Black Justice League at Princeton University Stages Sit-in, Demands School Remove Woodrow Wilson’s Name from Buildings (Updated)

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More than 300 students at Princeton University walked out of class this morning, marched to Nassau Hall, and demanded that Woodrow Wilson’s name be removed from all school buildings because he was a racist.

Members of the student group Black Justice League then announced the immediate start of a sit-in they promised will last until their list of demands is met by Princeton University officials.

“We demand you acknowledge the racist legacy of Woodrow Wilson and how it impacted the climate at Princeton,” said a student with a megaphone who stood with others on the steps of Nassau Hall.

Princeton students join students at colleges and universities across the country in calling for their schools to address racism on campus. Protests have taken place over the past week at The University of Massachusetts Amherst, John Jay College, Wesleyan University, and Smith College. Protests at Yale University and the University of Missouri in recent weeks have drawn national media attention and sparked protests on other campuses.

The Princeton students demanded that the school rename all buildings named after Wilson, and the Woodrow Wilson School of International Affairs. They also want a Wilson mural removed from the Wilcox Dining Hall. Seeing the name honored on campus makes black students feel like second-class citizens, students said.

black justice league 2Students also demanded that the school hold cultural competency training sessions for faculty and staff.

“It was voted down on the grounds of trespassing freedom of speech last semester,” the student said. “We demand a public conversation, which will be student led and administration supported, on the true role of freedom of speech and intellectual freedom of thought in a way that does not reinforce anti-blackeness and xenophobia.”

The students demanded that classes on the history of marginalized peoples be added to distribution requirements in order for a student to graduate.

Students also called on the school to provide a dedicated space on campus for black students that is clearly marked. The students want to be able to name the space themselves, and don’t want it named after “a white benefactor or person with bigoted beliefs, as evidenced by the naming of Stanhope Hall.”

Students then chanted “We here, we been here, we ain’t leavin. We are loved.”

After the gathering, student filed into Nassau Hall, where Princeton University President Chris Eisgruber met with them. The students had demanded that Eisgruber sign their document.

“I appreciate where your demands are coming from,” he said. “”I agree with you that Woodrow Wilson was a racist,  but I cannot sign your document.”

Eisgruber office PrincetonStudents told Eisgruber he doesn’t understand where they are coming from because he is white. They said they are sick of having discussions about race and want action, and that some faculty members are “disgustingly racist.”

A few dozen students remained inside Nassau Hall for the evening. At 5 p.m. the main entrace to Nassau Hall was locked, and a school official told students they could potentially face disciplinary action for violating school policy and remaining in the building after hours. Students were determined to stay.

IMG_2185Meanwhile, supporters held a rally in front of Nassau Hall at about 7:30 p.m. to show solidarity with students who are inside the building. About 100 students participated. They chanted slogans like “No justice, no peace,” and “We won’t tolerate hate”, and sang Amazing Grace.

The group marched across campus, stopping at the Princeton University Chapel, the Frist Student Center, and Wilson College. Students picked up sleeping bags, pillows, and other supplies and headed back to the front of Nassau Hall, where they planned to spend the night.

Eisgruber has not issued a public statement yet about the protests. It is likely one will be issued on Thursday.

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133 Comments

  1. Each thing that they want, in itself, is racist on THEIR part. The lunatics are trying to run the asylum.

    1. Every human is a member of some ethnic group or a combination of groups. Talking about the hurts, misunderstanding, & losses caused by profiling is a good thing…proposing reasonable solutions for healing those hurts & losses is even BETTER.

      1. “Black justice” is a racist term. How do you like the sound of “Justice for whites”? Remember Lady Justice with the scales?? She has a BLINDFOLD on – blind to color, race and gender. JUSTICE does not discriminate.

        1. The beautiful statue depicts our ideal of what justice should be …something to always strive for & secure…it does not depict something that we have achieved. A symbol/statue cannot see or speak, so PEOPLE must deliver just action. These youth endeavor to discuss justice to ensure that the scales are always balanced…it is that kind of action that creates justice. There has been unjust discrimination in the US. I think it is wise to acknowledge that truth…unless you feel “truth” is also allowed to be hidden behind a blindfold or just an ideal. I see it as a reality, as painful as reality may be to face with our eyes wide open.

