I think that the naming of the buildings on our campus is a very difficult decision to make, one that is likely more complex than first meets the eye. I wish that in the first place, we didn’t have slave owners name’s on buildings; however, the reality of the situation is that these people did have a large impact on our school’s founding and development over the years. These contributions are what likely got their names on the buildings in the first place. I wish I could say that our Univeristy, and frankly our country, weren’t founded by a group of white, mostly slave owning men. Yet this again is the truth about the country we live in. Clearly, the honoring of these people with buildings is harmful to a group of students on our campus who already may or may not struggle to feel valued at a PWI. We cannot simply erase these names, as they are unfortunately part of our history and need to be acknowledged so that responsibility can be taken for their wrongdoings. Does this mean they deserve to have buildings named after them? Perhaps not. But there certainly needs to be acknowledgement of the history of our institution in an effort to move forward in a positive way and change the culture of our campus. I understand that changing the names of buildings can be controversial in terms of losing alumni and donor support. But frankly if someone in university administration had looked at the names previously and thought hey, maybe we shouldn’t name dorms after slaveowners, then the name could have been quietly changed and a plaque outside of the building or in the university museum could acknowledge that yes his person is integral to where our university is now, but we don’t agree with their decision to own slaves. I in no way think my proposed solution is perfect and certainly am glad that I do not have to be the one making this decision. But ultimately I think the student’s and faculty opinion’s have to be considered as we are the present state of the Univeristy and the future of donations.