UNC and 'Silent Sam'-- Part 3: Faced Defiantly North

Some visitors to where the statue was continue to lament the sacrifices made by the young men who gave up their studies here to fight and die for a cause they believed in.

"Their bodies are who knows where.  What do they have?"  said Sandra Aldridge, who spat in disgust as she circled the railings after coming to campus for an appointment.  "If you don't like something, you don't just tear it down."

Decades of debate about the statue and its prominence on the campus have escalated into a politicized public drama, one heightened by the similarities to the controversy in Charlottesville a year ago.

Silent Sam has long been a flash point, facing defiantly north, overseeing a main entryway to UNC's historic campus.

--Old Secesh