While the state already has a ban against same-sex marriage, the amendment means North Carolina will no longer recognize civil unions or domestic partnerships for any couples, and will have an impact on benefits and protections those couples recieve.

With votes still being tallied, the AP called the amendment as passing when it led by about 60/40 at 9:15 p.m.

While the amendment easily passed among socially conservative voters in the state, the vote divide between rural and urban counties was striking. Orange County, where UNC is located, voted against the amendment, 79/21 percent.

Here’s the breakdown of votes on the amendment by county.

Check out our map showing vote tallies by county.

Pollsters had predicted that the amendment would pass by a wide margin, but few expected the margin of passage to be so high.

Amendment’s going to pass by more than polls suggested as usually happens- something to keep in mind for MD, MN, and WA this fall #ncpol

— PublicPolicyPolling (@ppppolls) May 9, 2012

The amendment earned opposition from urban metro counties, such as Orange (21/79), Wake (43/57), Mecklenburg (45/55), New Hanover (48/52) and Durham (29/71) counties.

However, many rural counties had very few votes in opposition, showing a conservative strength that will prove difficult for Obama to overcome in November.

Obama, who has not come out in support of gay marriage and said his views on the topic are “evolving,” gained criticism this week for refusing to take a stance on the issue. Reporters also expressed suspicion that his refusal to take a strong stance is closely tied to his November re-election efforts.

North Carolina remains an important swing state for Obama. He’s campaigned here several times this year, and will need conservative Southern voters to win re-election in November.

Pro-amendment supporters were ecstatic by the results, calling it an important step toward preserving marriage, and Tweeting photos of a celebratory wedding cake:

And North Carolina is for Marriage! #4MarriageNC

— VoteFORMarriageNC (@Vote4MarriageNC) May 9, 2012

The celebration cake as it should be! #4MarriageNC twitter.com/Vote4MarriageN…

— VoteFORMarriageNC (@Vote4MarriageNC) May 8, 2012

Meanwhile, opponents of the ban are decrying North Carolina’s vote, calling it a backwards step more in line with the South’s past of racism than a move forward:

North Carolina, really???

— Eric Stangel (@EricStangel) May 9, 2012

North Carolina, really???

— Eric Stangel (@EricStangel) May 9, 2012

on the upside, I’m guessing fewer people will now appear puzzled when I state my opposition to direct democracy

— Jason Roberts (@ProfJRoberts) May 9, 2012

I look forward to telling my grandkids that I was on the right side of a civil rights movement, just as my grandparents have told me #voteno

— Dean Drescher (@deandrescher) May 9, 2012

Way to be a bad southern cliche North Carolina. I’m sure your grandkids will look back on this day in horror. #loveisnotamistake

— Meghan McCain (@McCainBlogette) May 9, 2012

According to the most recent poll from Public Policy Polling, the amendment is likely to pass, by as much as a predicted 15 point margin. More than 500,000 North Carolinians have already voted early in the primary according to the State Board of Elections.

reesenews will be collecting images of North Carolina heading to the voting booth and asking voters their opinion on Amendment One. Our homepage will feature a Google Map displaying photos, quotes, and Tweets featuring voters across the state.

Have a photo or a story to share? Tweet your photos at us at @reesenews, or email them to newsroom@reesenews.org.

Read up on today’s election:

(News and Observer) President Barack Obama planned to visit North Carolina on election day

(FiveThirtyEight) North Carolina’s ban on gay marriage appears likely to pass

(Huffington Post) What would Dr. King say about Amendment One?

(WNCT) Church leaders run the gamut when it comes to Amendment One

(The Guardian) North Carolina: Civil rights groups urge voters to oppose gay marriage ban

(The New York Times) Bigotry on the Ballot

(Religion Dispatches) NC’s Amendment 1: “It’s going to hurt the church”

(Christian Science Monitor) North Carolina ready for constitutional ban on gay marriages, says poll

(POLITICO) North Carolina governor: Gay marriage ban “hurts our brand”

(CNN) Bill Clinton chimes in on NC same-sex marriage ban

If passed, the amendment would leave some couples and their families strangers in the eyes of the law.

The proposed constitutional amendment reads: “Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state.” It could potentially invalidate adoptions by same-sex parents across the state.

In addition, the amendment might affect domestic violence protections for unmarried couples, child custody and visitation rights, and other rights available to married people.

