On Monday morning, the Spirit Rock in front of Fisher Student Union was painted teal, apparently its default “offline” mode. The rock was watched over by a staff member, sitting in a lawn chair, enjoying a light snack, a few paces away. He told WHQR things had been quiet.
That’s a stark contrast to last week, when a memorial for slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, painted on the rock, led to clashes between student groups, and escalating threats and tensions online, culminating in a three-hour lockdown on campus on Thursday day night, as hundreds of law enforcement officers from numerous local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies swept the campus and investigated the threats.
Both of UNCW’s Spirit Rocks are currently “offline,” as the university referred to it, “part of comprehensive measures to de-escalate concerns about safety that emerged last week.”
In a statement from the Office of University Relations on behalf of the Division of Student Affairs, the university said, “UNCW values the opportunity for our campus community to actively engage in freedom of expression activities to encourage dialogue and a robust exchange of ideas. Given the tensions that emerged on campus last week related to the spirit rock located outside of Fisher Student Union, as well as external responses and threats to campus, UNCW will temporarily discontinue use of campus spirit rocks and pause freedom of expression events. Painting on both spirit rocks, located outside the Fisher Student Union and Wagoner Dining Hall, will not be allowed. Any currently scheduled freedom of expression permits issued for University Amphitheater and Wagoner lawn will be rescheduled for later dates. These actions will begin immediately until further notice.”
UNCW noted that “students continue to have a variety of avenues for free expression, including displays under UNCW Policy 02.360 and 02.370 Policy on Demonstrations, spontaneous expressions that do not materially disrupt campus activities and align with time, place and manner considerations and facility use and student organization reservations.”
The university has ramped up police presence around campus, and has set up an Incident Response FAQs website.
UNCW also called for “civility and mutual respect.”
“As a community, it is important that we pause and reaffirm our commitment to the Seahawk Respect Compact, which calls for an environment of civility and mutual respect. This temporary pause on spirit rock and scheduled freedom of expression locations will be helpful in this effort. Any actions that violate this pause will be addressed in accordance with the Code of Student Life and campus policies based on facility use, not based on the content of the message or expression itself,” the university said in a statement.