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5/11/2022 5:19 am  #1


WaPo: George Washington University Needs a New Name

Glad to see the Washington Post is taking time to address the most pressing issues of our day.

I do find it odd that this author, a senior, would choose to spend 4 years at a school he finds deeply racist?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/09/george-washington-university-needs-new-name/

Last edited by GW0509 (5/11/2022 5:29 am)

 

5/11/2022 5:56 am  #2


Re: WaPo: George Washington University Needs a New Name

No thanks.

 

5/11/2022 6:10 am  #3


Re: WaPo: George Washington University Needs a New Name

When I saw the title of this thread, I assumed the opinion piece would be about the nickname. This is about the name of the university itself. That's crazy. I'm not terribly old but with this issue I feel like I'm screaming "get off my lawn!" 

See what once again is happening is people forget we can honor the positive in history and learn about it alongside the bad parts. We can simultaneously hold respect for the work George Washington did leading this country to become a country and still talk about how he owned slaves and, like so many in his day, was a racist, white, wealthy land-owner. 

You can argue a black university president would be great and I'd agree. That could be great for the university. And I'm sure there are many candidates who would be great and I hope they get a fair chance at the position. I'd, honestly, prefer we move away from the old white, long-entrenched in academia presidents. They don't seem to be working for us recently. 

But to talk about the importance of lifting up underrepresented groups at the school by trashing the name on the university strikes me as wrong. If the opinion piece was simply, it's time for better representation at GW and they can show this by hiring a minority president, that could be a great opinion piece. But to wrap it in, the university needs to re-brand itself just takes away from the main argument and weakens it significantly. 

 

5/11/2022 6:20 am  #4


Re: WaPo: George Washington University Needs a New Name

UGH

 

5/11/2022 8:27 am  #5


Re: WaPo: George Washington University Needs a New Name

I could write a treatise on this -but I will spare all of you.All I can say is my first degree was in History
at GW.Recently It was brought to my attention that the degree is meaningless because a degree in History
is the equivalent of a degree in “fake news”.The far right and the far left have taken over the narrative-I find 
it very disturbing for our sanity and our democracy.We have been here before many times in world history.
The conflict generally ends with a totalitarian dictatorship of the "Right or the "Left".I'm glad I'm 75 years old,
and hopefully,won't be here for the denouement.

Last edited by GW69 (5/11/2022 9:06 am)

 

5/11/2022 9:09 am  #6


Re: WaPo: George Washington University Needs a New Name

NY colonial - well put.  We can honor our 1st President for his leadership while still acknowledging his failures.  Changing names of everything will not change history.  We are all imperfect - even the young person that wrote this editorial. 
This cultural rebranding has to stop.  Use education to highlight positive and negatives and learn from history.  Do not erase it.

 

5/11/2022 9:14 am  #7


Re: WaPo: George Washington University Needs a New Name

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2018-19, 10.3% of bachelor degree earners were black.  GW reports that 10.7% of its student body was black last year.  If the author wants to claim that blacks are underrepresented at GW, I'd like a bit more other than to take his word for it.

When the discussion regarding the Colonials moniker took place here, several asked what was next...changing the name of the school?  This wasn't being said as a joke.  ColonialNY put it very well.  Are we supposed to ignore or forget about all of the positive accomplishments?  Should the name George Washington be forever vilified because he was a white, wealthy slaveowner, as was the societal norm among many other white, wealthy men during this time?  Again, we are talking about a founding father and first president of our country.

None of this is to diminish the abhorrent nature of what we're referring to.  We've now known for hundreds of years how awful a practice this was.  Tragically, back then, owning slaves was a way of life for some, as uncomfortable a notion as this is to begin to accept today. George Washington did have a moral dilemma about this, and in his will, ordered the emancipation of his family owned slaves upon his and Martha's deaths.

 

5/11/2022 9:18 am  #8


Re: WaPo: George Washington University Needs a New Name

As a current student I can confidently say that there is no serious discussion among the student body about changing the name of the university. Changing our mascot/nickname is certainly a popular idea, but I won't get into that. The point is that this is a unserious piece that I think takes the criticism about the universities history too far and distracts from constructive ways to improve the university- of which there are many. 

 

5/11/2022 9:20 am  #9


Re: WaPo: George Washington University Needs a New Name

Gee; thanks Caleb.  You just gave Fox News and the rest of the Grievance-Industrial complex thousands of hours of material by suggesting in the Washington post that we cancel George Washington.  Changing the name will accomplish absolutely nothing except exacerbating backlash against those fighting for racial justice. 

