More than a month after a statue of Thomas Jefferson was vandalized at Hofstra University and an extensive campaign to remove it from campus, the school’s president has announced that the founding father’s visage will remain.
In April, Hofstra students on either side of the issue held dueling protests, with some students holding up the American flag, and others hoisting signs reading “RAPIST” and “SLAVER.” Tensions peaked later that month, and anti-Jefferson activists ultimately resorted to vandalizing the Jefferson statue with spray paint.
Hofstra University President Stuart Rabinowitz apparently put the issue to bed on May 30, releasing a message announcing that the statue would remain on campus.
“After consultation with students, faculty, administration, alumni, trustees, and other friends of the University, I have decided that the Thomas Jefferson statue will remain where it is at the entrance of the Sondra and David S. Mack Student Center,” Rabinowitz wrote.
“These men of their time laid out a vision of a world in which all people are created equal. It is this vision we celebrate and honor in our Founding Fathers, even as we wrestle with their human and indefensible failings,” he further elaborated.
However, students on both sides of the issue believe the issue is far from over.
“The people who wanted to take [the statue] down are just going to get more fired up. I’m not sure the issue is done with,” former Hofstra College Republicans President Chris Kostulias told Red Alert Politics.
“I anticipate lots of complaining, etcetera, probably accusations of racism against admin,” Kostulias continued, labeling the situation “ridiculous.”
“It should stay because you can’t erase history just because it makes you feel uncomfortable,” he concluded.
In response to Rabinowitz’s decision, “Jefferson Has Gotta Go!” activists reiterated their demands in a Facebook post.
“In light of this announcement, the organizers of the Jefferson Has Gotta Go! student protest hosted in March of 2018 would like to announce phase two of this campaign as well as our mission going forward,” the group wrote.
“First and foremost, we demand the removal of the statue of Thomas Jefferson from the entrance of the Sondra and David S. Mack Student Center,” the post continues, adding demands for a “tip line where Hofstra University students may report behaviors that can be categorized as racist, sexist, trans-antagonistic or bigoted in any other regard.”
Furthermore, the group demanded that “faculty be required to participate in an intensive cultural competency training program.”
Some students sounded off about the issue on social media.
“I carry the burden of that was and of what could’ve been in the way I walk, talk, breathe, and live. A statue is just a statue, but I am a person and I’m alive right here, right now,” Hofstra student Michelle Boo is quoted in one tweet, while holding a sign reading, “Thomas Jefferson’s Statue is a Gender Neutral Bathroom.”
Other students held signs reading “Abolish White Supremacy,” “Rape and Racism are NOT Personal Vices or flaws,” and “Black Lives Matter.”
Red Alert Politics reached out to the Jefferson Has Gotta Go movement, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