Mimi Schiffman, a photographer, videographer and multimedia producer pursuing a master’s degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has spent months following a few families who could be affected by the passage of the amendment.

The stories that appear here, part of a documentary project Schiffman is producing for her thesis, were first published in the Huffington Post.

In one of the videos, 12-year-old Isak Atkins-Pearcy says he is fighting for what he believes in.

“I think in a world where everything is right, you could love anyone you wanted to,” he says.

He’s been working alongside his parents and with his school chapter of the Gay-Straight Alliance to defeat the amendment.

In this video, one North Carolina explains their view of what’s at stake behind North Carolina’s proposed Amendment One.

“You can term it whatever you want,” Kathy Sullivan said, “but you really cannot look at these relationships and determine they are anything but family.

In a small school near downtown Durham, N.C., a group of 11-, 12- and 13-year-olds has been busy organizing a field-trip.

Watch as a middle school’s gay-straight alliance, GLOW – for Gay, Lesbian or Whatever – embarks on an adventure in civic engagement with real consequences for many of the club’s members.

“They don’t really see kids as having an idea of how they want their future to be like,” said Sarah, a GLOW member, “but when we actually voice our opinion it really does make a difference.”

“You know, everybody says it’s just a word, but there’s more to it. There’s a feeling of belonging,” said Jeff Enochs of Charlotte, N.C. “I wanted my state to recognize that we are going to spend the rest of our lives together.”

Watch Jeff and his partner Brian Helms travel to Washington, D.C., the closest place they can legally marry.

So how safe are Chapel Hill’s parks?

Since 2011 there have been 42 violations of the law within Chapel Hill Parks and the Bolin Creek Trail greenway, according to data received from Chapel Hill Police Department. Of the 42 incidents, four were drug-related and three were alcohol-related.

Here is a map of all of the incidents:

View Park Safety in a larger map

“I think the parks are very safe,” said Jim Orr, assistant director of recreation operations. “Typically at all of the athletic fields and events we have a staff member present for general oversight and to make sure that the park is safe.”

The most common incident involved property, such as willful damage of property, vandalism, or larceny. There were only four sightings of suspicious persons or vehicles and only three violent crimes: assault, fighting and attempted robbery.

“Most crimes are graffiti related,” Orr said. “But we have procedure to call the police within 24 hours and remove it. We do take precautions against it such as bike patrols by the police.”

In regards to other crimes, Orr said that those were isolated incidents.

How to get involved

Check out the Chapel Hill Police Department Police2Citizen website. It lists the North Carolina Sex Offenders Registry and also has assistance for anyone who has been a victim.

The Chapel Hill police also assist in the Community Safety Partnership and Project Safe Neighborhood. In both of the programs, citizens promise to watch for suspicious activity to keep their community safe.

DeLuca’s letter, published April 17 in the Daily Tar Heel, urged students to “storm the campus dorms to raise awareness about early voting and the simple facts about Amendment One’s broad reach.”

The next day, DeLuca received a message via Facebook from UNC junior James Dodson, who criticized the letter – and DeLuca.

“I gathered two things from your DTH letter,” Dodson wrote. “First, you are not even capable of listening to any sort of real debate on the issue about which you are concerned.”

Using crude language, Dodson then suggested that DeLuca enjoys homosexual acts.

Dodson did not respond to multiple messages requesting comment.

DeLuca posted a screenshot of the message from Dodson on his own Facebook page.

“As hate comes from individuals,” DeLuca wrote on Facebook, “we become the living embodiment of the ideas we express and James is facing and will continue to face the consequences of that reality. I don’t know who James Dodson is as a person. I do know, despite being a bully, James is part of the Carolina community and I personally forgive him for what he wrote to me.”

DeLuca said it was time someone spoke up against what he says Dodson represents.

“It was not a matter of opinions different from mine,” DeLuca said. “This was a personal attack. So I figured, you know what, we have to make an example out of him.”
THE FALLOUT

Outcry in response to DeLuca’s Facebook post was immediate and explosive.

At press time, the post had been shared 73 times and “liked” 367 times. It also received 57 comments, most of which supported DeLuca:

Junior Swati Rayasam said that the incident between Dodson and DeLuca shocked her. Rayasam, editor-in-chief of LAMBDA magazine and an executive board member of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Straight Alliance, said that said she was aware that some would vote in favor of Amendment One. But she said she was appalled that a college student would send such a message.

