UNC Trustees Approve Move Of 'Silent Sam' To New Building

The trustees of North Carolina's flagship university have approved a proposal to construct a new building to house a toppled Confederate monument.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill trustees overwhelmingly approved the plan Monday, though at least one member voted no.

The proposal now goes the Board of Governors that oversees the statewide university system. They're expected to take it up at a meeting Dec. 14.

Chancellor Carol Folt, who presented the plan, stressed that she would have preferred to move the statue completely off campus but that option would likely have conflicted with a state law governing Confederate statues and other monuments.

Instead, the statue will be housed in a new building south of the university's hospital. That area is far removed from the main quad where the statue previously stood.

The statue of an anonymous soldier is known as "Silent Sam" and was erected on a main campus quad in 1913.