In other words, this college senior just made the fight for racial justice more difficult with the kind of lunacy that pushes swing voters into the arms of the fascists.  Good job.

 

5/11/2022 10:24 am  #10


Re: WaPo: George Washington University Needs a New Name

Thank you Free Quebec-Well said.By the way-Mr Francois the author of the opinion piece in the Post
should familiarize himself with "Contextual History".
 

Last edited by GW69 (5/11/2022 10:55 am)

 

5/11/2022 11:35 am  #11


Re: WaPo: George Washington University Needs a New Name

Free Quebec wrote:

Gee; thanks Caleb. You just gave Fox News and the rest of the Grievance-Industrial complex thousands of hours of material by suggesting in the Washington post that we cancel George Washington. Changing the name will accomplish absolutely nothing except exacerbating backlash against those fighting for racial justice.

In other words, this college senior just made the fight for racial justice more difficult with the kind of lunacy that pushes swing voters into the arms of the fascists. Good job.

1) Thanks GW0509. Was waiting for someone to post this.
2) FQ's comments, in terms of political reality, offer a lot to think about. Haven't read The Post comments since
yesterday, but at one point, it seemed like 78 of 79 comments mocked this article.
 3) Very proud of Mr. Francois for getting his piece published as a student, no matter how naive and
foolish some points seem. Look at one of his renaming suggestions.
4) But having accomplished that, he opens himself up to criticism by any normal thinking person with real-life
experience. His generation doesn't take a hint of criticism or need for self-improvement well (see our 6-year
nosedive because of allegedly tender feelings). So hope it is not too traumatic for Caleb, to read the comments. Again, good job on getting this out in public, regardless of whether its lack of intellectual rigor to put it mildly, embarrasses anyone who graduated from the same institution or not.
5) As transparently misplaced and naive at best, some of his suggestions are, frankly, the name of the university
is way more of a relevant issue than the name Colonials, which will no doubt be replaced just to satisfy some students. And congratulations to young Mr. Francois for not mentioning the nickname (couldn't stand to read it several times to double-check).
  It is a debate worth having at some point and we have to acknowledge that George Washington owned slaves, an
incredibly horrible and totally inexcusable act that taints U.S. history with deep shame, even if reflective of the time and place. We also have to acknowledge huge ameliorating factors as pointed out by posters here, including that he apparently long planned to free his slaves, no doubt a rarity in VA. GW does need to own up to that in some fashion, perhaps starting in the history dept. 
  Caleb's writing offers little intellectual food for thought, beyond the obvious.  For example, limiting job candidates to a single race, believe is illegal.. 
  Changing the name of the university right now or maybe ever, for practical and historically honest and other reasons, is not something that deserves priority attention today, though again the legacy is worth reflecting on
to a nuanced extent. 
   But it sure doesn't mean changing the perfectly proper Colonials name and we shouldn't accept it.





 

Last edited by jf (5/11/2022 12:04 pm)

 

5/11/2022 11:57 am  #12


Re: WaPo: George Washington University Needs a New Name

I guess he should write VOID across the face of his diploma.  

 

5/11/2022 12:52 pm  #13


Re: WaPo: George Washington University Needs a New Name

Free Quebec wrote:

Gee; thanks Caleb. You just gave Fox News and the rest of the Grievance-Industrial complex thousands of hours of material by suggesting in the Washington post that we cancel George Washington. Changing the name will accomplish absolutely nothing except exacerbating backlash against those fighting for racial justice.

In other words, this college senior just made the fight for racial justice more difficult with the kind of lunacy that pushes swing voters into the arms of the fascists. Good job.

I would think that there are many who disagree with the author's notion that are not Fox News viewers and not in the "grievance-Industrial complex" -which is a great phrase by the way.  

 

5/11/2022 1:36 pm  #14


Re: WaPo: George Washington University Needs a New Name

The country is hereby rebranded MURKKKA!! Ron DeSantis said so.

 

5/11/2022 4:55 pm  #15


Re: WaPo: George Washington University Needs a New Name

If you are looking for perverse pleasure at what Mr. Francois has wrought in the name of The George Washington University, read The Washington Post comments.
Spoiler alert: About 98.5 to 1 against, by individuals of all political stripes. But very interestingly expressed.

