In January of 2019, Col. John Bogdan, former head of the Guantanamo Bay prison, was hired as UNC Charlotte’s vice chancellor of security. Despite his background in overseeing forced genital searches, force feeding, and use of rubber bullets on Guantanamo bay detainees, UNC Charlotte and soon-to-be-former Chancellor Dubois has continuously and emphatically defended this seemingly indefensible decision to keep him as the Associate Vice Chancellor of Security, giving him control of the campus police.

Now, more than ever, putting black and brown students at risk by the further militarization of campus police is an inexcusably racist act. By disregarding the UNC Charlotte community’s safety in the name of, ironically, “campus security,” Chancellor Dubois has shown that he is more than just complicit in the systemic racism that has sparked protest across the country in the past month. Rather, by so vigorously defending his decision to bring John Bogdan into the administrative staff, he has proven himself to be an enactor of the very racism that countless UNC Charlotte students have been brutalized in the process of protesting.

Dr. Sharon Gaber, as the incumbent chancellor of UNC Charlotte, you have an opportunity to make things right. Chancellor Dubois has advised you to make no further response, and to “consider the matter closed”. If you care about the university that you will soon come to know, you will end this racist dismissal of concerns and listen the the black and brown voices of our community when they say:

”We do not feel safe.”