          1. You’re not in the least disturbed that this statue is clearly based on caucasian standards of beauty and is articulated as a classical personification, a mode of representation developed by racist, slaveowning, imperialist ancient peoples? If anything, the statue is representative in its iconography of the racist nature of justice itself in western societies and justice as a mechanism of colonialism and cultural (and elitist) oppression.

            1. I certainly hope that was intended to be sarcastic, otherwise you’re several flagons into some Cornel West Kool-Aid that cannot be made non-toxic.

              In fact it IS so-called ‘Progressive’ professors like West and Chris Hedges and Kathy Boudin and others who are perpetuating the myth that active revolt is the right way to gain justice. If you don’t believe me, Google “How 1960s Radicals Ended Up Teaching Your Kids.”

              Guess what kids – they’ve got you believing a Lie by stating it over and over again and hoping it would become your truth.

              And Black Lies Matter.

              1. White Lies Matter too, CommunityConscience… As Langston Hughes wrote: “That Justice is a blind goddess/ Is a thing to which we black are wise, her bandage hides two festering sores/ That once perhaps were eyes.” We can all agree, perhaps that justice for EVERYONE is something worth securing here & in all corners of the world…an active process…a living quest…and not a statue. Everyone has their own thoughts in this dialogue on what is just …or what matters…as we can see from the posts here.

                1. Their notion of ‘justice’ – one that falsely construes events in order to continuously embrace them as the victims of an oppressive white society – is as far removed from reality as it gets.

                  Why did protests begin at Ferguson? Because of the false narrative promulgated around the death of Michael Brown.

                  Why did protests begin at Mizzou? They began because graduate students lost their health insurance. Due to the racist policies of the University president? No, due to Obamacare (look it up).

                  “Police are murdering black folks.” Well, yes, there are about 12 police officers nationwide charged with murdering people of all races. That’s it. It makes headlines when one of the victims is black and/or caught on video. Meanwhile something like 5,000 black folks are murdered by other black folks (murders do seem to follow along racial lines) and in the media. A lie by omission and false emphasis.

                  There is an intimate and important relationship between Justice and Truth, and someone’s concept of ‘their truth’ based on the many false narratives pushed today on college campuses and within the BLM movement do not warrant recognition as Truth.

                  1. Community Conscience, your spin on “truth” lacks depth. You seem prejudiced against the concerns of innocent people who are seeking peace and the same opportunities that many others receive. Our own local government embellishes or withholds truth to advance agendas, and everyone is quiet about it. The AA community in this country has a right to gather in protest.

                    1. I’m not offended by anyone gathering to protest. Nothing could be more American. Likewise, I exercise my right to protest.

                      I’m protesting:

                      – those who seek to “Amend the Past so it doesn’t influence the future”
                      – lies being promulgated as truth
                      – the attempted Silencing of America by the Left
                      – the acquiescence to this sort of thing by the Left
                      – the over focus on this by the Liberal Media
                      – the term ‘Black’ justice, which in itself is racist
                      – ‘feelings’ being presented as FACTS (thanks to failed parenting)
                      – political correctness, which is destroying America
                      – the failure of the Black community to take any responsibility for issues in the Black community
                      – the continuous embracing of the role of ‘victim’ – this is hurting the black community and advancing racism
                      – the near-total inability in many corners to adequately distinguish between social justice and criminal justice

                      We clearly have a checkered past. NO one wants to gloss over it, in fact the difficulties of our past should INFORM the future, not protect the future from harm and create a safe space where we can all pretend that it never happened. If we do that, we will truly welcome Orwell’s Ministry of Truth and the America that we have all known will be finished.

                      CC

                    2. If you watch the scenes at Mizzou, you will see students demanding the love & respect they deserve as good citizens, Their protest is based on accounts of our country’s WHOLE history…not just the edited version…and the clear racism still PRESENT on campus which has been extremely disrespectful & hurtful to their human spirits as they endeavor to learn in an academic setting.

