Silence and Sam: The State of Campus Free Expression at UNC

Date/Time
Date(s) - 09/24/2019
2:00 pm - 3:15 pm

After the toppling of UNC’s confederate monument, Silent Sam, UNC finds itself at another crossroads as it attempts to deal with recent years of conflict and protest regarding the monument and its history. A recent undergraduate research-led project on the state of campus free expression at UNC found that undergraduates are engaging in self-silencing behaviors regarding controversial political topics in the classroom. How freely are students at UNC expressing themselves in the wake of these and other events? To what extent is the concern about student free expression overblown? This panel will explore the state of free expression at UNC and what work lies ahead. Adrianne Cleven, a senior at the UNC School of Media and Journalism, will moderate. Panelists include Lucy Kate Harrill, a junior in Political Science; Jeremiah Rhodes, a senior at the Hussman School of  Journalism and Media; Cole Villena, a senior at the Hussman School of  Journalism and Media; Professor Mark MacNeilly from UNC’s Kenan-Flager Business School; and Dr. Jennifer Larson, Teaching Associate Professor & Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of English & Comparative Literature.