Princeton University to Remove Woodrow Wilson’s Name from School

Princeton University has announced that it will remove Woodrow Wilson’s name from its school of public and international affairs and one of its residential colleges. It came from many letters and calls from students and alumni.

The university states: “We have taken this extraordinary step because we believe that Wilson’s racist thinking and policies make him an inappropriate namesake for a school whose scholars, students, and alumni must be firmly committed to combatting the scourge of racism in all its forms,” the university’s board of trustees said in a statement following a vote on Friday.”

After years of controversy and protests, students have said that Wilson had racists views and policies, one of which kept Black students from enrolling at Princeton.

In recent weeks, due to the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing, more than half of the current students in the school of public affairs and about three-quarters of the Class of 2020 have signed a letter calling for Wilson’s name to be removed from the building, said Princeton's student newspaper.

It read: “We condemn this School’s complicity in this country’s violent history of white supremacy through its perpetuation of the legacy and iconography of Woodrow Wilson”

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Princeton president, Christopher Eisgruber, said the university will continue to recognize the positives that Wilson brought to the university.

“Princeton honored Wilson not because of, but without regard to or perhaps even in ignorance of, his racism," Eisgruber said. "That, however, is ultimately the problem. Princeton is part of an America that has too often disregarded, ignored, or excused racism, allowing the persistence of systems that discriminate against Black people.