Two incidents in two days. The university posted a temporary Instagram story about one of them. It disappeared after 24 hours.
On August 29, 2026, members of UNC Chapel Hill’s Taiwanese Student Association were giving new students a campus tour on Polk Place when a group of white men began making monkey gestures at them and harassing them. The students reported it to campus police and the university compliance office the same day.
About two days later, a man entered a campus building during a late-night watch party hosted by Black student organizations. He shouted slurs. He threatened them with what was described as an “incendiary device.”
He later pleaded guilty to assault and disorderly conduct. He received a 60-day suspended sentence, 12 months of probation, and court-ordered mental health treatment.
UNC did not send an Alert Carolina emergency notification about the man who showed up to a Black student event with a weapon. Campus police posted an Instagram story instead. It expired.
Chancellor Lee Roberts said students don’t read campuswide emails. He said an Alert Carolina alert would have drawn criticism “from the other direction.” He said he is working on a campuswide communication process.
American Studies professor Sharon Holland said she found out about the intruder in her own building by reading the student newspaper. Black faculty sent a public “love letter” of support to affected students, signed by hundreds of community members.
The compliance office took three weeks to meet with the Taiwanese Student Association to view security footage from the tour incident, despite police having reviewed it and offered it within days. The case is currently listed as “inactive.”
A university trustee announced plans for a “real time response center” next fall and mentioned rapid drone deployment as a potential security measure.
The students say they will not stop being themselves on campus.
The university has not responded to WUNC’s request for an interview.