University’s Board of Trustees Rejects Student Demands to Rename Buildings
“We believe, however, that removing building names is inconsistent with the pursuit of our educational mission, which informs all of our actions.”
This happens so rarely that it’s encouraging when it does. People need to say no more often.
The College Fix reports:
University trustees refuse to cave to demand to rename campus buildings
University of Richmond’s Board of Trustees will not change two buildings’ names despite demands to do so from a group of black student activists.
“As Trustees, we deeply appreciate our students’ candor in the Statement on Black Student Welfare about their experiences at the University of Richmond. We recognize that we still have important work to do to become the truly inclusive community we aspire to be. We also understand the disappointment and hurt associated with our decision regarding the names of Ryland Hall and Mitchell-Freeman Hall,” the trustees said in March 17 statement on the matter.
“…In numerous conversations, the Board gave careful consideration to the question raised by the student governments of removing Ryland’s and Freeman’s names from the buildings on our campus. We believe, however, that removing building names is inconsistent with the pursuit of our educational mission, which informs all of our actions.”
The Black Student Coalition is now asking asking professors, students and employees who support their demand to basically go on something of a strike on March 25 in response.
“We are not asking any students to disaffiliate from research, student jobs, scholarship-affiliated activities, or any private student support groups. The point of disaffiliation is to cease all uncompensated, extracurricular, public-facing work and programming which UR is in turn able to publicize and profit off of,” the coalition states.
According to university research, Robert Ryland “built what became the University of Richmond as the superintendent of the Virginia Baptist Seminary and then as the first President of Richmond College.” He was also a slaveholder.
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
So, if you go to work that day, you are now a racist.
All I am seeing is a bunch of malcontents who demonstrate why they shouldn’t even be in college every time they are given the opportunity to do so.
It is too bad that those who donated to the Universities didn’t have clauses attached to the donation where all of the funds were returned to the originator if the name of a donated building were removed or changed. I bet the administrators would all be singing a different tune if that were the case. I am pretty sure that current donations come with that clause, if the donor has half a brain.
They will escalate until the university has to either capitulate or send the children home.
I didn’t see this happening here, but on other campuses (UW Madison comes to mind) the minority students, largely there on full or near-full scholarship after having received a racial preference in admission, complain that the university is using THEM for publicity and profiting off of them.
Ridiculous. They can leave if it’s so terrible, and it would be entirely their decision.