AUSTIN, Texas—The fight to remove the statue of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, resumed this past week with added vigor as UT faculty, alumni, and students took to Twitter in force.
In May, Breitbart Texas reported that the statue of Davis had already faced vandalism, scrutiny, and criticism in recent months. Vandals defaced the statue, located in front of the main UT Tower, on more than one occasion—with “Chump” and “Davis Must Fall” among the writings. The Daily Texan, the campus newspaper, published an editorial in support of taking the statue down. Arguably the most notable development centered on the passage of AR 35 by UT’s student government, a resolution that endorsed the removal of the statue.
Since AR 35, chatter calling for the expulsion of Jefferson Davis from campus has been growing. Within the past week, UT’s student government started an online petition with a goal of 1,500 signatures and wrote a letter to UT President Greg Fenves, explaining its stance late last week:
Statues serve to glorify and memorialize the values of what the subject stood for. Given Jefferson Davis’ vehement support for the institution of slavery and white supremacy, we believe this statue is not in line with the university’s core values—learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility. It is impossible to reach the full potential of an inclusive and progressive learning institution while putting an idol of our darkest days on a pedestal.
The letter also included a subtle reference to recent events in South Carolina, saying, “In the same way that the Confederate flag projects values of racial hatred, the Jefferson Davis statue memorializes a man who stood for racial inequality and bigotry.”
Soon after the petition was posted online, the Twittersphere exploded. Student body president and vice president, Xavier Rotnofsky and Rohit Mandalapu, tweeted the following, suggesting the statue be moved to a nearby museum:
Statues of racists belong in a museum, where they can be studied. Sign and share our petition http://t.co/6Do5xkQeeW pic.twitter.com/SqOArWtgEx
— Xavier & Rohit (@RotMan2015) June 22, 2015
The University’s Executive Alliance turned toward figures like Ted Cruz, Adam Sandler, and Donald Trump, and asked them for their thoughts on the Davis statue:
.@tedcruz how do you feel about Confederate statues at UT? http://t.co/6Do5xkQeeW Cc: @AdamSandler — Xavier & Rohit (@RotMan2015) June 22, 2015
.@realDonaldTrump you say we shouldn’t allow Mexicans into the US, but should we allow Confederate statues on public campuses? Cc: @SHAQ
— Xavier & Rohit (@RotMan2015) June 22, 2015
On June 19, @UTAustin said the proposal was on the Fenves’s desk:
@Stansbury The student gov’t proposal was sent to the president’s office where it will be reviewed & carefully considered by univ. leaders. — UT Austin (@UTAustin) June 19, 2015
President Fenves replied to the student government by announcing he takes the matter seriously:
.@UT_SG I take this issue very seriously and am working with students and campus leadership on it. https://t.co/TxPCj51kiM
— Greg Fenves (@gregfenves) June 21, 2015
Vocal UT alumni also showed up to campaign, oftentimes including the link to the petition or receiving a retweet from @UT_SG:
@UnseenPerfidy I’m an alum of the Univ of Texas, whose students & alumni are pushing to rid UT of a Jefferson Davis statue. #NoDavisOnCampus — Carrie Morgan (@C_T_Morgan) June 22, 2015
.@gregfenves I’m a Texas PhD. I’m proud of Jordan Speith & ashamed of the Jefferson Davis statue on the UT campus. #NoDavisOnCampus #HookEm
— Professor Hickey (@ProfessorHickey) June 22, 2015
Seeing @UTAustin students driving #NoDavisOnCampus makes this Longhorn proud! Please sign petition http://t.co/pAPwEBYKP6 @gregfenves @UT_SG
— Brian Stansbury (@Stansbury) June 22, 2015
It was announced on Monday that President Fenves was planning to meet with student representatives to further discuss #NoDavisOnCampus.
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