Following NC State’s announcement that no disciplinary action would be taken against Office of Information Technology employee Chadwick Seagraves, who faced various allegations of doxxing, harassment and ties to white supremacist groups, many students, staff and faculty at NC State criticized the investigation results. Seagraves has denied those allegations. With organized protests, public petitions and social media backlash marking the beginning of the spring semester, the NC State community has shown intense public opinion.
Jeremy Lowe, a fourth-year studying environmental engineering, said the University’s investigation results were lackluster at best, contradicting NC State values and showcasing a lack of ability for holding staff accountable.
“I think myself and many other students, staff also feel frustrated,” Lowe said. “The University just doesn’t seem to be in a place where they want to hold him accountable, and the only response we seem to be getting is that the University has their hands tied, which is frustrating because we were all hoping for more.”
Students were not the only ones who expressed dissatisfaction over the investigation. David Ambaras, a professor in the Department of History, said he felt as if the investigation was not transparent enough for students, staff and faculty to feel at peace.
“What I want the University to do is guarantee to us, as a community at large, that it has undertaken a full and good faith investigation,” Ambaras said. “And again, the best way to show that is by showing us their work.”
The University released several statements denouncing racial injustice last year, and many students have said the investigation results contradict NC State’s commitment to diversity and inclusivity.
Chaniya Williams, a first-year studying criminology and social work, said she doesn’t feel NC State is holding up its mantra of inclusion and safe learning environments by keeping Seagraves on staff.
“Even if his beliefs were done on his own time and off university time, the letup of him doxxing students should be enough to get his employment terminated,” Williams said. “Being a member of the Proud Boys isn’t just some political belief, like, that’s people’s lives at stake.”
Cas Saroza, a technician at D.H. Hill Jr. Library, said they felt having Seagraves remain on staff creates a hostile environment for both activists and marginalized groups on campus.
“It’s just like a slap to the face for the University to say that they value diversity, they value their students of color, they value their staff of color,” Saroza said. “Not only that, but the Anonymous Comrades Collective blog post also had a bunch of homophobic and transphobic tweets from Seagraves that can be traced back to him, so that’s all of their LGBTQ+ students and staff also.”
The University’s investigation statement stated that “the university can only institute formal disciplinary action against a state employee when there is just cause to do so, such as for substantiated violations of the law or NC State policies.” With Seagraves not being an at-will employee, the University cannot terminate his employment without facing legal consequences.
While the University’s decision to keep Seagraves on staff has been met with relative dissent, a few NC State community members have expressed satisfaction with the investigation results.
Jacob McCoy, a fourth-year studying economics, said he feels the University’s investigation was substantive enough and the recent Student Government (SG) protest infringed on the University’s status as a public space.
“Randy Woodson put out a statement where he basically said ‘Yeah, we don’t really like this guy either, but we’re a government institution, so we’re bound by the First Amendment and free speech laws,’” McCoy said. “A private company would be different, but it’s a government entity.”
One of the students directly involved in the allegations, who chose to remain anonymous, said that they felt SG’s decision to hold an organized protest was an important show of allyship.
“To be honest, it was the greatest show of solidarity that I got at the University,” the student said. “It really meant the world to me that Student Government was calling for the resignation of Seagraves, and it reminded me that I’m not fighting this alone.”
