Carolina Teachers Refuse to Release Students’ Final Grades Unless School Bans Confederate Monument

I’ve had a bone to pick with James Taylor for years — because, despite the suggestion of his lyrics, there is no place called “Carolina.” Now I wander the earth as a hypocrite, due to the above headline. However, in my defense, James never had to deal with a 100-character limit.

Onward…

Here’s something you don’t see every day:

A bunch of teachers at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill have decided to protest according to their political sensibilities by withholding students’ grades.

Presently, a monument of “Silent Sam” — a 1913 memorialization of the 300 alumni who fought in the Confederate Army — is set to be installed in an on-campus building. The statue was knocked down from its original location on August 20th.

In order to fight the confederate power, at least 79 instructors and teaching assistants have reportedly agreed to a “grade strike,” whereby they’ll refuse to release final grades to the students until their demand — to have Silent Sam banned — is met.

Shouldn’t all the teachers just be fired, then? It isn’t their job to determine whether a monument is placed on campus.

As for the issue of the monument itself, it seems to me that nothing is gained by the Left’s broad brush with which with they’re painting over history.

The Civil War is a contentious topic, and it should be debated by those with vast knowledge and strong opinions (a group of which I’m not a member). But I’m not sure we become a better society by removing indications of what occurred previously. That, in my opinion, is a path to ignorance and lack of insight moving forward.

But maybe I’m completely wrong. I’d like to know your thoughts, on the confederate issue as well as the teachers’ protests.

As of right now, more than 2,000 final grades are set to be withheld. Students will suffer under the political convictions of their professors, whose job it is to serve them via expert instruction.

As covered by The Daily Wire’s illustrious Ashe Schow (who, it should be noted, to her grand and impressive credit, has an appreciation for The Dick Van Dyke Show — Yes, Ashe…right on):

The activists instead demanded that the statue be kept off campus grounds and the UNC Board of Governors hold “listening sessions in good faith with the campus community.” Activists said grades would be released if that demand was met, but followed up by threatening further protests unless additional demands are met, including:

1. Silent Sam never returns to campus, even through a center to its memory.

2. The Board of Trustees explain what the new campus policing policies are and withdraw those new policies pertaining to “intelligence gathering” and “protest management,” and the “mobile force.”

3. Reallocate the money that would be used for the “mobile force” and Silent Sam center to increasing the wages for graduate and campus workers, including dental insurance for graduate workers and reduced parking fees for graduate and campus workers.

They’re striking like the Teamsters, Jack!

And students’ grades — the products they’ve purchased via school loans — are being held hostage ’til the ransom is met.

Lastly:

Robert A. Blouin, executive vice chancellor and provost at Chapel Hill, sent an email Thursday to school deans, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. In it, he warned the grade strike “violates our university’s instructional responsibilities” and could result in legal action taken against the university and the teaching assistants and instructors withholding grades.

Sounds about right. Speaking of right, am I? Are they? I wanna hear from you. Please let your thoughts be known in the Comments section below.

-Alex

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