CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s public university system rejected a proposal Friday to build a $5 million structure to house a toppled Confederate statue, opting instead to “go back to the drawing board” to figure out what to do with the monument.
University of North Carolina System Chairman Harry Smith said cost was a primary concern in turning down the proposal to move the statue known as “Silent Sam” into a new building on the outskirts of the Chapel Hill flagship campus. The statewide Board of Governors passed a resolution Friday to have several of its members work on a new plan that’s due in March.