In a nation as divided as it is today, something as seemingly meaningless as a statue can spark rallies all across the country. They may just be stone figures, but their background means so much more. When there is a figure in a public place that is dedicated to the Confederacy, it’s not about preserving history anymore. It’s a constant reminder to people of white supremacy and racism that plagues our country today.

Since Charlottesville, people have been taking action and rallying around statues that they believe should be taken down. In some cases, like Durham, North Carolina, people are taking statues down by force or destroying them. Clashes between protesters on both sides are running rampant.

In my opinion, Silent Sam is a statue that needs to be taken down from UNC's campus. It is a figure from the Confederacy and overlooks the campus. Why should a figure of white supremacy be one of the first things that people see when they visit campus? Why does it get the spotlight of the middle of McCorkle Place?

Something that truly bothers me is that my college campus showcases a statue that represents racism that is still present today. Yet off to the side, away from the main part of the quad is a small table memorial to the slaves who built the campus - and an absurd amount of people on campus don't even know what that memorial is.

But everyone knows who Silent Sam is.

Day after day he overlooks the campus. His time is over. The statue should’ve been taken down ages ago. Regardless of its original intent when it went up, it still stands as a statue commemorating the Confederacy and it does not belong on a public college campus. Rather, it should be placed in a museum where it can be with other memorabilia dedicated to that period of history where it can truly be appreciated.

Statues reflect the stance of where they are located, and in this case, UNC is not the right place for it to stand. On August 22, there was a protest at Silent Sam to call for its removal from campus. He was fenced off and police stood to protect him from any potential damage from the crowds.

McKenna Ritter, a sophomore at UNC, attended the protest in favor of removing the statue from campus.

“There is something fundamentally wrong with a legal system, a police force, a community, a university and a country that feels 20 to 30 police officers in riot gear are necessary to protect a statue but does not act for the safety and security of living, breathing minority students during Trump's Muslim ban or after the shooting in Charlotte,” Ritter said.

This community has put so much effort into protecting a statue of a Confederate soldier, and it’s taken away focus from other large issues. With a large amount of support from both the student body and citizens of Chapel Hill, I believe action should be taken to remove Silent Sam from the campus. All he, and the rest of statues commemorating soldiers from the Confederacy, does is provoke and divide members of the communities in which they stand. I’m not calling for their destruction; rather, the removal from public places and put in a museum where I feel they would be better appreciated.

I stand with those at the protest. I believe it’s time for Silent Sam to be silenced.