                    3. They do NOT want to bring history into focus. They want to rewrite it, silence it and ‘amend’ it so they are not ‘hurt’ by it. They say so directly. They value feelings over facts. They denigrated the American core value of free speech and the right of the press and asserted that their problems are caused by ‘white privilege’ when in fact the protagonist graduate student is more privileged than any of us, as the son of a railroad exec worth > $20 million.

                      Simply google “Are the Mizzou protests based on lies” and you’ll get the facts.

      1. 3) rac·ism
        ˈrāˌsizəm/
        noun
        the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.
        prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior.

        Antagonism directed toward whites as exemplified by the black students IS racism – BY DEFINITION.

        1. But not in upside down world where they exist. ONLY white people are racist. And complaining or noticing that is, again, racist. Elegant simplicity. White people are inherently evil and racist while black people are pure and good and if they do bad things it is only because of the white people’s racism. Got it?

  2. “You cannot understand where we are coming from because you are WHITE.”

    = Racism

    1. CommunityConscience, With all due respect, the words you placed in quotation marks here aren’t the words spoken by the students. Misrepresenting these students, by creating quotes that weren’t spoken, does further harm. The delivery of their message was eloquent & heartfelt. Their requests are reasonable. Drapery over a mural, renaming a place, & a space for gathering are small demands, given the enormity of the hurt & pain that known, extreme societal marginalization has caused over time. We cannot change the past, but we can commit to doing right in this century. Sometimes that means hitting the refresh button on everyday practices & updating them. An INSPIRING name should be given to the school. The way this is resolved will speak volumes about the Trustees of PU.

      1. It’s what the article SAYS that they said to Chris Eisgruber. It’s racist nonsense designed to elicit white guilt. You’re welcome to yours, I have none.

      2. One might remove most of the portraits hanging in the library stacks. Some of them are definitely slave owners and racists.

  3. How about saving on sandblasting by making it the Ronald Wilson Reagan School of International Affairs? And, hey, let’s get rid of Washington Street and Jefferson Street. And I sure hope Wallace Hall wasn’t named after a certain Alabama governor!

  4. For true power and respect, better demand instead that the University go all-out to help minorities and women to major in math, hard sciences, engineering, econ, public policy.

  5. The Black Justice League wants a “clearly marked” “designated space for black students”? Didn’t we fight the Civil Rights Movement back in the 1960’s to eliminate such segregated spaces?

      1. NO! Only white people can be racist-don’t you know anything. The word racist doesn’t mean what it actually means-it means what the black activists say it means. Got that?

        Just like every group can have their own club, building, space except white people. That’s the only racist thing. And even when white people become a minority they should still have less rights because, duh, they’re white.

        Even though white people didn’t start the practice of slavery we’re the only ones responsible. Only when we all apologize and beg forgiveness for being white can the world start to be made right.

  6. Wilson was a nasty racist but he was also an important historical figure. Most of the founding fathers were racist and many were slave owners. Andrew Jackson endorsed the slaughter and forced removal of the Cherokee peoples. Lots of names to erase and remove.

    1. I don’t get it, they want to remove slavery from the history books, but keep all the purporters names alive.

  7. Who is “we”? If you’re speaking as a white person, sadly, statistically speaking you most likely didn’t fight for that in the 60’s. If you are black, you would already know the answer to your question and wouldn’t be asking.

  8. i have an idea why dont you sane students stop being little p&ssies and go counter protest. grow a pair!

    1. Because the “sane” students don’t give a shit enough about anything but to make comments online about it.

    1. Hey dude,

      I was just curious as to whom you think should be stopped. Your comment is really funny but also really vague.

      Thanks a lot,

  9. This is the type of activism that really gives black people a bad name and does more hurt to them than anything else. Do you really expect PRINCETON to change the name of buildings with WW’s name? Hasn’t PC culture already done enough in making everything offensive and censoring it? Yes, there is no question that WW was a racist, however you should be able to distinguish the man as a president and the man as a person. For example, the selling of Hitler’s paintings: should they be sold? Where does the money go? Yes, Hitler was (obviously) a horrendous person and did unforgivable damage to the world but that’s a separate issue from his paintings. My point is that PRINCETON did not put his name on a building because he was a racist and they want to continue and advocate it. No, they did it to honor him for all the things he did as president(e.g. 14 points,etc.), his legacy. You may not agree with his decisions as a president but there is no question that he made important contributions to the US.

