UNC-Chapel Hill responds after professors threaten to withhold students' grades to support anti-Israel rioters

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is cautioning professors and faculty members against withholding students’ final grades after students expressed concerns some professors were going to do so in an apparent protest against the university.

After anti-Israel demonstrations sprang up on the campus, university administrators took action to restore order on the campus. Students who participated in the unrest faced disciplinary action. Professors at UNC-Chapel Hill reportedly planned to show support for those students who were allegedly suspended from the university by organizing an effort to withhold all students’ final grades.

On Tuesday, UNC-Chapel Hill Provost Chris Clemens and Graduate School Dean Beth Mayer-Davis sent a letter to deans and department chairs addressing the apparent protest.

"We are hearing concerns from students whose instructors have informed them they will withhold grades as part of a protest. These students depend on the timely submission of their grades for graduation, jobs, and athletic eligibility, and it is part of the required duties of all faculty and graduate TAs to submit grades by the registrar deadlines," Clemens and Mayer-Davis said in the joint statement.

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The university’s statement comes after UNC students were notified that some professors "along with many other faculty, teaching assistants, fellows, and graders" would be protesting the university’s disciplinary action against the 15 suspended students by withholding grades.

Rep. Richard Hudson, R-NC, said professors who withhold students' grades should be "immediately" terminated from the university.

"UNC professors should be protecting students who are targets of antisemitism and violence. They should not be protecting the bigots and antisemites. Fire any faculty or staff participating in withholding grades immediately," he tweeted on X.

On Monday, several students got a message via the school portal that said: "In solidarity with these students, I [the unnamed author] (along with many other faculty, teaching assistants, fellows, and graders across campus) have decided to withhold my reporting of final grades to the Registrar’s Office," the Carolina Journal reported.

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"On May 13, if the administration has not reinstated the suspended students, you will see a NR (for Not Reported) on your transcript," the message board read. "An NR does not change your GPA positively or negatively, and can remain on your transcript until the end of the following semester. I will keep a personal record of your grades so that, once the administration meets our demands, the grades you earned will be recorded."

The university responded to the apparent protest by warning that professors could face "sanctions."

"Dear Deans and Department Chairs, we are asking you to please work with your faculty and graduate students to ensure that we follow exemplary practice in our work as educators," Clemens and Mayer-Davis wrote. "We strongly support the right of faculty and graduate students to express their opinions freely but there are better ways to do this than hurting our students and abrogating our contract with the people of North Carolina who support our university."

They continued: "We are counting on your leadership in this matter."  

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"The provost's office will support sanctions for any instructor who is found to have improperly withheld grades, but it is our hope we can resolve this matter amicably and without harm to students," the letter added.

And: "Excellence in the classroom and in research are a credit to the institution and a vital service to the students and people of North Carolina. It would be a disservice to all of you and to the institution if a minority of instructors were to damage the trust we hold with our students by withholding grades. Thank you for your support."

The university ultimately requested police remove the encampment on April 30.

As WRAL reported, the apparent protest and university response comes after more than 700 UNC-Chapel Hill faculty and staff signed a petition to grant amnesty to the students facing disciplinary action after last week's protests.

The university employees argued the protest was peaceful but administrators said the four-day encampment resulted in damages to the school and presented a safety hazard to those traveling and staying on campus.

Despite the demonstrations, UNC-Chapel Hill has said it plans to continue with its scheduled commencement ceremony on May 11.