Around the world, people are outraged at the murders of three Muslim students in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The three, all Arab Americans, were gunned down in their own home by a neighbor, a middle-aged white man who was openly anti-Muslim. The immediate response from the corporate news media was to report about a parking dispute and to down play anti-Muslim hatred as the killer’s motive.

Chapel Hill, NC – A diverse group of over 120 students braved heavy rains to rally on UNC Chapel Hill's campus, Sept. 21, in protest of the scheduled execution of [Troy Davis](/tags/troy-davis). The students held signs saying “I am Troy Davis”, “Stop the execution”, and “Abolish the death penalty”.

Conference unites over 100 activists from across the South

Chapel Hill, NC – Over 100 activists from across the South gathered at the University of North Carolina School of Law Feb. 19 for a conference against FBI repression of anti-war and international solidarity activists. The conference was one of four regional conferences organized by the national Committee to Stop FBI Repression (CSFR). Activists came from as far as Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Memphis, Tennessee and Atlanta, Georgia.

Chapel Hill, NC – A conference to address the recent FBI raids on anti-war and international solidarity activists’ homes and offices will take place Feb. 19 from 9:45 am until 5:00 pm at the UNC Law School on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The event is free and open to the public. Lunch will be provided for a suggested $5 donation. Childcare will be available free of charge.

Chapel Hill, NC – At a press conference here on April 21, students expressed their outrage that the racist ex-congressperson, Tom Tancredo, has been invited to return to the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill campus for a speaking event on April 26, hosted by a right-wing youth organization.

Chapel Hill, NC – Twenty students picketed the Board of Trustees meeting, Nov. 18, as the trustees voted to increase out-of-state tuition by $1162 for the coming year at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The protest was called by Students Against Budget Cuts and Tuition Hikes.

Fight Back! interviewed UNC Chapel Hill activist Haley Koch about her trial on Monday, September 15, in which all charges relating to her arrest for the protest of Tom Tancredo were dropped. Koch took part in a large protest of students who shut down the racist, anti-immigrant speaker at UNC's campus last April.

Sarah Hirsch is a member of Student Action with Workers and a part-time student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She took part in a historic 16-day sit-in at UNC, demanding that the UNC administration break their ties with the sweatshops that manufacture UNC apparel. Rather than negotiate, the administration had five of the students arrested, including Hirsch, on May 2.

Chapel Hill, NC – A 16-day sit-in at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) administration building came to a dramatic close on Friday May 2, when Chancellor Moeser ordered UNC police to arrest five of the protesters. It was the longest sit-in protest in UNC’s history. Dozens of students had occupied the lobby of South Building, the administrative headquarters at UNC, in a protest against the university’s use of sweatshops for the manufacture of UNC apparel (Sit-in at administration building demands end to UNC sweatshop clothing, Fight Back!, April 2008).

Chapel Hill, NC – Haley Koch and six community activists had their first court date June 1, for their participation in the Tom Tancredo and Virgil Goode protests that took place in April. These protests were in response to a far right-wing organization, Youth for Western Civilization, that brought two anti-immigration speakers, Tom Tancredo and Virgil Goode, to the University of North Carolina campus within a week of each other. Hundreds of students and activists protested the racism, xenophobia and white supremacy that these speakers promoted and seven demonstrators were arrested by campus police in response. They all pleaded not guilty, even after being offered a deal by the district attorney which would lighten their sentence in return for admission of guilt. The seven are standing strong in their belief that they did no wrong in protesting racism and white supremacy on UNC’s campus and will represent themselves in their next court date, Sept. 14.

Letter Delivered to Administration Demands Boycott and Divestment

Chapel Hill, NC – A delegation of students from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) delivered a letter to Chancellor Thorp's office, Feb. 25, demanding that UNC divest from Israel. Holding a banner that said, “End U.S. aid to Israel!” the students explained their demands to the university administrator who received the letter in place of Chancellor Thorp. “We want our university to stop investing in the murder of Palestinian civilians,” said Maddy Miller, a member of SDS.

Chapel Hill, NC – Over 120 students rallied against John Ashcroft at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill campus Sept. 12, disrupting his speech. Ashcroft was Attorney General under Bush. He is responsible for the repressive PATRIOT Act, legislative attacks on women's reproductive rights and policies aimed at criminalizing immigrant workers.

Chapel Hill, NC – Chants of, “Out of Iraq, out of our schools!” rose above the noise of afternoon traffic as protesters marched to Chapel Hill’s new Army Career Center on Wednesday, Nov. 15. Led by UNC-Chapel Hill’s chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, the group of about 50 marchers was joined by another several dozen protesters at the recruiting station. Demonstrators held a rally and a press conference condemning the war against Iraq and the predatory tactics of military recruiters.

Chapel Hill, NC – On April 23, about 100 students gathered for the second time in two weeks to oppose white supremacists organizing on the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s campus. Just one week after the racist Tom Tancredo was driven off campus by turbulent protests, the Youth for Western Civilization (YWC), a white supremacist organization, brought former Virginia congressman Virgil Goode to speak about affirmative action and immigration.

Solidarity Pours In From Across The Country

Fight Back! is circulating the following statement issued by the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Event Gets Shut Down

Chapel Hill, NC – Over 200 protesters gathered here on April 15 to protest a talk given by the racist former congressman Tom Tancredo. Students, faculty and staff were in the streets and the lobby of the building chanting, “Shut it down – no racists in our town!” Some protesters were inside the room where the talk was being held and challenged Tancredo on his anti-immigration views while holding banners saying “No dialogue with hate,” and “No one is illegal.”

Chapel Hill, NC – Eight students are risking arrest by sitting in at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) administration headquarters, April 17, demanding that Chancellor Moeser take a stand in opposing the production of UNC clothing by sweatshop labor. Earlier, 50 students, faculty and staff rallied outside to show their solidarity with the sit-in. The protesters, members of the Carolina Sweatfree Coalition – a coalition of 20 student groups at UNC – are demanding that UNC cut ties with sweatshops and adopt the Designated Suppliers Program (DSP).

Students and Workers Blast Censorship at UNC-Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC – A delegation of fifteen city and university workers, student activists and union organizers delivered a petition of over 500 signatures on Oct. 26 to the University of North Carolina System General Administration, charging that workers’ voices were being silenced at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The petition was addressed to Erskine Bowles, who is president of the UNC general administration, and who is responsible for all 16 state universities in North Carolina.

Chapel Hill, NC – Campus and city workers, union organizers and students held a press conference at the university here, Sept. 13, to denounce University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill administration’s censorship of an article on collective bargaining. In June, an article that described the growing statewide movement for collective bargaining rights was cut from the University Gazette, an official publication distributed to all UNC workers. The North Carolina Public Sector Workers Union, UE Local 150, organized the press conference to demand the article be published.

Chapel Hill, NC – Chanting “They say cut back, we say fight back!” a group of 50 students, campus workers and faculty marched on the Board of Trustees meeting March 26. The main theme of the protest was “No budget cuts on the backs of students and workers.” After rallying on campus, the demonstrators marched over to the Carolina Inn, a luxurious hotel that was hosting the Board of Trustees meeting.