    1. “This is the type of activism that really gives black people a bad name and does more hurt to them than anything else.”

      I always find this kind of rhetoric interesting. The fact that you think “this type of activism” is what hurts black people makes it seem as if you have no desire to listen to or understand why black (and other) people around the country are protesting in the first place. Black people are TELLING you what is ACTUALLY hurting them – attitudes and actions towards people of color, institutionalized (literally institutionalized in this case) racism, alienation in higher learning institutions, people not listening when they say what is actually hurting them.

      Activism is not what does more to hurt black people than anything else. People telling black people what does/should/should not hurt them instead of believing what they say actually hurts them, hurts them.

      I hope you read this and take a moment to TRY to empathize with a group of people that are coming together around the country to share what their lives are like. I hope you take a moment to listen instead of criticize a movement that is clearly imperfect, but has a true and important message behind it. I hope you take a moment to be a decent goddamn human being.

      1. im not denying that they have good intentions, nor am i denying that there is in fact institutionalized racism, even in higher education. what i am saying is that the demand to remove WW’s name from the buildings is absurd because it is a slippery-slope. should we take washington,jefferon,etc off the dollar bills for being slave owners? i never said activism as a whole. dont straw man. i said this specific type of activism, in the sense that when they ask for such an absurd demand (removing WW’s name). not to mention the fact that they literally are demanding a separate space for blacks (unintended segregation).

        1. And given that the problems in the black community are not in any way going to be alleviated by name changes on Ivy League campuses. Address the violence, murder rate, lack of fathers. Because once you avoid those issues and are successful you have the luxury of being concerned about what a building is called.

          1. So, as an attorney, you are arguing that there is a “black community”? I argue that the only reason there is a “black community” is due to discrimination; the whole idea of communing with people of the same skin color is only valid because they suffer the same discrimination. If the discrimination goes away, the need to organize and band together in solidarity loses force, doesn’t it? Think about other ethnicities and “races” which do this. Furthermore, re you positing that this “community” is inclined to be more violent, commit more murder and lack fathers? I am pretty sure that is not true, and physiology and melanin have nothing to do with societal ills such as those. Violence and crime are likely preptuated because of poverty and ignorance (lack of education), which existed/exists why? When have African Americans en masse had access to educational resources aside from the last 1-2 generations? And your underlying assumption is that criminal justice is fair and equitable, as if people where not hounded, arrested and prevented from living free. Lastly, the ‘no fathers’ argument does not hold water. Being born out of wedlock does not mean that one does not have a father in his/her life. Furthermore, think about when there was a stable black family unit. Surely you realize that black family units were formally unrecognized during slavery (just five generations ago) and afterwards a host of sociological factors come into play–from marriage being a social contract rooted in the exchange of money/gifts to actually not being able to just marry a partner of whatever background. Moreover, “Ethnic purity” disallowed people of all backgrounds from just intermixing. Why? I think you should reflect on why you believe a supposed American minority group is simply predisposed to self-destructive behavior. That cannot possibly hold water.

            1. Being born out of wedlock is the highway to a life of poverty. For young mothers, not getting married and having a child before the age of 18 is the highway to a life of poverty. The out-of-wedlock rate for non-hispanic blacks is 72.2%. The Left continues to believe that ‘It takes a village to raise a child’ when in fact it takes two committed parents invested in their own child’s education (who see teachers as their partners in education) to raise a child.

              The Left should stop blaming racism for it’s own failures to govern places like Chicago, Baltimore, Trenton and Newark. It’s a great distraction for them that helps to obscure the real problems. However, they will likely continue to dole out the food stamps, welfare and other trappings of the welfare state and will continue to ignore the need of people to take appropriate responsibility for their own lives and be lifted up (and out of poverty) by their own powerful initiative and self-reliance. I’m an optimist and I believe that this will happen, but only after the wise folks in the black community realize what is really going on here and take action.

