Opinion

Editorial: Silent Sam settlement gives rise to questions of UNC board's competence

Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019 -- If ever there was an example of the more we learn, the less we know, the settlement concerning UNC-Chapel Hill's Silent Sam and the N.C. Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans is it. Far from a resolution, this is a matter ripe for investigation. It has has done nothing to settle the Silent Sam controversy. It has only highlighted the mismanagement and lack of leadership of this UNC Board of Governors and administration.
Posted 2019-12-03T04:18:52+00:00 - Updated 2019-12-03T13:35:53+00:00
Silent Sam

CBC Editorial: Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019; Editorial #8487
The following is the opinion of Capitol Broadcasting Company


It was a statement that raised more questions – that should have been immediately asked.

While they weren’t asked a week ago, those questions about a “settlement allowing for the disposition of Silent Sam,” still must be answered.

Was the tactic by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors and its top administrators to avoid scrutiny by issuing a broadly worded, inadequate and ambiguous statement on the eve of Thanksgiving? The final disposition of the Jim Crow-era monument to the Confederacy has been a bitter matter since it was torn down by student protesters and removed in August 2018 – as activities surrounding the matter led to the forced-resignation of former UNC Chancellor Carol Folts.

If the idea was to avoid examination, it worked – for the short term. But that certainly doesn’t mean there aren’t important questions to be answered; facts to be known and a fully transparent airing of all the issues and decisions involved.

It looks to us like the Board of Governors agreed to settle a lawsuit before it had been filed by a group that did not own Silent Sam by paying $2.5 million in university funds. (While the order says “using exclusively non-state funds,” we guess it is non taxpayer provided. The funds will come from the University of North Carolina, which is a state institution.)

Why would the Board of Governors approve – behind closed doors and avoiding public scrutiny – the settlement to a lawsuit that had not been filed?

This isn’t just a matter for a journalistic examination – but more significantly a legal one by local and state authorities.

Some hint to all of this appears to have been uncovered though a letter from Kevin Stone, Commander of the N.C. Division of Sons of Confederate Veterans.

“The Board of Governors approached us through Mr. (C. Boyd) Sturges and wanted to open negotiations,” Stone said. Stone then unraveled a tale of hopeful, but eventually fruitless negotiations with legislative leaders.

Stone goes on to say that the threat of legal action was “immediately met with an offer from them to settle.”

“As part of the that settlement, what we’ve ended up with is legal possession of Silent Sam, and over $2 million in a dedicated trust (that we requested) for the perpetual care of Silent Sam and the purchase of land on which to prominently display him, to build a small museum for the public, and build a comprehensive Division headquarters for the benefit of the membership.”

Why is the state of North Carolina financing the headquarters for the N.C. Division of Sons of Confederate Veterans?

If ever there was an example of the more we learn, the less we know, this settlement is it.

Far from a resolution, this is a matter ripe for investigation.

This matter needs a thorough and transparent examination by competent legal authorities. Given the jurisdiction, the Orange County District Attorney’s office would be an appropriate place.

Further, Attorney General Josh Stein’s office should thoroughly go through the details of all this to see if the settlement meets all legal standards or if there were any civil or criminal laws violated.

Make no mistake, this settlement has done nothing to settle the Silent Sam controversy. It has only highlighted the mismanagement and lack of leadership of this UNC Board and administration.


NOTE: Following initial posting of this editorial, Josh Ellis, Associate Vice President for Media Relations for the UNC system, sent the following clarification: "The University agreed to the settlement after submitting it to the Attorney General’s office for review in accordance with applicable law and receiving confirmation that there is no legal impediment to the UNC System and its Board of Governors agreeing to the proposed settlement, and that it is within the authority of the UNC System and the Board of Governors to consent to the judgment proposed."

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