When UNC-Chapel Hill administrators closed the Campus Y building this spring, outcry from students and alumni was immediate. And while the building reopened under limited hours less than a week after it closed, student leaders have continued to feel that the fate of the space is unsettled.
The Campus Y is widely known as a campus hub for student activism and social justice at the university, with more than 30 student-run committees advancing a variety of causes. The Campus Y building, which houses the student organization and a division of the university’s Student Affairs department, has stood on campus for more than 100 years.
Administrators closed the building for “safety reasons” following a pro-Palestinian tent encampment on campus this spring, specifically citing that doors to the space were propped open after-hours during the protest, which violates university policy. Leaders said they would “continue to monitor” the building after they reopened it in May.
Now, a new committee formed by interim Chancellor Lee Roberts will work to find a solution for how the building can be used going forward.
The 15-member committee — chaired by former Chancellor James Moeser and former Board of Trustees Chair Richard Stevens — met for the first time Friday, with Roberts delivering his charge to the group. They are tasked with making recommendations for the governance and use of the offices, classrooms and gathering spaces in the building by Nov. 1.
“The Campus Y, obviously, has a long-standing importance to the student body and to the community at-large,” Roberts told the committee. “This is crucial work that deserves careful consideration.”
So, what did the group discuss during its first meeting? And what might they seek to address in their work?
Welcome to Dean’s List, a roundup of higher education news in the Triangle and across North Carolina from The News & Observer and myself, Korie Dean.
This week’s edition includes more information about the Campus Y committee, an update on the ongoing search for a new UNC chancellor and more.
Committee tasked with deciding Campus Y’s future
Roberts and Christi Hurt, his chief of staff, indicated that the committee is part of a larger effort to analyze how building space is used at the university, not tying it to the protests this spring. But Moeser took an opportunity about halfway into the meeting to address an “elephant in the room.”
“The elephant in the room is the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” Moeser said. “And there were actions taken by the Palestinians and their friends on campus that I think threatened, threaten, the independence of the Y. We just have to acknowledge that reality.”
Stevens noted that the group’s charge is not to weigh-in on “the structure of human affairs,” but instead to strictly consider rules around access to the building and the spaces within it.
No matter the decisions the group makes, though, the chairs and Roberts made clear that the work will not result in the Campus Y closing.
“There are no intents that I know of by you or anybody else, chancellor, to close this facility,” Stevens said.
Roberts replied: “The future use of the Y will be driven by the recommendations of this working group. We want to identify the highest and best use. That’s why we brought this group of folks together to make recommendations about that. There’s no ulterior behind it.”
Much of Friday’s meeting was dedicated to ensuring committee members had a basic understanding of the Campus Y building and how it is currently used.
The space is the home of the UNC Y department, which is a division of Student Affairs, and the Campus Y student organization. (While the two entities, along with the building itself, have historically shared the Campus Y name, administrators recently changed the student affairs department’s name to “UNC Y,” appearing to draw clearer distinctions between the entities.)
Among other uses, both the UNC Y and the Campus Y student organization use office space in the building, while a separate lounge in the space is dedicated to faculty use and is overseen by the Office of Faculty Governance. Two classrooms in the building are managed by the registrar, with classes meeting in the spaces during the academic year. The building also houses a student-run coffee shop and a grab-and-go food market, among other features.
Committee members talked at-length about how spaces in the building are governed and how they can be reserved — and by whom. (Per Roberts’ charge, the Anne Queen Faculty Lounge will continue to be governed by faculty, regardless of any other decisions the committee makes.)
Moeser and Stevens indicated that the process to reserve any space in the building should be made clearer, particularly for student groups that are not a subcommittee of the Campus Y organization. While Campus Y student members are likely familiar with the space and how to reserve it, they said that might not be the case for non-Campus Y groups, which could lead to disproportionate opportunities to use or reserve the spaces.
But current Campus Y members and alumni on the committee indicated that new reservation processes for the spaces could contradict a feeling of the building being “home” for subcommittees and the students that lead them.
“It sounds like we need some clarification over those issues affecting students,” Moeser said.
The committee did not make any decisions about the building Friday. The group will continue to meet weekly, on Friday afternoons, until their Nov. 1 deadline or they complete their work — whichever comes first.
UNC trustees hear update from chancellor search committee
In other affairs at UNC, we’re a couple of steps closer to learning who the university’s 13th chancellor will be.
The search committee tasked with finding the next leader concluded its work last week, interviewing at least three candidates for the job over two days of closed-door meetings.
On Monday, search chair Cristy Page, executive dean of the UNC School of Medicine, presented the committee’s report to the Board of Trustees. The board met for less than an hour and approved an unranked slate of three candidates to forward to UNC System President Peter Hans for his consideration. He is tasked with submitting a single finalist to the system Board of Governors for their approval.
As N&O intern Emmy Martin and I reported last week, the names of the finalists, as well as those of anyone else who applied or interviewed for the job, are confidential. That’s per UNC System policy, which keeps dictates that none of the names and identities of the chancellor candidates, semi-finalists or finalists may be released to the public — even after the search is over. The only name officially available to the public will likely be the one who is chosen to become chancellor by Hans and is approved in a public meeting.
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