A group of students and professors at the University of Virginia is demanding that school officials be forbidden to quote Thomas Jefferson despite the fact that Jefferson founded the school. Some 469 people signed an open letter to the university's president, saying they were "deeply offended" by references to the historical figure, The Washington Post reports. Since Jefferson owned slaves, they wrote, any reference to him in official communications "undermines the message of unity, equality, and civility that you are attempting to convey."
The demand came after the school president quoted Jefferson in an email to students and faculty about Donald Trump's victory, encouraging the campus to stay united.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Supreme Court may bless church-run charter schoolsSpeed Read The case is 'one of the biggest on church and state in a generation'
-
Harvard sues Trump over frozen grant moneySpeed Read The Trump administration withheld $2.2 billion in federal grants and contracts after Harvard rejected its demands
-
Harvard loses $2.3B after rejecting Trump demandsspeed read The university denied the Trump administration's request for oversight and internal policy changes
-
USC under fire for canceling valedictorian speechSpeed Read Citing safety concerns, the university canceled a pro-Palestinian student's speech
-
Florida teachers can 'say gay' under settlementspeed read The state reached a settlement with challengers of the 2022 "Don't Say Gay" education law
-
Biden administration to forgive $39B in student loan debt for 800K borrowersSpeed Read
-
Advocacy groups challenge Harvard's legacy admissions policySpeed Read
-
2 Michigan school districts ban backpacks after confiscating 4th gun this yearSpeed Read
