CHAPEL HILL —The graduation ceremonies held at many colleges and universities in North Carolina this past weekend marked the end to yet another academic year, one that will be remembered for turmoil that included hirings and firings, freedom of speech controversies and a terrorist attack with an SUV.

The 2005-06 academic year featured the contrasting spectacles of Erskine Bowles taking over as president of the UNC system and Ted Gasper being fired at Halifax Community College in a swirl of controversy. It also saw increased tensions following publication of a controversial column and cartoon in The Daily Tar Heel, and a terrorist attack at UNC-Chapel Hill in March that left nine people injured.

Nationally, it was a year of transition as the Department of Education began its push to examine higher education in more detail with a commission that will release its findings in August.

Bandes fired from Daily Tar Heel

In September, UNC-Chapel Hill student Jillian Bandes sparked a national controversy when she used her weekly column in The Daily Tar Heel to promote racial profiling for Arabs in airports. The column was published just days after the fourth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“I want all Arabs to be stripped naked and cavity-searched if they get within 100 yards of an airport,” Bandes wrote. “I don’t care if they’re being inconvenienced. I don’t care if it seems as though their rights are being violated. I care about my life. I care about the lives of my family and friends. And I care about the lives of the Arabs and Arab-Americans I’m privileged to know and study with.”

Members of the UNC-Chapel Hill Muslim Student Association denounced the column. Professors whom Bandes quoted claimed she had taken their quotes out of context, for which she was fired from the newspaper.

“We find it extremely counterproductive as Muslims to attack Bandes’ opinion about racial profiling because we recognize that, sadly enough, this is a prevalent sentiment echoed even through the hallowed halls of the most liberal elite,” the Muslim Student Association wrote in a letter to The Daily Tar Heel.

Cartoon creates controversy

In February, college newspapers across the country, including here in North Carolina, debated the ethical issues involved with publishing cartoons from Denmark that depicted the Prophet Mohammad. Some published the Danish cartoons, while others, like The Daily Tar Heel, published its own cartoons. The Daily Tar Heel cartoon showed Mohammad with the caption, “They may get me from my bad side … but they show me from my worst.”

That cartoon led to an outcry on UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus and the newspaper was admonished by UNC-Chapel Hill’s Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Margaret Jablonski who called the cartoon “hurtful.” The Muslim Student Association also denounced the cartoon.

While the artist was allowed to keep his position, editors at other student newspapers across the country were not so lucky. Two editors at the University of Illinois were fired for publishing the Danish cartoons.

Attack on UNC-Chapel Hill campus

In the late morning of March 3, Mohammad Reza Taheri-azar, a December UNC-CH graduate, drove his rented Jeep Cherokee onto the campus near a popular gathering place known as “The Pit.” He drove the Jeep through a crowd, injuring nine people, none seriously.

Taheri-azar admitted his involvement in the attack, saying he committed the act to punish the American government for its treatment of Muslims worldwide. He faces nine counts of attempted murder along with nine other charges. If convicted, he could face a 150-year prison sentence.

Conservative students on campus held a rally to denounce the attack and to demand university officials to recognize that it was an act of terror. Chancellor James Moeser had said it was an isolated event and should not be considered a terrorist attack. Muslim students on campus called the rally insensitive.

Bowles named new UNC president

In October, members of the UNC Board of Governors named Erskine Bowles, the former Clinton Administration Chief of Staff, as the system’s next president, ending a four-month search to replace former President Molly Broad. Many Democrats and Republicans championed Bowles’ appointment, believing his business and legislative knowledge would be beneficial to the UNC system.

However, the appointment didn’t come without controversy. Members of the search committee convened a meeting with no notice to nominate Bowles for consideration to the full membership. Many considered the action to be a violation of the state’s Open Meetings Law. However groups like the North Carolina Press Association filed no lawsuits against the move.

Since being named president, Bowles has received praise for taking a business-like approach to running the system. He has also brought about an improved working relationship between the North Carolina Community College System and the Department of Public Instruction, which can be seen in the UNC system’s budget requests that endorses proposals in the community college and DPI budgets.

Gasper fired, audit finds problems

Halifax Community College President Ted Gasper was fired in January after a storm of controversy surrounding his involvement with political activities on behalf of former Rep. Frank Ballance on his campus, among other charges. The firing took place after an investigation and audit that examined some of the charges levied against him.

That audit report, released in October, found more than $15,000 in questionable payments to Gasper for fringe benefits and travel. It also found that the Halifax Community College Board of Trustees approved Gasper’s contract in 2001 without knowing the details of the contract. That contract included annual one-year extensions to the length of the contract and a $375,000 buyout if Gasper was terminated without cause.

At the same time the audit investigation’s findings were released, State Auditor Les Merritt released an audit of the community college system saying the system needed to better monitor employment contracts, by-laws and local boards within the system. He also recommended improved training programs for trustees and business office personnel.

Committee studies higher education

During a press conference in Charlotte, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings introduced a higher education committee that would examine issues relating to higher education’s future. The committee offered a mix of higher education leaders, business representatives, and political leaders. Among those selected to serve on the committee was former North Carolina Gov. James Hunt.

A final report is expected in August. In the meantime, commission members have traveled across the country holding meetings to discuss topics of accreditation, financial aid, and academic programs. They’ve also released several “issue papers” that have offered insights on what that final report may look like once released.

Campus rights victories

In January, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) along with the Pope Center released a report that examined First Amendment issues within the University of North Carolina. The report found that 13 of the 16 institutions “have at least one policy that both clearly and substantially restricts freedom of speech.”

In the months that followed the release, two schools overturned policies that limited free speech on campus. UNC-Greensboro in March removed restrictions on where students can speak freely, ending its “free speech zone” policy.

Also in March, following a request by a student after reading the report, Appalachian State’s Department of Housing and Residence Life eliminated a policy that said, “[h]arassment or the use of abusive language, insults, taunts, or challenges director toward another person are prohibited.”

Shannon Blosser is an associate editor of Carolina Journal.