In Depth with Dan: Multiple people arrested during protest on North Carolina Central University campus
So we are learning a bit more now about the
5 people arrested in protests on the campus at NC
Central yesterday
One of them we've learned is a history professor and
they face a variety of charges like trespassing and resisting
arrest
WRO's Monica Casey has been covering this story since the
protest began and she reports now on what's next
NC Central students say they have concerns about the quality
of housing here on campus in dorms like these ones
They cite issues including mold bugs and flooding and they
think there isn't enough housing here on campus
over housing crisscrossing NC Central's campus Wednesday afternoon ended with
5 arrests
The people charged range in age from 18 to 26
Jalen Glasgow and Mariah Flowers are charged with the misdemeanor
of resisting a public officer
Flowers' arrest warrant says she opened the door to a
school building to let protesters
Inside Jose Estrella faces three misdemeanors failure to disperse on
command second degree trespass and resisting a public officer
His warrant says he organized the protest
Daniel Atwood is also charged with resisting a public officer
He told me he is an instructor of history at
NC Central and he was there to support his students
Michael
faces two misdemeanors and 1 felony assaulting a law enforcement
officer
That's a charge that could carry new consequences if this
amendment to the budget passes
It says anyone convicted would not be able to receive
in-state tuition or scholarships or grants
I believe it's unconstitutional
Democratic Senator Greg Meyer representing Orange County
opposing that amendment and they probably will regret it for
the rest of their life but I don't want that
kid to lose their access to college because of that
one stupid mistake
In Durham Monica Casey WREL News
Thanks to Monica
Now on this topic let's take a quick step back
for a moment because while these while these protests at
NC Central might have looked like something we have seen
before they weren't not exactly
Now you remember the protests at UNC around this time
last year
It was all about the war in Gaza
They were disrupting classes
There were arrests that were made and you might remember
when they replaced the American flag with the Palestinian flag
A couple of months ago on Duke's campus students protested
White House policies on DEI
Earlier today the protesters were back out on Duke's campus
protesting the deportation of international students
Now if you put all those videos side by side
pieces of them anyway with the protests with NC Central
you might not see much of a difference but if
you listen there is one big difference and it's the
message
You see NC Central students weren't protesting foreign wars or
politics
They weren't appealing to the White House or demanding enormous
change to culture or the world order
These students have a problem with something very specific and
right in front of them housing and they want the
university to do something about it
NC Central has had problems with its dorms for a
long time
WREO reported on this for years
In 2003 Black Mold closed two dorms for a year
pushing out 500 students
In 2007 the university bought Eagle Landing under the previous
owner state
Inspectors found multiple violations
The university fixed most of those problems but delayed work
on the building's heating and air systems
In 2012 NCCU welcomed a huge freshman class but there
were too many students
Many of the upper classmen actually had to move into
hotels
In 2019 the school made a big move
They announced projects to build 3 new residence halls residence
halls enough to add 1200 new beds and alleviate the
housing shortage they were dealing with
Construction wrapped up in 2022 and the students moved in
The university also built a new student center
They were making moves last year
NC Central then demolished one of its oldest dormitories Baines
Hall
Like many of the older campus dorms it was built
back in the 60s
The supply and demand problem did crop up again last
year when NC Centro announced record breaking growth in enrollment
Now that said we've got to be fair here and
give some context because there is another side of the
coin you know those new buildings did help
Right now NC Central offers more housing
Per student than the average university does across the UNC
system and we should say many students do report having
a great experience there
We found these videos on TikTok students giving virtual tours
of their dorm rooms proudly showing off their new digs
to their friends and family but a report in the
university student newspaper found many students have a different experience
They posted photos like these leaks in Eagleton flooding in
Rush Hall roaches in Lawson
That report mentioned busted washing machines showers and elevators and
university leaders acknowledge there is a problem
Chancellor Kerry Dixon wrote in a statement We hear you
We are committed to doing all that is within our
resources to improve our housing conditions and inventory
Also a few days after that student report the Senate
introduced a spending bill that Dixon is trying to get
past
Senate Bill 5
96 and this would provide $100 million in state funding
to address problems on NC Central's campus
HVAC systems fire safety and plumbing $9 million for roof
replacements water damage and mold prevention and another $60 million
to replace utility infrastructure things like water and electricity
Right now that bill is in committee
Look protesting the big things the global and political conflicts
of our time that is certainly understandable of course the
issues are tied up in history and culture but they're
also nuanced and complicated
It's why people feel moved to protest
It's it's also why the changes often come pretty slowly
That's why I found this NC Central protest so striking
It wasn't complicated
It's about where they go to bed each and every
night
And it sounds like the university has heard them and
is trying to make some changes
We'll see how it all plays out
Let me know what you think about all of it
Send me an email dan@WRL.com
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