I think the University of Richmond’s handling of the name changes was flawed in several ways. Firstly, I believe that, with this issue largely being brought to attention by students and faculty, these groups should have been more involved in the decision to change the names. As a university that constantly states its dedication to its students, I believe that their choice to not listen to or include students in this decision-making was an incorrect judgment on the part of the university. By not including students in this decision-making, many have been left feeling angry and disgruntled with the university, and I think it was a mistake to not include these groups in making decisions for the university that impact the living and learning quarters of these students.

With these problems in the decision-making process, I disagree with the decision of the university to keep the names of Freeman and Ryland on the buildings. The University of Richmond continuously claims that it is working to create a more inclusive campus community; however, with the long, racist history of the university, how is keeping the names of individuals who enslaved people, argued for eugenics, and overall perpetuated highly racist beliefs working to create an inclusive community? We can still see the racial issues on campus, with several blatantly racist incidents on campus last year, and continued acknowledgments of the racial segregation on our campus, perpetuated by institutions such as Greek life. Buildings are named after individuals to honor them; thus, by keeping the names of Freeman and Ryland on the buildings, the university continues to work directly against its message of inclusivity and perpetuates the honoring of racist individuals. By renaming these buildings, such as the remaining Mitchell-Freeman hall simply Mitchell Hall, and renaming Ryland hall, we can continue to remember the history of our university without glorifying individuals who maintained racist and highly damaging actions against African Americans.