Tufts University Removing Portraits of Its Past Presidents for Being Too White
“The report provides no specific plan for relocating the portraits”
So Tufts is just going to erase some people from existence, based on their skin color? And this is accepted as normal?
Campus Reform reports:
Tufts removes portraits of past presidents because they’re too White
Part of Tufts University’s multimillion-dollar antiracism plan involves replacing eleven portraits of the school’s former presidents with exhibitions about underrepresented communities.
According to a letter from Tufts University President Tony Monaco, the school will spend $25 million to “advance equity, inclusion, healing, and justice” in its community and alumni networks. Various student and faculty contributors crafted five final reports that detail recommendations to address institutional racism at the university.
The Tufts as an Anti-Racist Institution initiative was announced by Monaco in the summer of 2020. The initiative pledged to “find and eradicate any structural racism at Tufts and to take the steps necessary to become what every member of our community would view as an antiracist institution.”
Among the five reports is a thirty-page document about the role of public art exhibitions in promoting diversity. In particular, the document notes that the Coolidge Room — described as “Tufts’ oldest and most ceremonial space” — lacks representation from marginalized groups.
Until September 2020, eleven portraits of Tufts’ former presidents hung in the room. However, the report recommends “that the space reflect the work happening on campus and that new installations must center marginalized voices from the university’s past and present.” Accordingly, they suggest installing “a series of rotating exhibitions of images and objects from the University Archives that tell the story of underrepresented communities at Tufts.”
The report provides no specific plan for relocating the portraits but recommends creating an online database with all university portraiture.
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
Why not repaint them as more acceptable colors? Brown? Yellow? I guess orange is out, but maybe we could try a nice sky blue or aqua?
In other news. Tufts Food Services department is is negotiations to make Coca Cola the school’s official beverage.
The memory hole provides.
Of course, a portrait does not show that national orgin or religion of the President. One can not judge the diversity of the group by the portraits. Perhaps including a full paragraph about each President and what he accomplished would have more of an educational impact than replacing them in room with a display about marginalized groups.
What is the purpose of the Coolidge Room and what portion of the time is accessible to undergraduates? Should they move the portraits to the hallway outside the President’s office? Finally, what donor chose to spend the $25 million?
Well, this IS happening in Massachusetts, after all. Which is almost as bad as the Left Coast.
What I’m dying to know is how much every student’s tuition bill will increase to offset that $25 million?