The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has recently been embroiled in controversy after students expressed concerns that some professors were planning to withhold students’ final grades in an apparent protest against the university. This comes after anti-Israel demonstrations erupted on the campus, and students faced disciplinary action.
In response, the university has cautioned professors and faculty members against withholding grades. Provost Chris Clemens and Graduate School Dean Beth Mayer-Davis issued a joint statement, emphasizing that timely submission of grades is part of the required duties of all faculty and graduate teaching assistants.
The university’s statement follows reports that some professors planned to protest the university’s disciplinary action against 15 suspended students by withholding all students’ grades. Students were notified through the school portal that this protest would result in a NR (Not Reported) grade on their transcript.
Republican Representative Richard Hudson of North Carolina had strong words for the professors involved, stating that they should be “immediately” terminated from the university for their actions. Hudson stressed that professors should be protecting students who are targets of anti-Semitism and violence rather than “protecting the bigots and anti-Semites.”
UNC professors should be protecting students who are targets of antisemitism and violence.
They should not be protecting the bigots and antisemites.
Fire any faculty or staff participating in withholding grades immediately. https://t.co/cfAgpUCIQn
— Rep. Richard Hudson (@RepRichHudson) May 6, 2024
The university also warned that professors could face sanctions for their participation in the protest. Clemens and Mayer-Davis urged deans and department chairs to work with faculty and graduate students to ensure that their actions do not harm students or damage the trust between the institution, its students, and the people of North Carolina.
Recently, more than 700 UNC-Chapel Hill faculty and staff signed a petition to grant amnesty to the students facing disciplinary action. However, the university has stood firm in its decision to discipline the students, citing damage to the school and safety concerns caused by the four-day encampment.
Despite these protests, the university has stated that it will continue with its scheduled commencement ceremony on May 11.