“I was shocked that he said that to somebody and didn’t expect this to happen, and especially shocked that he continued to post things about this in support of his own beliefs even though he had gone totally viral,” she said.

In a Facebook status message, Dodson suggested that he does not regret his message.

“I have really enjoyed the last 24 hrs. Nothing I said was at all bigoted.”

Dodson’s fraternity, the Psi Chapter of Sigma Nu, distanced itself from Dodson’s comments.

Chapter President Kyle Ancharski distributed a press release stating that Dodson does not speak for the fraternity.

“While Mr. Dodson is entitled to hold his own opinion on such matters and entitled to his right to free speech, the Psi Chapter believes his comments are not conducive to, or reflective of, the kind of civil discourse expected by excellent institutions such as the University of North Carolina and Sigma Nu Fraternity,” the release said.

A UNIVERSITY RESPONSE?

Some students said the University should respond to Dodson’s comment.

“It’s a huge issue of safety on campus,” said Rayasam, the LAMBDA magazine editor. “Having Honor Court and especially UNC involved in incidents of hate is incredibly important just because if it’s something that the University officials do not condone, by not prosecuting it, they do.”

“I feel like engaging the administration is important just to have it reported,” DeLuca said. “I have been encouraged by some people to file an Honor Court report.”

IS IT HATE SPEECH?

But because of legal strong protections for free speech, there may be little the University can do when a student sends a derogatory message to another.

The First Amendment of the Constitution provides explicit protection for speech. In some cases, courts have ruled that hateful speech is not protected by the Constitution.

From a legal standpoint, speech needs to meet specific criteria in order to be stripped of its protection, said Dean of Students Jonathan Sauls. But no single definition of hate speech exists, he said.

If speech is determined to be hate speech, said Sauls, it’s because it’s speech that is equivalent to an action, such as a plausible threat.

“Naturally, that should be probably a fairly limited amount of speech,” Sauls said. “We can be harmed, offended, regard something as wholly uncivil and insensitive, that doesn’t necessarily mean that my subjective experience of that speech makes it unprotected.”

Sauls, who received a law degree from UNC School of Law in 1997, said that in his view, the point at which speech enters illegal territory is when it becomes so disruptive that the community in general thinks the speech can’t be tolerated.

“You have a right to say offensive things. But when that crosses over and creates a hostile environment that’s so severe or pervasive that it essentially disrupts an individual or group of individual’s ability to draw the same right and privileges as anybody else, that’s the point at which you cross over,” Sauls said.

“I have no problem acknowledging that it seems on its face to be absolutely repugnant speech, just, not sensitive, not civil, and those are understatements,” Sauls said of Dodson’s language. Even so, he said he doesn’t feel comfortable labeling Dodson’s comments as meeting hate speech criteria without judicial review.

VANDALISM AT N.C. STATE

After someone painted racial slurs in the Free Expression Tunnel at North Carolina State University, former UNC President Erskine Bowles appointed a commission to identify whether the University system should take a more stringent approach to regulating hateful speech and conduct.

In its March 31, 2009 review, the commission said that students should hold themselves to high codes of conduct, that the University system had a strong commitment to free speech, and that the UNC Board of Governors should not define “hate.”

“Student codes should include language that defines the conduct that is illegal based upon specific statutes or laws, rather than a prohibition of ‘hate crimes’ per se,” the task force wrote. “We discourage the use of the term ‘hate crimes’ in a policy.”

Katherine Lewis Parker, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina and one of the task force’s advisors, said that she urged the committee to leave out the term.

“We weighed in because we were concerned about the possibility that they would ban hate speech,” she said. “Our concern is, hate speech, while we don’t like it, is nevertheless protected by the First Amendment.”

In a letter to the task force, Parker explained that hate speech codes “only treat the symptom. The problem itself is bigotry.”

In its final draft, the Board of Governors listed eight criteria for “addressing specific student conduct that could lead to disciplinary action” that all 16 schools in the system now reference in campus disciplinary matters.

Currently, policy at the University is operating under the provisions of an interim code consistent with newer federal regulations that extends into matters of speech as they involve protected classes of people.

Right now, the policy grants the University the right to send special cases to an emergency committee. The University will likely implement a more comprehensive policy to respond to harassment in August, Sauls said.

Student Attorney General Amanda Claire Grayson wrote in an email that hate speech might violate the University’s policy on student conduct in sections of the Honor Code that deal with harassment or intimidation and threats.

