahead of commencement.
This is not the first time that UNC-Chapel Hill received considerable national attention. The defense of the American flag went viral on social media, as did photos of students holding Old Glory to keep it out of the hands of the protesters.
Members of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity defended the flag during protests earlier this month. The effort led to a major push on GoFundMe to hold a party for the students, which ultimately raised more than $500,000.
One fraternity brother said that the group feared that the flag would be trampled on or lit on fire.
