Countries, states, organizations,and schools all name buildings to pay respect people who have done great work for the community. Naming a building after someone shows how much honor and respect a person deserves. The University of Oregon has chosen to change the name of a building honoring a controversial historical figure. According to the New York Daily News, the school has chosen to change the name of a building that was named after a leader of the Klu Klux Klan.
This news came from the board of trustees of the University on Thursday. According to officials, the building was named after Frederick Dunn, a former professor of the University and Klan leader. Dunn’s name was on one of the resident’s halls on campus. Though he died in 1937 and the university states that attitudes toward minority groups at the school have been different for centuries, the name still remained.
The New York Daily News also reports that this name change was caused by the push from black students on the school’s campus. Officials are stating that the Black Student Task Force at the university began heavily demanding that the university change the name of the building in November of 2015. The New York Daily News is also stating that many of the students of the campus came together after a student named Larnell Bruce was run over by an alleged white supremacist last month. This push back and outrage from this population of the student body is what finally pushed the board of trustees to come to a decision on the name change.
These changes are good news for the students pushing for change, but they are still pushing for more changes to be made. Reports are also claiming that another building on the campus may be named after a man who was pro-slavery. The Black Student Task Force plans on targeting these issues as well.
Slavery, racism, and the problems left behind by those issues still exist today. As the people of the US try to make the country better, people must realize how seemingly small issues continue to be problems.
