So the recumbent statue of Robert E. Lee reminds me of a similar effigy at UNC-Chapel Hill. In the art museum there, the Ackland, there is an effigy and the body of William Hayes Ackland, who gave the money for the museum. His money came from the enslavement of people too, and the university and the museum acknowledges that. (He inherited money from his half sister who died when she was 11. Her father was a huge slave trader.)
Princeton is not one of the usual examples of names causing negative marketing like WLU.
Of course, at the high school and community college level, some schools have dropped other names that caused negative marketing like Jefferson Davis or John Calhoun (although there are still a few private high schools carrying the John Calhoun name ā these appear to be segregation academies for whom such a name is probably positive marketing to the target market).
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What actions can/should be taken by universities named after bad actors?
The obvious one is to rename the institution, but what if that does not/has not happened? Then what?
- Acknowledge and renounce the bad actor and associated history.
- Remove memorabilia honoring the bad actor (or relocate and recontextualize to address the history)
- Rename buildings and other campus venues.
- Invest in departments that address the history.
- Invest in URM administrators/faculty for their perspectives, leadership and mentorship.
- Provide safe outlets for URM students/alums/faculty to express their views.
- Seek out the perspectives of URMs with experience at the university.
- Provide an environment that encourages freedom of expression.
- Acknowledge the positive initiatives, provide feedback on what is working, what isnāt and what more needs to be done.
- Continue to voice opinions about the name and harm it does to URM.
- Spend money on scholarships, fly-ins, generous need-aid policies, etc., that show support of diversity initiatives. That is part of the cost of overcoming the bad history and ārebrandingā.
- For individuals who canāt see past the name, do not apply/attend/visit that college.
- Show respect for others who can see past the name and do choose to apply/attend/visit.
- Show respect for the URM students and faculty who choose the university and applaud them for their contributions during an uncomfortable period of transition and attempt at ārebrandingā.
Iām sure there is much moreā¦
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There are Calhoun counties in several states, and Lee counties in other states, with attached public school districts.
Exactly. Some in the western states enslaved and/or abused the Native Americans. Leland Stanford was one. (But technically, the Uni is named after his son who died as a teenager.)
And many a pro sports team (MLB, NFL, and NBA come to mind) have changed their mascot.
W&L has no historical ties to President Lincoln. It also has no affiliation, current or historical, with Liberty University.
Perhaps W&L could note the works of not just Robert E Lee, but his eldest daughter Mary, whose odd life included no affiliation with the civil war and an early stand and arrest for protesting segregation in 1904
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Unfortunately, in the eyes of many potential students, faculty, and others, these steps may not be nearly enough when the namesake is also the symbolic figurehead of insipid racial hatred and a centuries old effort to falsely mythologize and glorify actual history to portray it (and the figurehead) as somehow "honorable.ā This is all the more true when the university itself has played a large role in that history not only in the long past but also in very recent times.
As a W&L student eloquently explained in public a letter the administration imploring the school to change the name, keeping the name in these situations is an āinvitationā to racists that āmakes them feel safe.ā In contrast, some of the students feel terrorized as a result of the name:
In my freshman year here at Washington and Lee the KKK drove through campus throwing out sandwich bags full of cotton and messages of hate. It was my first encounter with racism and it shattered me. I was torn apart by fear and vulnerability. I was torn apart by how much people could hate me and not know me. But even more so, I was torn apart that these hateful souls felt safe here, in my town, on my campus. They saw the name on this school, the chapel at the bottom of the hill, and the man entombed inside it as an invitation. The evil people who did this were not a part of the town I love. They were not a member of the community that I know supports me and all of its people of color. These people drove hours to spread their hatred because Leeās name made them feel safe. His name is a homing beacon to racists everywhere whether or not that was the intention. I do not support changing the name of this university because I want to erase history. I support the renaming of our university to send a message that W&L does not stand for racism. It stands for community, it stands for itsā students of color. We cannot separate Robert E. Lee, the university president, from Robert E. Lee, the confederate general. They are one in the same and if this university exalts one we exalt the other.
On that day two years ago, I, along with countless others, were irrevocably damaged due to the inaction of the leadership of this University. I pray you will not leave us to fend for ourselves again. Give this university a new name and a chance to be known for who we are and not just the way we started. https://www.divergewlu.com/letters/2020/7/8/sincerely-anonymous
So, with regard to the OPās question . . .
. . . the steps you mention, even if well meaning, may not nearly enough in situations where the name itself is essentially the brand-name of hate, and a powerful āhoming beacon to racists everywhere,ā far beyond the university community. This is especially true when the a university itself, in the distant past and in its very recent history, played a major role in building up and maintaining the hateful brand.
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I was at a Rice college fair event for NYC kids in 1969 and many, if not all, my minority friends (as they were referred to back then) had sharp questions for the adcom representative. The stakes were even higher because Rice was tuition free regardless of income at the time. In the end, people had more reservations about the distance they would have to travel than its segregated past. But, it was mainly because the ad rep made a persuasive case that the school and everyone connected with it was ready to effectuate change.
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Iām not confident that we can have this conversation with respect to some institutions without hostility from some, as can be seen in this thread and others that invoke this topic.
The original names of a lot of these colleges with names that are problematic to some are unfortunately too generic-sounding or have been used by other institutions, both other colleges and secondary schools. This is a significant problem with very old colleges with a strong historical footprint.
