Princeton agrees to examine Woodrow Wilson’s legacy on race

A 32-hour protest about the racial climate at Princeton ended Thursday night when the president and students reached an agreement that included consideration of the idea of renaming the universitys storied Woodrow Wilson School of Public and global Affairs.

Calls for the removal of Wilson’s name from buildings and programs at Princeton, where he served as president from 1902 to 1910, arose during a wave of demonstrations at colleges over the treatment of minority students.

Students with the Black Justice League entered Nassau Hall around noon Wednesday, calling for the Ivy League university to acknowledge racism within Wilson’s legacy and take actions to improve cultural sensitivity on campus.

Princeton officials also agreed to designate four rooms in the Carl A. Fields Center to be used as “Cultural Affinity Centers” as well as enhancing cultural competency training for a few staff.

Anne-Marie Slaughter, a former Princeton professor and State Department official, wrote on her Twitter account that talking about Wilson’s complexity is a better choice than removing his likeness from campus altogether.

This meeting was attended by the Black Justice League (BJL) and President Eisgruber, Vice President (VP) Calhoun and Dean Dolan.

“We appreciate the willingness of the students to work with us to find a way forward for them, for us and for our community”, University President Christopher L. Eisgruber Eisgruber said. “We were able to assure them that their concerns would be raised and considered through appropriate processes”. Instead, it committed administrators to writing an email to the chairwoman of the university board of trustees “to initiate conversations concerning the present legacy” of the former president on campus. “However, that is not possible when a few vocal students are the only ones allowed to share their viewpoint”, Draim, president of Princeton College Republicans, said. The faculty members will now be known as “head of the college”.

They also had a couple other demands in mind.

At Princeton, until about 8 p.m. Thursday, the two sides appeared deadlocked on an agreement that would end the protest.

University leaders essentially agreed to further efforts to train staff to understand cultural differences, and to discuss the possibility of a required course in diversity issues for all students. The University will also explore ways to display more ethnic diversity in the artwork around campus.

On the final demand concerning amnesty from disciplinary action for those who remained in President Eisgruber’s office overnight on November 18th, 2015.