University of Minnesota Now Has an “Expiration Date” on Campus Buildings if Namesakes Ever Committed Wrongthink
“University leaders said the new policy will allow more people to be honored with building names over time.”
This is like a new hobby for progressives now. Going through someone’s history looking for a reason to cancel them.
The Star Tribune reports:
University of Minnesota campus buildings may be renamed after 75 years under new policy
Campus buildings at the University of Minnesota may now be renamed after 75 years, or earlier if their namesakes were found to have committed wrongful behavior.
The U’s Board of Regents approved a policy change Friday putting an expiration date on the names of most campus buildings and establishing criteria for renaming structures honoring controversial figures. University leaders said the new policy will allow more people to be honored with building names over time.
President Joan Gabel’s new building naming policy had been in the works since a bruising debate on the topic roiled the Twin Cities campus in 2019. Students, faculty and former President Eric Kaler pushed then to rename four buildings whose namesakes were accused of supporting residence hall segregation. Regents rejected stripping their names from the buildings, citing their historical contributions and concerns about the quality of evidence, among other things.
“The presence of this policy would have helped immeasurably through that process,” Regent David McMillan said. “It’s a far improvement on where we found ourselves then.”
The new 75-year term for building names does not apply to structures named after donors. Their names will remain through the building’s lifespan unless revelations about their pasts prompts a review.
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Comments
Someone should make book on whether the university as a whole will reach its sell-by date before any of its buildings do.
Memo for UM: Who in the wide world of sports is henceforth going to donate a bunch of money to have their name put on one of your buildings given that you could yank it off most anytime for any–and no–reason…and potentially even while the donor is still alive?
“The new 75-year term for building names does not apply to structures named after donors.”
“Their names will remain through the building’s lifespan unless revelations about their pasts prompts a review.”
In which case we will remove it on a whim. I think that future donatons should/will come with an understanding that removal of a name from the dedicated structure will require a return of all funds donated plus interest.
This will put U of Minn at a competitive disadvantage for donors. If I have enough money to fund a wing on a hospital, I will give it to a hospital that will honor my gift for more than 75 years, and not the U of Minn hospital.
The left believes if we can constantly reframe everything, people will get confused about what is really happening, just like the Orwell novel 1984.
The next step is to advocate that every 75 years, we burn every campus to the ground and just start over from a bulldozed field — no traditions, values or donor base. (We can even relitigate the native American land claims to each campus.)