A message from Chancellor Gaber and CDO Brandon Wolfe

Dear Niner Nation,

We wanted to make you aware of an incident that occurred yesterday, Thursday, Sept. 22, in the Student Union and the actions our University is taking following this event.

Yesterday, UNC Charlotte dispatch received a 911 call reporting someone with a knife in the building. Police officers responded to the scene and engaged the individual in question. During this interaction, the individual was placed in handcuffs while officers took possession of the object. The handcuffs were removed after the object was retrieved.

Further investigation showed the item was a kirpan, an article of faith in Sikhism.

State law and University policy prohibit the possession of a knife or other edged instruments on campus, but we will use this as a learning opportunity by engaging in constructive dialogue with Sikh students and employees. Together, we are confident we can find reasonable measures and educational opportunities that both protect the safety of our campus and the religious practices of our community members.

Our diversity makes us a better, richer, more successful community. We want every Niner to feel welcomed, supported and safe. We apologize that is not what this young man felt in our union yesterday. We are committed to ensuring it doesn’t happen again.

Sincerely,

Sharon L. Gaber
Chancellor

Brandon L. Wolfe
Chief Diversity Officer