It is important to understand, Sauls said, that the Honor System would not define any speech as hate speech, but would define speech as being in violation of the Honor Code.

And while the University cannot issue a punishment outside of the Honor System, the administration can take other action

“Can we have a conversation with a student? Sure,” Sauls said. “Can we have an educational moment of some description? Sure. But neither the Dean of Students Office nor anyone else can replace the campus disciplinary process.”

DeLuca said that he had been in contact with Dean Blackburn, assistant dean of students and community relations, and that the University was working with him to outline a plan for Dodson.

“Because he didn’t make a threat, there’s not much the Dean of Students Office can do,” DeLuca said. “It’s more of an insult.”

DeLuca said that some of the things he and Blackburn have been discussing include compelling Dodson to attend Safe Zone training, a diversity program that supports students of every sexual orientation.
WHAT’S NEXT?

DeLuca said in an email that he does not plan to seek Honor Court review of Dodson’s message, and instead is planning on letting the administration handle it.

“I don’t have time to go through an Honor Court proceeding this close to exams,” DeLuca wrote. “This is already taking up a too much of my time.”

But Michael Waltman, a professor of communication studies who researches hate speech, said the conversation that Dodson’s message sparked may be a better response than any punishment the University could hand out.

“Most of us who study hate speech and care about free speech and care about civil liberties believe that the best answer to hate speech is more speech,” he said. “It is people responding.”

The annual event showcases the best short films of the 2011-2012 school year produced by media production students in the UNC department of communication studies. The films were selected by a jury.

The event was held at the Varsity Theatre, and admission was free for those with a UNC-Chapel Hill ID and $4 for everyone else. The Ackland Film Forum is a collaboration between the Ackland Art Museum and various departments at UNC. Its purpose is to showcase different aspects of cinema and to highlight the power of film through movie screenings hosted throughout the year.

Planning the event

The first part of the festival lasted from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m and featured 10 short films.

The topics of the films were wide-ranging yet mostly dark: Zombies, a possible apocalypse and suicide were just a few of the dark subjects addressed by these films.

“There’s a lot of similar themes between a lot of them,” said senior Alaina Braswell, the student organizer and emcee of the event. “We were like, ‘All right, we need to throw in a couple of comedies somewhere.’”

Braswell was a part of the jury that selected the films, which was comprised of two undergraduate students, two faculty members and one graduate student.

The planning for the festival began at the beginning of the semester, and students were asked to submit their films for review.

“We actually got more submissions than I thought we would,” Braswell said. Over 50 films were submitted, and the jury spent an afternoon looking over and choosing the films.

Braswell said 18 or so films were chosen for the festival.

An annual event

This is the second year the Swain Lot Film Festival has occurred. A few seniors who have since graduated organized it last year, and Braswell said that because it was so successful, students wanted to try to do it again this year.

However, the festival underwent some changes. This year, the Ackland Film Forum sponsored the event and gave it two nights at the Varsity.

UNC media production professor Francesca Talenti worked with the Ackland to make the arrangement happen. Talenti also suggested that students and faculty work together for the festival.

“[The festival] was just students last year, and then the faculty juried one was done separately, and I said, ‘Well, why don’t we do it together this next year?’ and it’s working,” Talenti said.

Seeing their work on a big screen

“I’m really grateful that we had this chance because I think a lot of people don’t know what the COMM department does and how hard a lot of us work to make these things,” said Braswell, whose film “A Story About the End of the World (Maybe)” was screened Thursday.

“We get so used to showing them in a classroom setting that it’s really great for us to get to see all this work that we’ve done on a bigger screen and in a public setting.”

Junior Justin Ellis said it was “amazing” to see his film, “Experimental Education” screened at the festival.

“Seeing my work and my own image on the Varsity screen was a surreal experience,” Ellis said. “I’ve spent a year working as an usher in a multiplex back in Raleigh, so seeing my own face and name on the big screen was quite a treat. I can’t wait to do it again.”

Take a look at Ellis’ film “Experimental Education” below:

Audience reaction

Sophomore Mary Monastyrsky, who co-starred in “Experimental Education,” attended the event.

“It’s really exciting to see students producing great work,”  Monastyrsky said. “It reminds me that school is more than just tests — it’s about the experience of learning and creating.”

