South Carolina
Sons of Confederate Veterans meeting, planned protests, classes cancelled at York Tech
York Technical College will close the main campus and on-campus classes Friday and Saturday, according to an email notice.
College officials said because of protests planned near campus, “there remains a level of uncertainty of the impact to college operations and the safety and security of our campus.”
Only authorized personnel will be permitted on campus those days, the notice states.
Online classes will maintain a normal schedule, according to the college, and campuses in Chester and Indian Land will maintain normal operations.
The Rock Hill and Western York County branches of the NAACP announced in a statement last week that they will gather March 17 and 18 outside York Tech to protest the South Carolina Sons of Confederate Veterans convention at the college.
Organizers said they expect up to 1,000 protesters, with presenters and performances each day, according to a prepared statement.
York Tech officials said in October they would honor a lease agreement allowing the Sons of Confederate Veterans’ South Carolina convention on campus, but vowed no Confederate flags or similar symbols will be allowed on campus.
York Tech officials during an Oct. 30 news conference said they had canceled the convention contract after learning of its plans to meet there, as a result of reporting by The Herald. However, they rescinded their notification after legal advice from attorneys.
The NAACP and other community leaders have said they are against the Sons of Confederate Veterans event being held at the Baxter M. Hood Center in Rock Hill, because of the group’s use of the Confederate flag.
Melanie Jones, vice-president for college advancement at York Tech, told The Herald in October: “We are aware of their emblem as potentially controversial, but we are apolitical.”
The Sons of Confederate Veterans has a legitimate right to lease the space for the convention, Jones said. Other groups, such as the NAACP and political candidates, previously have leased space at the Baxter Hood Center, college officials said.
The NAACP groups plan to protest 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday.
At 7 p.m. Thursday, the Rev. Charles White, former southeast region and National field representative, will “educate and inspire participants” at Kenneth Monroe Transformation Center, 745 Saluda St., Rock Hill, the NAACP says.
The Rock Hill NAACP says the proper place for the Confederate flag is in a museum, and it should not be allowed to fly freely in public places.
“The flag is a devisive symbol of unpleasant times in our history; the times of lynching, racial profiling, inequality and oppression of one group upon another,” the NAACP statement said.
Catherine Muccigrosso: 803-329-4069
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