The issue of rebranding for any reason, even a nonpolitical or nonpartisan one, can be problematic for institutional recognition. I saw this when my DS took a tour of a school that had been rebranded fifteen or so years prior to our tour. It was a noun in the name that was changed, not an individualās or family name. Itās a great school and my DS would love to attend it. Itās on his list after this tour. Our tour guide, on the other hand, told us that when she applied to this school, it was an accident. She thought that she was applying to another college with a similar name in another city. She reiterated that she was happy where she was anyway. I mention this just to remind the adults in this conversation that we are talking about institutions that are primarily marketing themselves to teens and young adults. The way that they apply most of the time, using the Common App, makes these sort of keyword-click errors too easy to make if a schoolās name is not distinctive enough.
Everyone knows what Yale is, for example. But if it were to be rebranded as The Collegiate School, there are also multiple Collegiate Schools in the country, in NYC, Richmond, VA, and Memphis, TN.
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Washington could have done better ā IMO, Commanders is too generic.
They should have gone with Half-Smokes. The half-smoke brat/hot dog is quintessentially DC. They could have replaced the native american head on their helmets with a hot dog. (sounds silly, but many mascots are a bit ā¦ unique. Half-Smokes would certainly be unique, and it would fit DC.
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That is a terrific suggestion. Whether some if its supporters like it or not, W&L is ensconced in the mythology of the Confederacy and Lost Cause, largely by its own doing, even in very recent times. If the university is truly interested in rejecting the past wrongs of the Lost Cause mythology, then what could send a more powerful message than getting rid of Robert E. Leeās name and replacing it with Lincolnās. After all, Lee is above all else the hero of the Lost Cause Mythology, and Lincoln is the pariah of the same.
Washington and Lee considers itself an elite Liberal arts college with a broad national reach, and considers 21 schools to be its āUndergraduate Peers.ā Of all of its self-described peer institutions, W&L is the whitest. On average the student populations at the other institutions are 51% white. According the most recent CDC, Washington and Lee is 74% white, and the most recent class profile of enrolled students indicates that only 22% of students identify as students of color. Washington & Lee is different than other similar schools, particularly when one considers its past and recent involvement in promoting the racist Lost Cause Mythology.
Further, it is not just just a matter of the dismal percentage of Black students currently enrolled at this once racist institution. It is that, despite the many claims of progress regarding diversity, the percentage of Black students being enrolled each year is about the same as it was 20 years ago.
That is the dilemma faced by those who would like to see positive change, and the universityās refusal to change the name makes that dilemma all the more stark for prospective students. W&L cannot reasonably expect that students who care about diversity and racial justice and equity will want to attend a university that honors Robert E. Lee in its name.
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Correction-you donāt want to attend. You canāt speak for others or their commitments. I believe WL has considered and declined a name change at present, and has moved on from your suggestion.
Those who are extremely upset about the name are likely to be upset about the name of Washington too, and wonāt attend the university regardless. Fortunately, there are 4000 other schools for them to consider.
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In response to the 2018 vandalism that the poster keeps referring to, the following message was sent out to the community:
This incident occurred in a rash of similar instances of vandalism in the region at that time. It has not occurred since (at least as far as I have heard). This was five years ago.
Could we please return to the topic of this thread, which is what actions can be done or should be done?
Iām sure we can all agree that vandalism including leafletting is not acceptable regardless of anyoneās stance on name changing or not at any institution, including educational ones.
Where I live, weāve had many instances of spray painting vandalism with antisemitic symbols at schools, mostly high schools, public parks, and a few shopping centers. Law enforcement has done what they can. This is a law enforcement issue, unrelated to the topic of this thread.
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Thatās a splendid idea.
Iāll further add that Iām giving a little bit of off-topic leeway on this thread, with the exception that any OT post that solely concerns W&L needs to go into the other thread per my earlier post:
Users who specifically want to express their PoV on Washington & Lee to the exclusion of other cilleged may be better served on this thread:
To that end, posts that say, āW&L should change the name and now Iām going to write several paragraphs about W&L that are off-topic to this thread in the hopes that the moderator wonāt noticeā will be considered OT. Another moderator may move such posts to the other thread (or may not), but fair warning that Iāll delete. Thank you for your cooperation.
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Itās difficult to prescribe a āsolutionā without being honest about what the problem is.
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Post 111 seems to be an excellent post
Its actually not that complicated - despite the pretzels more than a few people are trying to twist themselves into. College name is marketing period. Like it, hate it, it doesnāt matter, a huge portion of applications is tied to whether people know and have a positive opinion of the name of the institution. So itās an actual pretty easy question - is the value of the name of a ābad actorā strong enough to overcome the history of the bad actor. The strength of the university/collegeās reputation matters - do people actually know the name more for the University than whatever historic figure it represents. Or do people know the bad actor without running off to google and try and find something negative about an institution - which more than a few have done. Or is the historic figure so well known that it overshadows the university - particularly balancing their foibles vs their contributions. Colleges will clearly have to make that decision and prospective students and their check writing parents will also weigh in.
And as a follow up - if a whole lot of people are still using that ābad actorā to further their cause TODAY - itās a pretty hard sell for those of us who are looking for non-discriminatory places for our children to land.
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Note the shifting definition of ābad actorā- per the SF school board, that includes Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Paul Revere, Robert Louis Stevenson, T Roosevelt, Diane Feinstein, J Muir, and a great many Hispanic leaders in Californiaās settlement. Todayās uncontroversial name easily yields tomorrowās ogre.
No one thought about Woodrow Wilson for anything more than the League of Nations when I was at Princeton; a few decades later his name was struck from buildings.
The SF proposal, which also sought to rename McKinley, Garfield, Hoover, Marshall, and Francis Scott Key schools:
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