The audience seemed to enjoy the event, Monastyrsky added.

“It seemed like most of the people were either the film creators or friends of the creators, so they all reacted well,” she said. “There wasn’t any booing, which was nice!”

The second part of the festival, which will also feature selected student short films, will be held on Thursday, May 3, 2012. It will take place at the Varsity Theatre at 7 p.m., and admission is the same.

The festival is sponsored by the department of communication studies and North Carolina Public Radio WUNC.

Paula Seligson, The Daily Tar Heel: Do you think encouraging innovation at the university level is sufficient, or is it something that should start earlier on in a person’s education?

Neil deGrasse Tyson: If you go back to the 1960s there was the World’s Fair in New York City, 1964, and that was all about tomorrow. It’s easy to think to yourself that it was things like the World’s Fair that created the attitude that we should dream about tomorrow. However, I think it’s the opposite of that. I think it was the decade of discovery, because we were headed to the moon, that created the culture out of which the World’s Fair arose.

So for you to ask what should we do to promote innovation implies that innovation is something that we need to convince people that it is a good thing to do, with some kind of program or possibly even arm-twisting. And I claim, if the government as we did in the 1960s… takes on a huge mission statement… then great discoveries will be writ large on the daily papers and people will see what that is and what it means and the kinds of professions that drive it. And they will feel compelled from within to want to innovate, to want to study in the STEM fields, science, technology, engineering and math.

That’s the climate that I look forward to creating. Not that I can create it, but it takes a nation to do that.

Kelsey Tsipis, Reesenews: I was wondering if you had any advice or what you think the media can do to make science topics more engaging for viewers?

Tyson: If we are going into space in a big way, discoveries will write their own headlines … 85 percent of the time (I’m interviewed on TV by the media), it’s because the universe flinched and they came to me for a soundbite. It’s not because I force anybody to try to have to care. They actually do care.

I used to think I was biased that the universe was a cool place. I’m not biased, it actually is cool. And if you just show that to people, they will realize how cool it is themselves. And in fact, the future I long for is not one where everybody is a scientist or an engineer. That would be a boring future. I want the artists, the journalists. I want the comedians, the actors, the lawyers. I want everybody who fleshes out society. But in an innovation culture, those other professions, not directly derived from the STEM fields, they then embrace those discoveries … That would be a space faring culture.

Seligson: What should we do now to get to the point that we’re at a space faring culture?

Tyson: Right now NASA comes to Congress every year with a hat in hand, waiting for the handout. You know, it’s like the breadline, here’s your ration. And I’m thinking, “Excuse me, this is NASA here you’re talking about.” And NASA, embodied within this agency, are the space faring dreams of a nation. So what needs to happen is our future in space has to be a fundamental part of what the electorate cares about and when that happens it is no longer a handout in the budget cycle. It is no longer a function of the political whims of one candidate or another because we the people have compelled our elected officials to do this.

Tsipis: Can you elaborate on what the social and cultural implications of billionaires starting asteroid drilling?

Tyson: I think that’s cool. That’s a headline that should have been around 20 years ago, as an extension of the fact that we’d gone into space and visited the moon.

If you look at Columbus, he was a discoverer of course, but the people who wrote the checks were not discoverers. Queen Isabella, she didn’t say, “Oh, uh, Chris, when you come back just tell us the things you saw and draw pictures of the plants and flowers that you noticed and report that to the academic halls of our land.” No, she said, “Here’s a satchel of Spanish flags, plant them at any land you hit and, by the way, find a shorter trade route to the far East.”

There were whole other priorities that were going on there that actually had nothing or very little to do with exploration. And I’ve come to accept that. I don’t like it, but I recognize that what drives major expenditures of nations is the help and the survival of that nation. We shouldn’t sweep that fact under the rug, this is just a conduct of states in the interest of their own survival.

Listen to the interview:

Watch Dr. Tyson on The Daily Show the day before he came to UNC:

See what people were tweeting about:

But, they only looked at five pieces.

Saturday, April 28th, was the Ackland’s first Slow Art Day, a global event started in 2009.  The mission is to focus as much attention to the art and the art of seeing.

Amanda Hughes, the museum’s director of external affairs, led the tour around the museum.  She said she first heard about the movement on her Twitter feed.

“I was immediately engaged by the idea,” she said. “I recently read an essay that the slow food movement should give birth to a slow art movement. I love that.  The same way we want real food instead of fast food we might want slower engagement with art.”.