              1. Is it the chicken or the egg: does poverty beget dystopia or are people–due to their skin color–more prone to just behave self-destructively? I choose to subscribe to the less racist explanation and begin understanding how sociology plays a role here. Black American dystopia did not and does not exist in a vaccum, so the society is collectively at fault. If you believe a group of people–who are already singled-out and blamed for this misfortune–are acting in unison to produce these statistics, you are mistaken. Furthermore, have you accounted for the fact that most institutions are inequitable–and historically so. For instance, when citing crime and low birth rate statistics or out-of-wedlock birth statistics, have you accounted for the fact that police have historically terrorized and discriminated agaisnt communities where black people lived (1919 riots in Oklahama, Chicago, and elsewhere), that innocent people have been blamed for crimes they did not commit, that access to prenatal healthcare plays a role in heightening a low birth rate, and, as I still maintain, marriage has been much more than just settling down, but finding the best partner. If someone is more prove to be impoverished, they are less prone to marry, hence the adage “marriage is for rich people.” Also, self-hatred and counterculture are clear results of being pushed to the fringes of society; a natural outgrowth of exclusion. If you want explanations as to how some of these behaviors have become pathologized, you must first take a sober look at the history of the US through a sociological/anthropological lens. Only then can you start to form sound policy objectives.

                And with regard to blaming “the left”, what has “the right” done to improve the situation of minorities shut out of the economy for whatever reason. If racism were not such a problem, why were there fire bomings in newly integrated neighborhoods in the 70s and 80s? Are you willfully overlooking the entanglement of the Christian extremists like the KKK? I don’t think either of us want the KKK making domestic policy, do we? In that case, we might end up with people beign lynched for no reason at all, like 80 or 100 years ago…

                And being born out-of-wedlock and teenage preganancies are two distinct issues; sometimes one in the same, but also quite distinct issues.

                1. “If racism were not such a problem, why were there fire bombings in newly integrated neighborhoods in the 70s and 80s and parents picketing against school integration?”

                  You just went 35-40 years back in time, long before these students were born, to cite violent racism. Those things happened, but they are long past history. But since you want to look at history:

                  1. Republicans passed the 13 Amendment, which ended slavery.

                  2. Republicans passed the 14th Amendment, which made black people citizens.

                  3. Republicans passed the 15th Amendment, which gave black people the right to vote.

                  4. Republicans started Howard University for blacks. (White Republican Oliver Howard started Howard University)

                  5. Republicans started Spelman College for blacks. (White Republican John D Rockefeller put up the money to build Spelman college, and in return that college was named after his wife Laura Spelman Rockefeller)

                  6. Republicans passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which gave blacks the right to buy and own property.

                  7. Republicans passed the Civil Rights Act of 1871, to protect blacks from the Ku Klux Klan

                  8. Republicans passed the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which gave blacks the right to serve on a Jury

                  9. Republicans passed the Civil Rights Act of 1957

                  10. Republicans passed the Civil Rights Act of 1960

                  11. Republican president Dwight Eisenhower sent in the Federal troops to escort black kids to school in Arkansas, this is known as the Little Rock 9.

                  12. Republicans created 40 Acres and a Mule for blacks—-Republican (Thaddeus Stevens) created a bill saying that black people should get 40 acres and a mule.

                  13. Most Republicans voted in favor of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, despite widespread Democratic opposition.

                  14. Most Republicans voted in favor of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

                  15. Republican president Ronald Reagan signed into law the bill making Dr. King birthday a national holiday.

                  16. Republican president George Bush Sr brought Federal charges against the 4 white police officers that beat up Rodney King.

                  17. Republican president George W Bush gave Africa 48 billion dollars in funding.

                  18. Republican president George W Bush has given more money to Africa than any other U.S. president.

                  19. In 1956 Republicans endorsed Brown VS Board of Education

                  20. Republican president Richard Nixon desegregated public schools

                  1. Excuse me, but I was born in the late 80s and experienced that stuff. You really need a reality check. Just because time passes and racists realize acting out can mean they serve jail time does not mean people do not harbor racist attitudes. Moreover, listing some Republican achievements will not undue the rhetoric of the post-1964 Republican party and the fact that more KKK members are in the GOP than Dems, that they concoted the welfare queen trope and Reagan’s impact on the black working and middle class. My generation was impacted by these things not some generation
                    long ago.

