Black UNC Students Say the University Failed Them After a Racist Attack

Less than 30 minutes into a Love Island watch party on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, all hell broke loose 

On Aug. 31, several Black student organizations had gathered in a small building to watch the popular reality TV show when a white man walked in, yelling racial slurs. Things quickly escalated when the unknown man started throwing items at students before reaching into his bag. 

One student yelled, “He’s got a gun!” prompting attendees to hit the ground. But the man didn’t have a gun; he had what students later described as a “makeshift flamethrower.” 

Despite several students calling campus police, it took nearly 20 minutes for officers to arrive (at first, the police went to the wrong location). By the time they arrived, the suspect had left the scene. 

“Black students, we were trying to build a sense of community,” said Samuel Scarborough, a senior adviser with the Black Student Movement group. “Before the incident, people were getting pizza, fellowshipping, catching up.” Many of the students who attended the watch party were new UNC students and freshmen.

Scarborough, a 21-year-old history and African American and Diaspora studies major, said he, as well as other students, feared for their lives as they were left to defend themselves against the suspect, later identified as Keegan Wilson, a 45-year-old alumnus. 

On Sept. 28, Wilson pleaded guilty in return for a suspended 60-day jail sentence and 12 months of unsupervised probation on charges of disorderly conduct and simple assault. A judge ordered Wilson to continue mental health treatment he received after being arrested for the incident, according to the News & Observer. 

UNC isn’t the only higher education institution that’s experienced racial tensions on or around campus. This year alone, at least two colleges have made headlines for racial incidents on campus, with Black students being at the center. 

Today, Black students say they aren’t being supported by college administrators in an environment that is being impacted by the Trump administration’s ongoing attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at universities. 

“This incident [has] really raised the question of what kinds of actions has our university taken in alignment with the federal government to create this atmosphere where these behaviors feel like they’re safe to exist,” Scarborough said. 

Black students at UNC met with radio silence, leaders say 

Adding to concerns of several other Black student leaders at UNC is what they see as a lack of accountability from first responders and the university itself.

Students said they were surprised to learn no alerts were sent to the campus during or after the encounter. The university typically issues Carolina Alerts, an emergency communication system, when there are threats, bad weather, or crimes committed near the university. No alerts were sent before or after Wilson was apprehended. 

Black student leaders say UNC administration, including Chancellor Lee H. Roberts, mishandled the entire situation. 

“The university and administration, as well as UNC police, have failed to provide clarification as to why the response was delayed, as well as why an emergency alert was not sent out,” said Sada Maryanov, 21, a senior who serves as the president of UNC-Chapel Hill NAACP. 

In a statement to Capital B, the university said an alert was not sent out because “UNC Police apprehended the suspect, and there was no ongoing threat to campus safety.” The university also said it is providing support to those who were affected and the broader campus community. 

Zora Deberry, the vice president of the university’s NAACP chapter, said the university also told organizations the threat was “neutralized,” which is why an alert wasn’t sent out. The university’s efforts to contact students fell flat, in Deberry and other leaders ‘ opinions. 

Scarborough, a senior at the university, said he and other student leaders were left to pick up the physical and emotional pieces left behind after the incident. According to Maryanov, in the aftermath, only certain organizations and individuals present at the watch party were contacted by administrators. 

“The Black Student Organization Coalition has been focusing on the university’s [failure] to provide us with adequate resources in the aftermath of an event like this,” Maryanov said. The coalition, consisting of Black organizations on campus, was formed after the incident.  

Some faculty members have shown more care and concern than administrators, UNC students said. 

At a faculty council meeting held on Sept. 4, just days after the incident, Carl Kenney, a professor at the journalism school, shared his concerns with the chancellor about the well-being of students.  

“There’s the academic answer and there’s the behavioral answer,” Roberts responded to faculty. “I’m going to give you the behavioral answer, which is don’t drop doors or let people in who you don’t recognize. … This was a person who didn’t look like a student. … We believe [that] is the more profound teachable moment.”

Marynov said the chancellor’s response amounts to blaming Black students for a hate crime. However, the university said the chancellor later went on to say he is not blaming students shortly after commenting. 

“As a public university, we often reiterate campus safety tips due to the presence of people who may not be affiliated with the University being free to come onto campus,” a UNC-Chapel Hill spokesperson said in an email to Capital B. 

Despite the university’s response, Black alumni and faculty members from all backgrounds have shown support to Black students in the aftermath. 

“Even though the administration may not be listening to us, the faculty and staff definitely have been and so have the alumni,” Deberry said. 

In an open love letter posted on social media to current Black students at UNC at Chapel Hill, Black alumni wrote they continue to call and advocate on behalf of the students. 

“You cannot see this work but know that it is there,” they wrote. “Know that we are here. Know that we are holding space with and for you.” 

Shortly after the incident, the Black Student Organization Coalition demanded a meeting with Roberts and UNC administrators. Nearly a month later, that demand remains unmet. 

Racist incidents on other college campuses 

The incident at UNC is one of many racially charged situations that have unfolded on college campuses this year. 

In March, Republican campus leaders from Florida International University in Miami created a group chat on WhatsApp, a free messaging app. Within three weeks, the Miami Herald reported that variations of the N-word were used more than 400 times.

The Miami Herald spoke to more than a dozen Black people associated with FIU, ranging from current students to former employees. 

“We’re already the minority. We’re already marginalized,” Cassandra Zamor told The Herald.  “These hateful comments are unnecessary. We’re trying to make it, just like everyone else is.”

Marvin Dunn, a former professor at FIU, told The Herald the campus became a “dark place” due to the fear of backlash from ideologies that conflict with anti-DEI rhetoric in the state and the Trump administration. The university later suspended two Republican student leaders for two years. 

Elsewhere, in September, a person was spotted near California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo’s campus in Ku Klux Klan robes. 

“One would assume that the Klan has no space in San Luis Obispo,” the university’s Black Student Union said in a statement posted on Instagram. “But racism is foundational to the city, country and region.” 

In response, the city government said in a statement that it “strongly denounces racism, discrimination, and hate in all forms.” The university has not issued an official public comment. 

UNC Chapel Hill’s past

Back at UNC, Scarborough said he’s not surprised about the lack of accountability from school administrators and the chancellor’s refusal to meet with Black student leaders. 

For Scarborough, the August incident mirrors a string of racially tense rallies on campus in 2018, another midterm year.

During winter commencement in December 2018, about eight Confederate supporters were granted permission to gather for a group prayer at the base of a toppled Confederate statue, according to the Daily Tar Heel, the university’s student newspaper. A small, impromptu counterprotest emerged, resulting in UNC police escorting the Confederate group from the area. 

Scarborough said the university mishandled the 2018 situation, choosing to protect outsiders who did not pay tuition. In his opinion, the university reacted similarly in 2026. 

He highlighted that Black and brown people built the university. In 2021, UNC Chapel Hill acknowledged the university was built on Indigenous land. Scarborough pointed to the university’s history as an example of how it has profited off Black and brown people but has not addressed the racial tensions that remain on campus. 

Scarborough wants to see a change in how the campus environment treats Black, brown, and other racially marginalized students.

“We feel that in the recent past there have been many actions that, again, make us feel unsafe and unwanted at a university that we pay tuition dollars to,” he said. 

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