Hughes showcased works spanning from the 1620 to 2007.

The event boasts more than 100 participants worldwide.

Hughes said it’s important to have events like this to give people access points to art.

“Art museums value these objects.  We’ve spent our professional careers looking at them.  It’s important that we create new opportunities for people to join us in that work,” she says.

The tour ended with “The World According to Zell”, a work by South Carolina artist Aldwyth.  It’s a new addition to the museum.

The piece consisted of illustrations cut out from, “Zell’s Popular Encyclopedia” of 1876, placed into a sprawling collage.

Ackland plans to participate in the event next year.

“I received more than 40 emails asking me if I would hold the event again next year because they couldn’t attend.  We will definitely do it again.”

Watch the promotional video for Slow Art Day for the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery in Ontario, Canada.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj8PN9mf_es[/youtube]

Listen to sound from the Slow Art Day Experience.

The round-table talk, titled “From Counters to Camps: Social Justice Activism in a Changing World,” was held at the Hargraves Community Center and organized by the town’s Justice in Action Committee and Chapel Hill Public Library.

The panel discussion, which featured a slideshow of former social justice campaigns launched in Chapel Hill, centered around the way residents’ understanding of civic engagement, civil disobedience and political protest has changed. Former Chapel Hill Town Council member Sally Greene moderated the back-and-forth dialogue.

Greene kicked off the discussion by explaining past struggles she faced as a member of the town council, including the eventually successful bid to rename Airport Road in honor of the late Martin Luther King, Jr.

“All of that consternation brought to some of our attention, for the first time, what happened in the 60s,” she said. “Chapel Hill’s [1960s civil rights] story did not make the national news, and that’s due, in part, because it was handled so much better.”

Panelist Al McSurely, an NAACP lawyer and social rights activist, said he’s no stranger to fighting social injustice or exercising civil disobedience.

“[Back then] I disobeyed the law by suggesting that black and white people have a lot of things in common,” he said. “I have seen the situation we are in today at an earlier stage, and there are very many similarities to the reaction of the second reconstruction — from Brown vs. Board in 1954 to 1968 when Nixon won the presidency — to the movement today to reach out and open up new allies and friendships and cross out old stereotypes,” he said.

Kleinschmidt said his history with social justice activism is long and complex, but one with deep roots in Chapel Hill.

“I was a teaching fellow, largely because that’s how I paid for my college, and was fortunate enough to come here to Carolina to get my teaching degree,” he said. “I became very committed to education, and the experience of being a UNC student was extraordinary — you’re exposed to activism on an array of issues; it’s a special kind of exposure.”

Kleinschmidt, who said the five years he spent teaching at West Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte, N.C. opened his eyes to social injustices facing students, said he ran for town council with the intent to use the position as a soapbox.

“But one of the things I learned on the council is that government is limited in creating change,” he said. “I still try to use my position [as mayor] as a soapbox and to talk about important issues and influence other politicians who have the power to make the changes that I can not.”

Panelist and Occupy Chapel Hill supporter Steven Peterson said he embraced social justice activism later in life.

“For many years, my only kind of involvement was at the voting both….My feelings changed dramatically after my kids were born, and [I] saw the direction our community was going in as mean-spirited and alienating,” he said. “I see civil disobedience as a constructive way to create fast change in our society — it can engage the heart of the community, and by definition, it’s going to mean breaking laws….but the rest of us benefit greatly from the public discussion that comes as a result.”

Panelist Maya Handa, a senior at Chapel Hill High School, said she thinks there are two big problems limiting youth involvement in social justice campaigns.

“The first problem is [that] highschoolers tend to do things that will get them the most social acceptance at the least cost,” she said, “and the second problem is information bias — the key to getting students involved in social justice is to create a movement they can participate in with their friends.”

Panelist Jeremy Collins, a student at UNC’s School of Law, is the president of the UNC Black Law Students Association.

Hargraves Community Center, located at 216 North Roberson St., played host Sunday, April 29 to a panel discussion on changes in social justice activism. The center borders Chapel Hill's historically black Northside neighborhood. (Photo by Tyson Leonhardt)

“I’m a law student, and of the 270 students in my class, about 20 of us are African-American,” he said, “and many of my non-African-American and African-American friends don’t recognize we are still in a struggle.”

Collins stressed the importance of walking the walk in addition to talking the talk when it comes to social justice activism.

