I’m wondering if any of these people on CC have any familiarity with the Dear PWI social media movement in 2020-2021. The posts on here seem to be late-to-the-awareness claims and affect many colleges and universities. That movement and the discussions it inspired, while off topic to W&L exclusively, is something that many colleges are considering in developing current student life initiatives and policies. I’ve seen it at all of the higher ranked institutions, including W&L, that we have toured in the past year. It’s encouraging to see these institutions be open to different perspectives. Many of the initiatives are around events and temporary installations that are predominant on the campuses.
I am friends with a family currently planning to sue the university over hazing issues, and post hazing bullying endured by their child (and still being endured) when they tried to bring the issue to the university’s attention. The family has video of the hazing, showing the faculty member present. The university found the sorority not guilty, despite the video.
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Is this the sorority that was just placed on probation for hazing? Check the student newspaper. There’s a lot going on with this story in particular but the school is handling it, if it’s that.
That is it, but it’s not being handled (at least not swiftly). The story in the paper doesn’t cover the half of it. But now that lawyers are involved, I’m sure the admin is looking more closely.
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we are also going on the 24th and my kid has similar interests.
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Probation is how all colleges deal with hazing issues from college groups, greek or not. I’ve seen far worse at public colleges and the public schools have actually done nothing or counter-sued. I’m sorry that your friend’s daughter had a negative experience with a student group.
I guess the most surprising thing to me is that the faculty member has not been fired. Honestly, I think there should be legal charges.
If you are talking about the recent hazing… you don’t have the latest info. For example, the faculty member was fired 6 weeks ago. The sorority as a whole was put under critical sanctions (found guilty to use your term), even though the hazing only involved 3 members and 2 pledges. But that is part of being in that type of organization; the whole group may have to pay for a few who misbehave. There were no indications hazing is a systemic problem in that sorority. Kudos to Panhel for not treating it lightly.
I know a lot more but don’t want to doxx anyone. And there is a lot that is not reflected in the recent news article.
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W&L’s Commission on Institutional History and Community, appointed to study these issues and recommend a course of action, agreed with you. The Commission noted that the chapel is a Shrine to the Confederacy, literally called the “Shrine of the South,” and a key component in the Lost Cause mythology and iconography. Its recommendation was to turn the building into a museum, where these myths and legends (and the university’s key role role in their formation) could be studied critically.
The Commission also considered the option of building a wall to separate the nave from the apse containing the sculpture, but rejected this option because:
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The wall would only “mask” the history rather than engage it.
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“Continued use of the chapel, even with a walled-off apse, amounts to validating Lee in his role as a Confederate general. At the very least, it would send a confusing message about whether or not the university is still commemorating Lee in that role.”
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“Continued use of the chapel would put the university in conflict with community members who are alienated by the building, even with a walled-off apse.”
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Changing the design would hinder the sites value as a place to critically examine the Lost Cause and its iconography and symbolism.
https://my.wlu.edu/document/report-of-the-commission-on-institutional-history-and-community
The university rejected this recommendation. Apparently it isn’t concerned that some students, current and future, might be extremely uncomfortable attending important ceremonies and events in a building which has served as a Shrine to the Confederacy for the past 150 years, and still contains the larger than life sculpture of Lee in Confederate uniform, and of course the corpses of Lee and his family.
It is a very Lost-Cause-like approach. “Mask” the ugly history. Pretend it isn’t there.
Students considering the university may not be aware that, ironically, they will be expected to sign their Honor Code in a building that has long served as a Shrine to the Confederacy, containing a larger than life sculpture of General Lee in Confederate garb, with he and his family buried underneath?
This seems to be avoiding the context of why these things happen in Lexington, and the critical role that W&L has long played in promoting this Lost Cause nonsense. It is no coincidence that they parade annually in Lexington. As one student put it, the name (and the chapel) is a beacon to these people. Until fairly recently, they used to end their parade at Lee Chapel, and various groups had long used Lee Chapel for ceremonies and memorials.
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When I read this, W & L really sounds like a place that–as an institution, and against the explicit wishes of most faculty and students–woefully, and willfully, misunderstands the significance of its name and legacy. It’s honestly a bit shocking.
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OK. The OP of the thread left the thread 7 days ago, and has not returned. His last message indicates that he has no intention of returning. So I am closing the thread.
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