{"id":139903,"date":"2024-01-04T00:02:52","date_gmt":"2024-01-04T05:02:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/?p=139903"},"modified":"2024-01-03T15:39:32","modified_gmt":"2024-01-03T20:39:32","slug":"uva-tables-decision-to-scrub-first-presidents-name-from-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/uva-tables-decision-to-scrub-first-presidents-name-from-library\/","title":{"rendered":"UVA tables decision to scrub first president’s name from library"},"content":{"rendered":"

Grad students accused the first president of the university of promoting racism and eugenics<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The University of Virginia deferred until next year a decision on renaming the school\u2019s main library following criticisms that its namesake, UVA\u2019s first president Edwin Alderman, advocated racism and eugenics.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s shrouded in secrecy right now, but I doubt that it will go through,\u201d Tom Neale, president of The Jefferson Council, told The College Fix<\/em> in a phone call on Jan. 3.<\/p>\n

The Jefferson Council is a UVA alumni organization promoting civil dialogue, intellectual diversity, and the legacy of Thomas Jefferson, according to its website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s been enough heat and letters flying through from alumni,\u201d Neale said. \u201cPerhaps a bit of rationality is seeping in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust like Jefferson, like any flawed individual, he had a lot of admirable qualities, and they\u2019re trying to bury that,\u201d Neale said, referring to Alderman (pictured<\/em>).<\/p>\n

The Board of Visitors\u2019 Buildings and Grounds Committee deferred a vote on renaming the library at its Dec. 7 meeting, The Daily Progress <\/em>reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The committee listed \u201cNaming: The Edgar Shannon Library\u201d as an item in its meeting agenda<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn recognition of the many contributions of the University\u2019s fourth president, Edgar F. Shannon Jr., the University, with the endorsement of the Naming and Memorials Committee, proposes renaming Alderman Library as \u2018The Edgar Shannon Library,\u2019\u201d the agenda item stated.<\/p>\n

The Fix<\/em> left a voicemail on Jan. 3 requesting comment on the tabled name change with Elyse Girard, executive director of communications and user experience at the Alderman library. The Fix<\/em> also sent requests for comment to several members of UVA\u2019s communications team. It has not received a response.<\/p>\n

UVA stated in a news release<\/a> that \u201cthe UVA Library is pleased to open the renovated library to the public on Jan. 8, 2024,\u201d with no mention of the name \u201cAlderman.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORE: Virginia seminary marks 200th anniversary by scrubbing names linked to slavery<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Aldona Dye, then a doctoral candidate in \u201ccritical and comparative studies of music\u201d at UVA, first proposed the name change in a July 30, 2019 editorial<\/a> in Virginia Mercury.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhile Alderman\u2019s racism and belief in eugenics are generally known, reading his own words firmed my conviction that keeping his name on the library is unacceptable,\u201d Dye wrote.<\/p>\n

She cited an address<\/a> given by Alderman to The American Historical Association and The American Economic Association on Dec. 29, 1903, in which he stated:<\/p>\n

It is a solemn duty of the white man to see that the negro gets his chance in everything save social equality and political control. [\u2026] This does not mean that the lower should be prevented from rising, but that it should not be permitted to break down the higher. [\u2026] Social equality and political control would mean deterioration of the advanced group, and the South is serving the Nation when it says it shall not be so.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Graduate English Students Association at UVA wrote<\/a> in favor of Dye\u2019s proposed change in a Dec. 2019 statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe linkage of modern education with hateful racial science is on our lips every time we refer to or enter this building\u2014 one of the most striking central features of our campus,\u201d students wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is time to reclaim the library in the name of racial justice and equality. This symbolic action is one small part of the necessary, ongoing effort to address the legacies of slavery, racism, and eugenics at UVA and to address the persistence of white supremacy, discrimination, and racism on campus and in larger Charlottesville,\u201d they continued.<\/p>\n

MORE: Bryn Mawr College removes past president\u2019s name from library<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

IMAGE: University of Virginia<\/p>\n

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