Leave The Ivory Tower Alone: KKK at UT

The University of Texas has refused to rename a dorm named for William Simkins, a notoriously racist law professor at UT from the early 20th century.  Apparently, he used to espouse racist views during his classes and suggested that "Negros" should not be allowed in classes where there were lots of women.

While I agree that his comments were despicable, they were absolutely no different from the views of most other Americans at the time.  If we are going to rename this building why not rename EVERY building named for someone who lived during slavery?  Jefferson would disappear from campuses everywhere.  As would about half of all the names on buildings around campus.

We all recognize slavery as a moral atrocity from history, but these people were honored for their dedication and service to the school, not their social views.  Simkins may have been a D-bag, but he served the school and offered his time and life to education (even though he may have failed to provide it objectively at times).  He is still worthy of praise for that service.  He should not be crucified for social views, especially views that were mainstream at the time.  One of the most difficult tasks of any good historian is not to judge past figures by today's moral standards.  Otherwise, EVERY historical figure would be found wanting.

Everyone should chill out on this topic and remember that you don't need to get the school to change the name in order to draw attention to the topic.  In fact, keeping the name might offer a valuable learning experience for the students who live in that dorm if someone had the motivation and ingenuity to use it.

Seriously people, leave higher education alone.  Our minds are always 10-20 years ahead, but our campuses are about 10-20 years behind.  Change takes a little bit longer for us, but it always happens.  Be patient.

Common Sense.