Support for Disabled Student Activist Being Targeted by UNC

On Friday, September 27th, the UNC Chapel Hill Police Department blatantly targeted Laura Saavedra for her disability and seized her phone. The seizure was the result of a search warrant for her phone, a warrant in which Laura is not suspected of committing any crimes. Instead, the warrant is a thinly veiled attempt to rummage through Laura’s phone for pictures and videos of protestors. In the process of executing the search warrant, Laura was brutalized by the police who forced her out of her wheelchair.

This is not the first time that UNC police forced Laura out of her wheelchair. On April 30th, during a pro-Palestine protest taking place on campus, UNC Police brutalized Laura and knocked her off her wheelchair using a metal barricade.

To add insult to injury, UNC suspended Laura in May. As a result, Laura’s Morehead-Cain scholarship was withdrawn. Following a hearing over the summer, Laura was exonerated by UNC’s Emergency Evaluation and Action Committee (EEAC) and her student conduct charges were dropped. However, despite disciplinary actions against her being dropped, Laura’s Morehead-Cain scholarship was not reinstated.

UNC is discriminating against Laura for her disability, which makes her easily identifiable and therefore an easy target for repression, intimidation, and violence. By targeting Laura for her disability and her viewpoints, UNC and the police deprived Laura of $12,000 Morehead-Cain scholarship funds that she would have used for tuition, housing, food, and school supplies.

On Friday, Laura’s on-campus address was publicized, causing her to temporarily move out of her on-campus wheelchair-accessible housing to ensure her safety. This is causing a great hardship for Laura.

UNC Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine is calling on our communities to show up to support Laura during this difficult time. The funds will be used to help Laura pay for her education, housing, food, healthcare costs, and school needs. Funds will be delivered directly to Laura. If there are any remaining funds, they will be used to help other students and community members facing hardship due to their activism.