Opinion: Protests at Princeton over
Woodrow Wilson's legacy
By Project Syndicate, adapted by Newsela staff on 01.07.16
Word Count 794
Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president of the United States and the president of Princeton University. Photo: Wikimedia
Commons
PRINCETON, N.J. – In the middle of my Practical Ethics class last month, several students
stood up and walked out. They joined hundreds of others in a protest led by the Black
Justice League (BJL). The BJL is a student group that emerged after the fatal shooting of
Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014, and other police killings of unarmed
African-Americans. Many groups like it have appeared across the United States.
Later that day, members of the BJL occupied the office of Princeton University President
Christopher Eisgruber. They refused to leave until their demands were met. The first
demand was to have “cultural competency training” for both academic and non-academic
staff. A second was a requirement that students take classes on the history of marginalized
people. Another demand was the creation of a space on campus dedicated to the AfricanAmerican culture.
One demand received national attention. The League demanded that the school rename
the university’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and Wilson
College, one of its residential colleges. The BJL also wants to remove a large mural of
Wilson from the college dining hall. The League says that honoring Wilson is offensive to
African-American students because Wilson was a racist.
Forward-Thinking Was Limited
Wilson was a progressive in domestic affairs and an idealist in foreign policy. His forwardthinking administration passed laws against child labor and granted new rights to workers.
He also reformed banking laws and challenged monopolies. In the years after World War I,
he insisted that foreign policy be guided by moral values. In Europe, he advocated for
democracy.
However, his policies for African-Americans were conservative and backward. In 1913,
when he became president, the federal government employed many African-Americans,
some working alongside whites in mid-level management positions. His administration
racially segregated workplaces and washrooms, even though this had been abolished at
the end of the Civil War. African-American managers were demoted to lower positions.
When the workers protested, he told them that they should consider segregation a benefit.
Wilson's Reach Was Global
Wilson’s name is prominently featured at Princeton partly because he is one of the
university’s most famous graduates. Before he was U.S. president, he was Princeton’s
president. A former dean of the Woodrow Wilson School said that he “perhaps did more
than anyone else to transform (Princeton) from a preppie gentlemen’s preserve into a great
research university.”
Wilson is famous worldwide for coming up with a proposal called the “Fourteen Points.”
They were used as the basis of a peace treaty to end World War I. Today, monuments,
public parks and streets are named after him across Europe.
One of the Fourteen Points is a call for open covenants, meaning no secret treaties plotting
the post-war division of another country’s territory. Another of the Points requested fewer
trade barriers. Perhaps most important is the proposal for the formation of “a general
association of nations."
That call led to the founding of the League of Nations, the predecessor of the United
Nations. From 1920 until 1936, its headquarters were in the Palais Wilson in Geneva,
Switzerland. The building retains that name, and is today the headquarters of the U.N.
High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Do We Remove All Founding Father's Names?
History is full of flawed people who did great things. In the United States, we have only to
look at slave-owning Founding Fathers and early presidents like George Washington,
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. One might say they were at least no worse than
the standards of their time. But is that sufficient grounds to continue honoring them?
A New Orleans school board decided that no school should be named after a slaveholder.
They renamed George Washington Elementary School after an African-American surgeon
who fought for desegregation of blood transfusions.
Wilson’s name was added to Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs in 1948.
Rosa Parks’ famous bus ride was still seven years away, and segregation in the American
South was not under serious challenge. Today slavery is unthinkable. Wilson’s racism has
become more obvious, and he ceases to embody the values that are important to
Princeton University today.
Conversation And Education
Wilson’s contributions to the university, the United States, and the world cannot and should
not be erased from history. They should, instead, be recognized in a manner that creates a
nuanced and rich conversation about changing values. Today's conversation should
include both his positive achievements and his contributions to America’s racist policies
and practices of the times.
At Princeton, this could educate students and staff who would otherwise be unaware of the
complex history of such an important figure. We may learn to recognize that attaching
Wilson’s name to a school sends a message that misrepresents the values that an
institution stands for.
Quiz
1
Read the sentence from the introduction [paragraphs 1-3].
The BJL is a student group that emerged after the fatal shooting of
Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014, and other police
killings of unarmed African-Americans.
Which answer choice BEST defines the word "emerged" as used in the sentence?
2
(A)
grew
(B)
heightened
(C)
was noticed
(D)
was established
Read the sentence from the section "Do We Remove All Founding Father's Names?"
Wilson’s racism has become more obvious, and he ceases to embody
the values that are important to Princeton University today.
Which word would BEST replace the word "embody" in the sentence without changing its
meaning?
3
(A)
realize
(B)
represent
(C)
complete
(D)
incorporate
Which sentence from the article BEST supports the author's claim?
(A)
One demand received national attention.
(B)
History is full of flawed people who did great things.
(C)
A New Orleans school board decided that no school should be named after
a slaveholder.
(D)
At Princeton, this could educate students and staff who would otherwise be
unaware of the complex history of such an important figure.
4
Which of the following selections from the article provides the STRONGEST support for the
argument against renaming Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International
Affairs?
(A)
A former dean of the Woodrow Wilson School said that he “perhaps did
more than anyone else to transform (Princeton) from a preppie gentlemen’s
preserve into a great research university.”
(B)
Perhaps most important is the proposal for the formation of “a general
association of nations."
(C)
A New Orleans school board decided that no school should be named after
a slaveholder.
(D)
Today's conversation should include both his positive achievements and his
contributions to America’s racist policies and practices of the times.
Answer Key
1
Read the sentence from the introduction [paragraphs 1-3].
The BJL is a student group that emerged after the fatal shooting of
Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014, and other police
killings of unarmed African-Americans.
Which answer choice BEST defines the word "emerged" as used in the sentence?
2
(A)
grew
(B)
heightened
(C)
was noticed
(D)
was established
Read the sentence from the section "Do We Remove All Founding Father's Names?"
Wilson’s racism has become more obvious, and he ceases to embody
the values that are important to Princeton University today.
Which word would BEST replace the word "embody" in the sentence without changing its
meaning?
3
(A)
realize
(B)
represent
(C)
complete
(D)
incorporate
Which sentence from the article BEST supports the author's claim?
(A)
One demand received national attention.
(B)
History is full of flawed people who did great things.
(C)
A New Orleans school board decided that no school should be named after
a slaveholder.
(D)
At Princeton, this could educate students and staff who would otherwise be
unaware of the complex history of such an important figure.
4
Which of the following selections from the article provides the STRONGEST support for the
argument against renaming Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International
Affairs?
(A)
A former dean of the Woodrow Wilson School said that he “perhaps did
more than anyone else to transform (Princeton) from a preppie
gentlemen’s preserve into a great research university.”
(B)
Perhaps most important is the proposal for the formation of “a general
association of nations."
(C)
A New Orleans school board decided that no school should be named after
a slaveholder.
(D)
Today's conversation should include both his positive achievements and his
contributions to America’s racist policies and practices of the times.