Explore the Relocation on campus about the Disposition debate of this artwork.
Former Chancellor James Moeser said it was "inconceivable" that the statue go back on the pedestal, and proposed the creation of a civil rights museum on campus, perhaps in the Playmakers Theatre building, as a place where the statue could be displayed.On August 31, Chancellor Folt issued a statement saying that Silent Sam's original location was "a cause for division and a threat to public safety," and that, with the approval of the university system's board of governors, she was seeking input on a "safe, legal and alternative" location for the statue elsewhere on campus.  On November 9, a further statement from Chancellor Folt said that a decision had not yet been made, and the board of governors had granted a "short extension" to this deadline.On September 4, 2018, a letter from 450 UNC faculty members, supporting Folt's preference for relocating the statue, was sent to the board of governors, board of trustees, and key administrators. "The civic, economic, emotional, and cultural well-being of our community, as well as the university's educational mission, will suffer continued damage by the presence of the monument on McCorkle Place." On the same day, 8 alumni co-chairs of a fundraising committee, most former members of the trustees or the board of visitors, sent a letter to the board of trustees: This is an "increasingly dangerous situation impacting our students and faculty and threatening to tarnish the reputation of our nation’s first public university, as well as the State of North Carolina.... Now that Silent Sam is down, we are united in agreeing that it should not return to its former location."  The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce and the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership also called for the permanent relocation of Silent Sam, saying the continued protests around the monument are hurting business and threatening the safety of the town.
right Playmakers Theatre James Moeser