                    1. I need a reality check?? How *exactly* has the KKK affected millennials? How many of you have been lynched or had crosses burned on your lawn or been attacked or threatened. Give me a break.

                      Even your reasoning is fallacious. You imply that because more KKK members might be [R] voters that [R] voters are racist. Give me a break. Look at the mainstream presidential candidates:

                      [D] – all white, all older
                      [R] – black (Carson), hispanic (Cruz, Rubio), white (Trump, Bush, etc.) most of them younger than [D] candidates

                      This sort of demonstration and other events such as Ferguson are causing racist attitudes to WORSEN, not improve. You mistakenly assume that by shoving people’s noses in “their racist attitudes” you are going to make things better. That only works with dogs – people are much more complicated.

                      You improve racist attitudes through people of color excelling despite whatever adversities that they may face and demonstrating to everyone that they are just as capable, smart and responsible Americans as any other group.

                    2. P.S. When was the last time someone told you that you are not a victim? Well here you go: You are not a victim. You’ll find that once you assimilate that, it’s actually empowering.

      2. I am curious as to how one responds if people tell their stories, discuss their truth, and yet the person at whom this is directed, who has listened, decides, after all that, that they really don’t care or aren’t interested. What do you do then?

        1. “I am curious as to how one responds if people tell their stories, discuss their truth, and yet the person at whom this is directed, who has listened, decides, after all that, that they really don’t care or aren’t interested. What do you do then?”

          Hmmm … let’s see. Well they have the privilege of being at one of the world’s best Universities so how about if they STUDY, excel, go out and change the world instead of perpetuating the notion of ‘black victim hood’?

          “Princeton in the Nation’s Service,” not “Princeton in the Service of Revising History to be more Politically Correct.”

            1. It’s so funny when people who have never taken the time to understand the concept of privilege and wouldn’t even know what intersectionality might be try to start waving around ‘privilege’ like a weapon. Imagine if I burst into a physics lecture and said, “look, I have never taken the time to familiarize myself with the terms you are using or read any of the work you are discussing, but I hear you using those terms and I object to them, but don’t worry because I have actually already solved physics and I’m going to explain to you how it REALLY is now.” That’s how you sound right now.

                1. And I have to move because my street name is making me uncomfortable. Oh no, and my town is named after a white oppressor Revolutionary war hero. And my state is the Mass Bay Colony settled by those white Puritan oppressors. No where to run! No where to hide!

                  1. They will insist that the history books will rename it the Mass Incarceration Bay Colony.

          1. I think James Baldwin said it best, “The American idea of Racial Progress is measured by how fast I become White.”

            1. I knew Baldwin, met him back in the 1980s. He was a classic black Marxist and about as “white” as Malcolm X.

    2. “This is the type of activism that really gives black people a bad name and does more hurt to them than anything else.” Lol, they said pretty much exactly that during the civil rights movement, too. PC culture didn’t “make” anything offensive, it already was f*cking offensive, the only difference is that now you can’t hang or shut up or jail or commit people to a mental institution for pointing it out.

      And look, despite decades of people crying wolf about their precious free speech, nobody has even PROPOSED a law that would make it illegal or introduce a punishment for saying racist/sexist/homophobic shit (you know, ACTUAL censorship–if you are unfamiliar, a civics course can help). That fact that we continue to have this same stupid “omg censorship” argument repeatedly should demonstrate to you that it in fact is not censorship at all. People would call you an asshole if you went around yelling “F*CK YOU ALL, I HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH SO I CAN SAY THAT” constantly, but does it mean they’re trying to censor you by pointing that out? No, of course not, it just means you’re an asshole and they’re letting you know. So guess what? If you say racist, sexist, homophobic, or other oppressive sh*t, people are going to call you racist, sexist, homophobic, etc.! Why does this even need to be explained?!

