Post by GrayGhost on Feb 17, 2005 12:26:00 GMT -5
www.dailytexanonline.com/news/2005/02/17/University/Movement.Of.South.Mall.Statues.Still.Uncertain-867369.shtml
The possible relocation of the South Mall statues, mainly those of Confederate leaders, was a controversial issue that sparked debate among various campus and outside groups in fall 2004.
However, the controversy seems to have been quelled, alleviating much of the pressure on UT President Larry Faulkner to hasten his appointment of a committee to decide the statues' fates.
Faulkner announced the creation of the committee in October 2004. At that time, Vice President for Public Affairs Don Hale said the committee should have been selected within several weeks of the announcement, but could take longer.
More than three months later, Faulkner is still trying to decide which type of committee he would like to appoint, said Charles Roeckle, deputy to the president.
"This is an important issue for the University, but it has to wait until more pressing issues are attended to," Roeckle said.
He said making trips to the state Legislature this session, which started Jan. 11, has taken up most of Faulkner's time, but he hopes to attend to the committee before the session ends May 30.
Controversy followed the January 2004 release of the Task Force on Racial Respect and Fairness report, which recommended the University reevaluate its representation of historical figures in statuary.
Confederacy groups protested the relocation of the Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Albert Sidney Johnston statues while minority and pro-diversity groups opposed their prominent positions on campus.
Langston Wilkins, an English junior and vice president of the Texas Longhorn College Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said that he does not think the statues are offensive and that they should not be relocated.
"They're part of University history," he said. "We are the South, and you can't run from our Southern roots."
Wilkins said the University is considering moving the statues to show sensitivity to certain groups on campus but said he has not heard complaints from these groups.
"There [are] other things on campus that are more important to the black community," he said, such as increasing the number of minority faculty members.
Faulkner decided to appoint the relocation committee partially in response to the Task Force on Racial Respect and Fairness report.
"Maintaining the status quo is obviously a possibility, but I believe that we can do better," said Faulkner in his May 2004 response to the report.
Faulkner suggested the statues be moved to accomplish artist Pompeo Coppini's original plan, which included placing the statues around the Littlefield Fountain to symbolize the nation's reunification after the Civil War. Faulkner also suggested that plaques be added to the statues to explain their historical significance.
"I know that the [UT] president thinks it's a big issue," said Linda Millstone, deputy to the vice president and member of the Task Force.
The University is also waiting on Faulkner's appointment of a new vice provost to improve diversity on campus, another recommendation of the Task Force.
Applications for the position were due January 2005 and the committee in charge of advertising the position hopes to recommend three candidates to the provost's office by March 15. Provost Sheldon Eckland-Olson told the Texan in December that he does not expect the University to fill the position until summer 2005.
The new vice provost will also be involved in reviewing the movement of Confederate statues on the South Mall, Faulkner told the Texan in August 2004.
"There should be a way to find a compromise to acknowledge the past while looking forward to the future," Millstone said.
The possible relocation of the South Mall statues, mainly those of Confederate leaders, was a controversial issue that sparked debate among various campus and outside groups in fall 2004.
However, the controversy seems to have been quelled, alleviating much of the pressure on UT President Larry Faulkner to hasten his appointment of a committee to decide the statues' fates.
Faulkner announced the creation of the committee in October 2004. At that time, Vice President for Public Affairs Don Hale said the committee should have been selected within several weeks of the announcement, but could take longer.
More than three months later, Faulkner is still trying to decide which type of committee he would like to appoint, said Charles Roeckle, deputy to the president.
"This is an important issue for the University, but it has to wait until more pressing issues are attended to," Roeckle said.
He said making trips to the state Legislature this session, which started Jan. 11, has taken up most of Faulkner's time, but he hopes to attend to the committee before the session ends May 30.
Controversy followed the January 2004 release of the Task Force on Racial Respect and Fairness report, which recommended the University reevaluate its representation of historical figures in statuary.
Confederacy groups protested the relocation of the Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Albert Sidney Johnston statues while minority and pro-diversity groups opposed their prominent positions on campus.
Langston Wilkins, an English junior and vice president of the Texas Longhorn College Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said that he does not think the statues are offensive and that they should not be relocated.
"They're part of University history," he said. "We are the South, and you can't run from our Southern roots."
Wilkins said the University is considering moving the statues to show sensitivity to certain groups on campus but said he has not heard complaints from these groups.
"There [are] other things on campus that are more important to the black community," he said, such as increasing the number of minority faculty members.
Faulkner decided to appoint the relocation committee partially in response to the Task Force on Racial Respect and Fairness report.
"Maintaining the status quo is obviously a possibility, but I believe that we can do better," said Faulkner in his May 2004 response to the report.
Faulkner suggested the statues be moved to accomplish artist Pompeo Coppini's original plan, which included placing the statues around the Littlefield Fountain to symbolize the nation's reunification after the Civil War. Faulkner also suggested that plaques be added to the statues to explain their historical significance.
"I know that the [UT] president thinks it's a big issue," said Linda Millstone, deputy to the vice president and member of the Task Force.
The University is also waiting on Faulkner's appointment of a new vice provost to improve diversity on campus, another recommendation of the Task Force.
Applications for the position were due January 2005 and the committee in charge of advertising the position hopes to recommend three candidates to the provost's office by March 15. Provost Sheldon Eckland-Olson told the Texan in December that he does not expect the University to fill the position until summer 2005.
The new vice provost will also be involved in reviewing the movement of Confederate statues on the South Mall, Faulkner told the Texan in August 2004.
"There should be a way to find a compromise to acknowledge the past while looking forward to the future," Millstone said.