 

5/11/2022 5:09 pm  #16


Re: WaPo: George Washington University Needs a New Name

There is a passing mention of the nickname (albeit spelled with a lower case "c").
There is a very real point to be made about the school´s name. The names of some pretty reprehensible white men have been removed from the names of buildings on campus (the author mentions Floyd Marvin, John C. Calhoun´s name was retired before the author was old enough to be potty trained) and there is something to be said about if the University should be named after a slave owner and killer of First Nations peoples, although granted that George Washington´s place in history is defined by more than just his massacres and enlavement of humans. 
But beyond the (attention-grabbing) headline, the op-ed piece is really attempting to bring home a greater point that the change that has long been needed at GW is profound and must hit at the core curriculum..
The American Civilization course I took as a requisite struck me as the whitest bit of bullcrap plucked from 18th Centrury academia. The only mention of non-White Protestants in the course was a 10 min discussion of "slave quilts" in the greater context of the "American quilting tradition". Basically, I was required to take a class that reduced the "Great Melting Pot" to the area of Europe north of the Alps-- but not including the Irish, Jews or Roma. The Chinese who build the railroads? The First Nations that survived the "first Thanksgiving"? The Latinos of the Southwest? The Hawai´ians who had their country stolen from them? The Inupiat who were reduced to ice cream logos? Yeah, none of them made the course work, because, you know it was "American" civilization, not "USA civilization".
So, perhaps instead of focusing on the superficial part of the op-ed, maybe we should talk about its most salient paragraph (quoted below):   
Black professorship also remains low, especially in the university’s International Affairs program. Limited Black professors teaching African and African American courses and the continued neglect of Black academia and Black professorship create a campus culture in which European studies and White perspectives are favored over Black perspectives. No African languages are taught at the university, and calls for reforms are often ignored.

 

 

5/11/2022 6:05 pm  #17


Re: WaPo: George Washington University Needs a New Name

Alum Abroad-That was not my experience in the History department.I’m not trying to be cute here but
Im not sure what kind turn out there would be for a course in Wolof.Having said that I probably would 
have registered for it.I do believe they teach Arabic at GW a very important and relevant language.
I can’t speak to the number of Black profs in International Affairs-but I’m all for more.

 

5/12/2022 8:05 am  #18


Re: WaPo: George Washington University Needs a New Name

ColonialNY wrote:

When I saw the title of this thread, I assumed the opinion piece would be about the nickname. This is about the name of the university itself. That's crazy. I'm not terribly old but with this issue I feel like I'm screaming "get off my lawn!" 

See what once again is happening is people forget we can honor the positive in history and learn about it alongside the bad parts. We can simultaneously hold respect for the work George Washington did leading this country to become a country and still talk about how he owned slaves and, like so many in his day, was a racist, white, wealthy land-owner. 

You can argue a black university president would be great and I'd agree. That could be great for the university. And I'm sure there are many candidates who would be great and I hope they get a fair chance at the position. I'd, honestly, prefer we move away from the old white, long-entrenched in academia presidents. They don't seem to be working for us recently. 

But to talk about the importance of lifting up underrepresented groups at the school by trashing the name on the university strikes me as wrong. If the opinion piece was simply, it's time for better representation at GW and they can show this by hiring a minority president, that could be a great opinion piece. But to wrap it in, the university needs to re-brand itself just takes away from the main argument and weakens it significantly. 

Good Points NYC. Focusing on names are branding doesn't address the issues of GW in DC today. A missed opportunity to mention significant change. To me the article looked alot less flawed after reading the comments in the Post. The article grappled with fact of slavery and what flowed from it. 

If the comments  weren't authored by bots and disinformation factories, I found them so predictable, scary and sad. Outrage that George Washington isn't considered saint. A mention that he was a slave holder is enough to balance the record. No need to look further. No contemplation of what it means to have the man most of the other founders thought was essential to the US coming into being was a significant slaveholder. No consideration of what it means GOING FORWARD. Just outrage and slippery slope hysteria 

AND lots of failure to honor Herve's dictum, Don't call someone an evil pant load, Make An Argument!

Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Freakout: Why Hasn't GW Signed Any Transfers!!

Last edited by FredD (5/13/2022 7:48 am)

 

5/12/2022 10:14 am  #19


Re: WaPo: George Washington University Needs a New Name

Yes. Save us all (Ok, a few) from ourselves. Sign a transfer!

 

5/12/2022 10:09 pm  #20


Re: WaPo: George Washington University Needs a New Name

Stuff like this is exactly how TFG is gonna come back with a vengeance in 2024. Without George Washington there very well might not have been the united states. 10% black enrollment compared to the 12% they make up in the US seems a bit low but not egregiously bad like he made it out to be. Just a lot of bad arguments that make a real fight that much Harder. Hire a good president, idc what their race is. What is next for people with this mindset? Rename DC! Rename states that use Native American tribal names! Rename everything named after everyone who was ever a slave owner like that wasn't pretty popular in the time period for richer families. Where does this bs end

 

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