    1. Fbooth – Your assumption that Black students at Princeton do not deserve to be there is racist and offensive.

      1. Spend 10 minutes researching the Princeton admissions standards for blacks versus whites and Asians and you’ll see this is no assumption.

      2. A recent study shows that black students receive the a boost of 280 points on a 1600 point scale compared to Asian applicants. It seems like more of a black privilege, not white.

    2. Not only that – Ivy League schools have pledged to accept many black students and provide full scholarships. Ungrateful little grubs.

  10. As a Princeton student, I’d like to point out a few things:

    1) This is not representative of the majority of Princeton students. If you’d like, check out the yikyak for a more accurate representation. It’s somewhat terrifying to me that without the veil of anonymity, those disagreeing with these rather ludicrous demands of these radical progressives do not feel safe in expressing their opinion – heck, just by not showing up to protest they’re called racists.

    2) Eisgruber agrees that Wilson was racist, but points out that everyone has good and bad should be judged on the combination of both: Wilson introduced (religious) diversity on college campuses and won World War I for us. I think this trumps the fact that he supported segregation, especially given that he was born before the Civil War.

    3) Furthermore, if Wilson being racist necessitates renaming things named after him, basically everything would have to be renamed. Columbia University, Washington D.C., heck even America. Not really practical or useful, right? And even then, who will replace them? Martin Luther King? But he was known to be somewhat misogynistic and that will marginalize all the females on campus. So…

    4) While we agree that racism, indirect or direct, does exist on campus and does cause some degree of harm on students here, these demands are not the best way of addressing them. Do they want to trivialize these concerns by turning the argument to whether or not to rename Wilson college? Can they focus on something that actually is a problem?

    5) Why was master changed to head? Will masters degrees be renamed heads degrees? Honestly, in the context of college, head is more reminiscent of a blowjob than master of slavery. This doesn’t do anything other than cause unnecessary annoyance for everyone on campus.

    And while the response on yikyak is a bit harsh, do note that the majority of us are not trying to invalidate their pains, but rather to enlighten them that what they are doing right now is not the right thing to do.

    1. Wait, suddenly now that it affects you, we need to be considerate about whether people feel SAFE expressing their opinion? That’s funny, because I’m pretty sure the same exact people crying crocodile tears over the fact that they can no longer be overtly racist without censure are the same exact people who used to vehemently deny the idea that things like racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. make people feel unwelcome and unsafe in expressing their opinion (such as not liking to live in a world where they must be subject to constant racism, sexism, etc.) I like how it wasn’t a problem worthy of even mentioning to you before, but now that it sorta affects white people in literally the most benign way possible (like, seriously can we kill these “but my free speeches!!” fallacies already?), it’s the biggest f*cking problem in America today! That’s cute.

    2. You are a voice of sanity. Keep it up. And keep your sense of humor.

      I’m sure most agree with you but everyone today is cowed by the self absorbed screamers. Don’t give in. Continue to use your own common sense. So many people, especially in college, lose it.

      I have to admit it mostly makes me laugh. The complete absurdity of the most privileged young people on earth protesting their oppression with their Iphone 6s at their Ivy League school. Comedic gold.

      And, escape academia. I live in a college town. Academic administrators are held hostage and forced to agree with the ridiculous or lose their jobs.

    3. This is very comforting. Thanks for sharing, because I was just about to rescind my Princeton EA app.

  11. Woodrow Wilson didn’t make the world safe for democracy, he made it safe for institutionalized white supremacy. Smgdh.

  12. Is this a false flag operation or just plain bs? Wilson was not bad as far as US presidents go – favored parliamentary system over winner takes all, favored public ownership of banks, supported internationalism in foreign relations. WTF?

  13. If you can’t abide the Anglo-American values institutions such as Princeton were founded upon, build your own institutions in accordance with your own values.

  14. Personally, I think in order to truly overthrow institutionalized White Supremacy that White students should be segregated from the rest of the student population in order to create safe places for POC. Also, they should be forced to wear a “W” on their shirts to denote the fact that they have White Privilege. Erasing White peoples names off of buildings and from history is a great start but it is not enough.

