« Oh, Give Me A Home Where the Buffaloes Roam... | Main | Wanted: Advice »
February 02, 2005
Don't Strain Your Brain, But...
I'm certainly not one to post lots of thought-provoking questions; personally, I think too much at school and I'm not interested in thinking much when I'm blogging. There is an ethical issue floating around my campus, though, and it is very hotly debated. I'm curious about what you think.
In the early 1930s, a group of women called the Daughters of the Confederacy (which was, as you can guess, an organization of women whose fathers/relatives fought in the U.S. Civil War on the Confederate side.) donated a great deal of money to Vanderbilt to build a dorm in memory of the men who had died fighting for the southern states. The dorm was named, appropriately, Confederate Memorial Hall. Since Vanderbilt is no longer only a "southern" university, many people became offended by this homage to a group that supported (or at least didn't ban) slavery and oppression.
Vanderbilt, then, decided to remove the name "Confederate" from the official name. This was met with a vocal group of Daughters of the Confederacy. But the main issue now is that the D.O.C. organization is suing the university for the cost of the building.
Supporters of the university say that having a building with a clear dedication to a topic like the confederate states is offensive to minority groups and is essentially encouraging minority students to attend elsewhere.
The supporters of the D.O.C. take the position, however, that a contract is a contract and that the school has no legal right to remove the name from the dormitory, or, as it is now, somehow remove the words "Confederate Memorial" that are engraved into the building which is a historical landmark as it is.
So I'm curious. What do you think? Do you think it's unfair? (You don't have to post a reply if you don't feel comfortable; I just want you to think.)
I'm kind of on the fence. While I certainly don't approve of slavery or any of the issues associated with it, I've not met a minority student on campus who is offended by it. At least, not until yesterday when I visited with a professor who is very vocal and offended by it.
Just curious. Something to think about.
The dorm in question. Please note that the photo was not taken where you can see the "Confederate Memorial" etched in the stone at the top of the columns.
Posted by Anna at February 2, 2005 08:04 PM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.craniumleakage.com/cms/mt-tb.cgi/2201
Comments
In general, I'm in favour of keeping both good and bad memories. The bad as a reminder and a warning (take Auschwitz, for example), and the good as something to be proud of and find strength in, but this case seems weird.
What I wonder is why the DOC are determined to sue. "A contract is a contract" sounds too silly to be the main reason. What are their motives? Is it the money they want (and why, in that case)? What does the name symbolise to them? I sincerely hope that it is not that they're pro slavery, and if they're not they should be able to agree with the university to keep the name but to use the building for something which works against racial discrimination (for example) - without a silly lawsuit like this. There's got to be more to the story, or?
Posted by: Flip at February 4, 2005 08:31 AM
Flip -- I would imagine it is becuase they donated the money in order to remember their ancestors and by removing the name, that memorial aspect is gone.
Posted by: Bun-Girl at February 4, 2005 12:56 PM
Bun-Girl: Welcome! I hope you come back! Thanks for commenting. :-)
Flip: Yeah, there is a lot more to the story, but since I've only been here a few months, I don't know the history of the issue. You can go to one of the school newspaper's sites (www.vanderbilthustler.com) and search the archives for "Confederate Memorial." There are lots of news articles and quite a few editorials as well. Just in case you're interested. *wink*
Posted by: Anna at February 4, 2005 01:55 PM
Thanks :)
Posted by: Flip at February 4, 2005 05:09 PM