The possible creation of a Western Civilization program at UNC-Chapel Hill, funded by a donation from the John William Pope Foundation, has some faculty and students slinging insults at the foundation, the Pope family, and the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy. The media buzz began last Friday in a front-page story in the Durham Herald-Sun, in which members of a student group expressed concern over the Pope Center’s criticism of the campus. Things escalated Monday when students protested by chanting and carrying signs, one of which appeared on the front page of the Herald-Sun on Tuesday. It read: “UNC Should Not Take $$$ From An Organization With A Racist, Homophobic, Sexist, & Anti-Poor Record.” Another sign referred to Art Pope personally. Tuesday’s Raleigh News & Observer also carried the story and reported the group of 75 students had chanted: “Stop the hate, stop the fear, we don’t want their money here.” Meanwhile, UNC-CH’s Graduate and Professional Student Federation passed a resolution against accepting the Pope Foundation grant. On Thursday, Jon Sanders responded to the accusations and name-calling when he appeared on WPTF’s “The Bill LuMaye Show.” LuMaye told Sanders he was amazed by the reaction, considering that UNC-CH professes to foster freedom of speech, thought, and more. Sanders responded with his customary biting humor: “Well, all those ideas you mentioned really come out of the Western tradition, that Western Civilization would teach. Maybe not being familiar with those things, they’re not familiar with the true application of freedom of speech – it extends to people beyond yourself.” Sanders’ written commentary on the dust-up was published on Campus Report Online. and he also was interviewed by WRAL-TV. This Sunday, Art Pope joins NBC 17’s “At Issue” to discuss the facts of the proposal and to respond personally to the remarks. To read a description of Monday’s student protest and to get more background on the story, visit the Pope Center and read recent entries by Sanders and Shannon Blosser.