UNC’s academic year wrapped up with several weeks of contentious demonstrations against the war in Gaza, culminating (but not ending) with a tent encampment that drew a forceful response from campus police. Organized by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), the encampment went up on April 26 and lasted through the weekend, but police broke it up on the morning of April 30 – arresting three dozen people – citing violations of campus rules. Tensions escalated afterward, though, leading to a standoff that afternoon where protestors removed a U.S. flag from a pole and replaced it with a Palestinian flag. UNC officials later issued a statement defending the police response, though the statement drew some pushback – in part because it attempted to justify the morning’s action by citing the flag incident, which didn’t take place until the afternoon. UNC’s statement also included details about a spike in antisemitic incidents on campus; there’s no direct evidence tying those incidents to ...