UT to Explore Fate of Statues that Honor Confederacy

Houston Chronicle ^ | 12/27/06 | AP

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Houston & Texas News

Dec. 27, 2006, 10:53PM UT to explore fate of statues that honor the Confederacy

AUSTIN — University of Texas President William Powers Jr. said he plans to form an advisory committee to study whether something should be done about the numerous campus statues honoring the Confederacy.

The statues have in recent history become a topic of debate among students, professors and administrators.

They include four bronze figures on the South Mall honoring Confederate leaders such as Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States, and Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Powers said he plans to appoint a committee of advisers early next year, probably including faculty and students.

"The whole range of options is on the table," Powers said.

"A lot of students, and especially minority students, have raised concerns. And those are understandable and legitimate concerns. On the other hand, the statues have been here for a long time, and that's something we have to take into account as well."

Some critics have proposed removing the Davis and Lee statues and placing them in a museum.

Statuary on the UT campus has grown more diverse over the years, partly as a result of student-led efforts. A student tax raised funds to install a statue of Martin Luther King Jr., the black civil rights leader, in 1999.

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[BnBlFlag]

There is no end to the relentless attacks on Southern Heritage by PC Southern Schools. These Scalawags are much worse than their Leftist Northern Masters they're trying to please.

[RebelBanker]

Here's one for the Dixie ping list.

Here we go again... (or maybe still)

[PeteB570]

Kwanza offends me. Can I get it baned?

Thought so. Oh, well.

[donmeaker]

Treason offends me.

[no-to-illegals]

oh come on....can't we just destroy History and be done with it.....just think....no History to learn from.....no History to learn from one can't think, one can't think one can't learn, vicious, vicious cycle.....

[padre35]

This is a dishonest attempt to revise history, and the PC War is back on again I see.

Hopefully the Alumni will get wind and cut the purse strings.

[tet68]

Well, they can always put them into some dusty cellar
with the statues of Washington and Jefferson.

[Liberty Valance]

Just keep scrubbing history and maybe some day we can say it never happened at all. Sounds like something Stalin would do.

[traditional1]

As I said on another thread on this subject:

"Okay.....we'll put statues of Buckwheat, Aunt Jemimah, and a Lawn Jockey next to those they want to remove, so we have equal representation!"

[Republic_of_Secession.]

Seems certain Union elites do not like to be reminded that the State is divisible despite the rhetoric in their so called Pledge of Allegiance -to the Yankee State that is.

[Felis_irritable]

The people who have "issues" with the statues aren't fit to shine Robert E. Lee's shoes.

They need to get back in the classroom and put more time into their studies and less into whining.

[DBrow]

"People separated from their history are easily persuaded." --Karl Marx

Marx marches on!

[streetpreacher]

Then why do you live in California?

[BnBlFlag]

"The people who have 'issues' with the statues aren't fit to shine Robert E. Lee's shoes".
I agree wholeheartedly. It's time to start putting the pressure on these PC Wimps that run UT today.

[K-oneTexas]

"scrubbing history" ... seems like something some like doing. ("The statues have in recent history become a topic of debate among students, professors and administrators." ) Maybe they have too much time on their hands and need some other form of physical and mental exertion.

These are the statutes on the South Mall: * Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States * Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the U.S. * Albert Sidney Johnston, General of the Confederate Army * James Stephen Hogg, First Native Governor of Texas * Robert E. Lee, Chief General of the Confederate Military * John H. Reagan, Postmaster General of the Confederate States * George Washington, Cherry Tree Lumberjack.

So the Confederates are Davis, Johnson, Lee and Reagan. Do we stop there. Should also look to the State Capitol grounds as it has a Confederate War Memorial. After all it's State-owned land just like the University. Is Woodrow Wilson associated with anything that offends? How about George Washington? Should we go on?

History is history, like it or not. If we start by taking away these statutes because someone is offended by the past ... what's next. As I said before I think some have too much time on their hands.

[donmeaker]

Someone has to fight to keep Santa Monica and San Francisco in check.

Think of it as Missionary work.

[streetpreacher]

Good one.

[Ptarmigan]

I went to UT and this has been controversial for years. I always walked by those statues. Never gave much thought of them. Never offended me.

[civis]

I grew up in central Texas and attended UT Austin as an undergraduate. Besides the Confederate leader likenesses, there also stands a W. Wilson, a G. Wasington, striding great his hand on his hilt, an M.L. King, and other fine sculptures. The controversial statues intriqued me and led me investigate the Civil War and to think about our country, just as the other statues did. I say leave them in place. Remove not the ancient landmark which your fathers set up, wisdom advises.

[BnBlFlag]

bttt for the day shift.