“We shouldn’t be disillusioned against our struggle, but it’s a different struggle than the one my parents were up against,” Collins said. “I think that the mentality of my father’s generation…. [they] came from the perspective of, ‘It can’t get much worse, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get it done,’ where now, we have to convince people that things can still get better, make those connections and be willing to spend a little more time educating.”

Handa, who works at Franklin Street’s Internationalist Books & Community Center and serves as vice president of the Chapel Hill Youth Council, said she thinks it’s key to motivate young people to get involved social justice campaigns.

The Rev. Robert Campbell, president of the local NAACP chapter and the event’s final panelist, stressed community collaboration.

“We must tell our story; we must speak out against the injustice with a loud voice,” he said. “When we speak as a collective voice and come together, we can create change.”

The reverend and long-time community activist said it’s imperative people become informed of social justice struggles going on in their backyards before lasting change can come about.

“There are visible fences, and then there are those invisible fences, that are out there, but which no one wants to talk about,” he explained. “My social disobedience became more of a dialogue, speaking to the injustice and also working on policies to bring forth resolution.”

Addressing the future of the Occupy Chapel Hill movement, Peterson said the group’s long-term outlook is unclear.

“I believe [the movement] is going to expand as it comes more apparent how wealth is accumulating at the top and our resources run out and people start saying, ‘Hey, this affects me.”

Kleinschmidt, who was criticized by several members of the audience for the town’s response to the Nov. 11, 2011 invasion of the former Yates Motor Company building, reminded the audience that the Chapel Hill Police Department has apologized and asked for their patience and understanding that he doesn’t pull all the strings in government.

“One of the problems with government is that it often can’t respond as quickly as people really need it to — the power of the people is what creates the real change,” he says. “But policy changes began immediately, and things are still going on.”

Per UNC tradition, scores of students dropped their clothes on the 8th floor of Davis Library and ran down through the building and out across campus.

Some students lined the buildings and the Pit in anticipation of the show, but many others were caught unaware.

Here’s a look at their reactions:

Let the streaking begin! #unc #finals

— Natalia Gonzalez (@artwearbynatis) April 27, 2012

Students wait for streakers to enter Davis Library. Jarrard Cole/reesenews

Security guard, on whether he’ll stop #DavisStreakers: “I guess it is illegal. But no, it’d be like running with the bulls.”

— Eliza Kern (@elizakern) April 27, 2012

Students react to streakers in Davis Library. Jarrard Cole/reesenews

Every year I’m like “aw I missed the library streakers”, until I remember the one year I didn’t miss it and did not enjoy it #onceisenough

— Alexa Burrell (@aburrell) April 27, 2012

A student reacts to streakers as they pass her in Davis library. Jarrard Cole/reesenews

first time seeing the streakers #wow

— Emily Carter (@_ello_emily) April 27, 2012

Ramses decided to join the #DavisStreakers tonight. No football or basketball jersey for him. It was graphic.

— Jarrard Cole (@jarrardcole) April 27, 2012

Streakers run through the Student Union. Eliza Kern/reesenews

Streakers skipped davis 4th floor? #why

— Nick Gratto (@NGratto12) April 27, 2012

Students react to the streakers in the Undergraduate Library. Carter McCall/reesenews

You know when youre a transfer when you have no idea the streakers are coming your way.

— Becky (@BeckyJill109) April 27, 2012

Students react to the streakers in the Undergraduate Library. Carter McCall/reesenews

Before the streaking,I was asked by a girl if I was taking pictures for business or pleasure. That’s a lose/lose situation for a photog

— Carter McCall (@Carter_McCall) April 27, 2012

Streakers and students sing "Hark the Sound" in the Undergraduate Library. Carter McCall/reesenews

Those streakers have balls! (Pun Intended) @uncproblems_

— Damie. (@Damie_G) April 27, 2012

Students react to streakers running through Davis Library. Jarrard Cole/reesenews

Students react to streakers running through Davis Library. Jarrard Cole/reesenews

Students react to streakers running through Davis Library. Jarrard Cole/reesenews

Students react to streakers running through Davis Library. Jarrard Cole/reesenews

Students react to streakers running through Davis Library. Jarrard Cole/reesenews

Students react to streakers running through Davis Library. Jarrard Cole/reesenews

Students react to streakers running through Davis Library. Jarrard Cole/reesenews