North Carolina Central University Chancellor Karrie G. Dixon responded to those who rallied on campus Wednesday with three words: "We hear you."
Dixon said, in a message sent to students, staff and faculty Thursday morning, that she and other NCCU leaders were off campus when police detained five people among those rallying for more student housing.
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"During the protest, my administration and I traveled to Raleigh and held a strategic legislative event planned over the past few months and focused on securing a prospective $100 million-plus investment in our facilities through the legislature ... If approved, these funds are specifically tailored to improve conditions in both residence halls and academic buildings. We took this opportunity to ensure that student concerns were directly shared with legislators, reinforcing that housing and facility improvements are a top priority for this administration," Dixon wrote.
Students and supporters chanted “we need housing” and “no housing, no peace” as they gathered and marched across the Durham campus. The event, which campus police described as an "unauthorized rally" that included people not affiliated with the university, ended with five people in custody.
NC Central challenges whether rally was student-led
The school said on Wednesday that the rally appeared to be sponsored by "a significant number of people who are not NCCU students or otherwise affiliated with the university."
After the names of those arrested were released, the university issued an updated statement to acknowledge that most of those protesting were, in fact, members of the campus community. "Of the five individuals detained, the primary organizer is not affiliated with the university, while the remaining four are affiliated with NCCU.
The people arrested on the campus of North Carolina Central University are:
- Daniel Cole Atwood, 26, of Mount Olive, charged with resisting a public officer.
- Jose Andres Estrella is named in arrest warrants as the organizer of the protest. He is 22 years old and a resident of Carrboro. He faces charges of trespassing, failure to disperse and resisting a public officer.
- Moriah Alexis Flowers, 21, of Kinston, charged with resisting a public officer.
- Jaylen Maurice Glascoe, 18, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, charged with trespassing and resisting a public officer.
- Makaila Nicole Tinsley, 22, of Charlotte, charged with trespassing, failure to disperse, resisting a public officer and assault on a law enforcement officer -- a felony. Her arrest warrant says Tinsley repeatedly kicked an officer who was trying to take a bullhorn from her.
The statement continued:
"All non-NCCU-affiliated private groups are required to follow established procedures to host events on campus. ... These expectations were communicated to the non-NCCU-affiliated private group that organized the April 16 protest on campus."
Attorneys question restrictions on North Carolina Central University protests
WRAL Investigates spoke with several lawyers Thursday on camera and off about the protests that unfolded the day before on the North Carolina Central University campus.
WRAL Investigates asked Durham-based attorney Daniel Meier whether he thinks it's constitutional for a public university to restrict who can come onto campus and protest.
"I don't," Meier said.
Meier explained further, saying, "Protest groups can come to a public place and protest."
WRAL Investigates asked the university why some people were not welcome even though it's a public university and the protesters included people affiliated with the school.
North Carolina Central University is part of the UNC System, which has a policy on free speech and free expression.
The policy states, "University members can assemble as long as it doesn't 'substantially disrupt the functioning' of the school."
Meier said North Carolina Central could break up a protest on those grounds. Yet, that is not what the university cited.
"If the issue is they weren't invited, I think that's a problem," Meier said. "If the issue is they became disruptive, became damaging or broke the law, I think that's certainly a different question."
Precedent from other schools in the system shows outside groups can conduct protests on campus. Several years ago, there were protests around a Confederate statue at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
"The First Amendment is broad," Meier said. "I'd be hard pressed to say that an institution could come up with their own policy that said students and faculty cannot invite people onto campus."
NC Central students: Limited space, mold, messes
WRAL News spoke to several students who participated in the rally.
"A lot of our dorms currently have mold in them," said Waverly Hill, a freshman student at North Carolina Central.
“The bathroom is always looking [like] a mess,” said Derald Boney, another freshman at the university.
Senior student Jasilyn Brown said she shares an off-campus apartment with another senior because, she says, the university did not have space for them on campus.
Dixon's statement addressed those concerns as well.
She wrote, "Although we provide more housing per student than the average public university in North Carolina, we are not immune to the broader national housing crisis, which is affecting the general public and college campuses across the country — particularly those experiencing growth, like ours. We are actively engaging public partners and private apartment complexes that are open to partnerships to expand quality housing options that our students can afford."
In August 2024, the university announced record-breaking growth in enrollment with 1,918 first-year students, 296 transfer students and 18 second-degree students. The class is expected to be the largest the university has seen in 15 years.
North Carolina Central University opened three new residential halls in 2022
The $55.4 million North Carolina Central University Student Center officially opened in January 2022 and replaced the Alfonso Elder Student Center, which was built in 1968.
North Carolina Central also opened three new residential halls in 2022: Lawson Street Residential Complex, Alston Avenue Apartments and George Street Residential Complex. The public-private partnership with Provident Resources Group Inc. added a total of 1,274 new beds in semi-suite and apartment-style units.
The Alston Avenue Apartments and George Street Residential Apartments opened in late 2020. The Lawson Street Residential Complex opened in January 2022.
Mold problems at North Carolina Central University in 2003
In August 2003, North Carolina Central University shut down two dormitories because of toxic black mold, moving about 500 students to hotels and other off-campus housing arrangements.