    1. Definitely. Everyone should learn about the lives of serfs in Russia, peasants in China and other forms of de facto slavery around the world, contemporaneous with black slavery in America. Putting things in perspective might help defuse all this outrage now.

  15. The Black Justice League … arent they the same group who has been trying to foil The Joker and Two Faced all these years?

  16. Imagine the progress BJL would make for the African American community if they were sitting in to protest the 70% out of wedlock birth rate that is destroying the African American communities.

    1. Or the out of proportion ratio of death by firearm…

      Or the out of proportion HS graduation rate

      …all of which is driven by my first comment.

  17. I support this movement to end institutional racism and yes there are many things that should be done but woodrow wilson should not be the main priority .to be fair to woodrow wilson almost 80% of our presidents so far have been racist,homophobic sexist assholes. why single him out, I mean look andrew jackson is still on the 20 dollar bill and he’s killed thousands of native americans and everyone agrees he was terrible. We need to foucus on the fact that more then half of the people running for president today ( the gop) in this country are old white racists men. And yes Woodrow Wilson was racist but he is now dead, we should focus on the racist people who are still living who are currently running our country,our cities,our states, our schools, taking control of our congress to spread their racist, homophobic,sexist hate through passing outdated laws and threatening to shutdown the government, the court who decided to that the voting rights act of 1965 is “no longer relevent” . Living racists are the people who scare me, not dead ones.

    1. No, sorry. We need to move away from the kind of PC BS that you espouse and get back to an America that actually works after eight years of the failed Liberal policies of our Divider-In-Chief, now widely regarded as the worst President in American history.

      1. Politically correct is just that, it’s correct. I understand the need to bash the pc culture because I find that sometimes it divides things into black and white and leaves very little room for more complexites and ambivalence when used haphazardly. However to bash something or someone for being PC is wrong. what you deem as “PC” today is what will lead to progress for tomorrow. For example, along time ago a part of society got together and said that we should no longer use the N-word and it was people like you who saw this as “PC” and tried to impede on progress of a society. I bet you are of the same ilk as the people who tried to stop the women’s rights movement because it was just people being too “PC” or someone who fought against the civil war beacuse they saw the north as being too PC. PC seems annoying when you see only the words and not the whole picture but when it comes to PC, human’s lives and dignites are often at the heart of it. As a young person I hate how some older people see our generation’s move towards progress as a sense of entitlement or say how it’s just kids who are mad at their parents not realizing this is just times changing like they do with every generation. Unless you are amish, You need to accept change and accept that society will keep on progresssing whether you like it or not.

        1. Sorry, Li but saying “People Like You” and “People of Your Ilk” is no longer Politically Correct. I said so, whether you like it or not.

          As an older person who has been around since the 1950s (and yes, marched against the Vietnam War) I can tell you definitively that the PC culture today is making things in America WORSE not better. Race relations alone are far worse just in the past 10 years than they were when I was your age.

          If you don’t believe me, look up the Rassmussen survey on this – 71 percent of American adults believe that PC is a problem, 18 percent disagreed and 10 percent had no opinion. They do that survey every year and the stats are UP 10% over 2014.

          The problem with the ‘Progressive’ movement is that IT.IS.SILENCING. Do you get it? You’d rather SILENCE opinion, SILENCE ‘older people,’ SILENCE things that you don’t like, SILENCE things that confuse you. As a result, instead of dialogue, as a society we find that we cannot talk about many things together. And, oh boy is dialogue necessary.

          Our country was founded on FREE SPEECH. Limiting speech limits LIBERTY. Read Kirsten Powers terrific new book “The Silencing – How the Left is Killing Free Speech.” It describes the problem perfectly.

        2. Li, You can be very proud of your generation’s “live & let live approach”, the kind way you accept individuality, the gentleness & wisdom in your protests. Good for you for embracing each other, embracing change, & asking your elders to accept it. Your generation isn’t spoiled or entitled, so never apologize for any good fortune that happens to come your way…whether it be acceptance to a great school, a well paying job, or an opportunity for success. The older generation now holds so tightly onto their control of social acceptance, well paying jobs, and opportunities that I fear for those in their 20’s. For decades, US leaders have failed to innovate & been too greedy to manage our natural resources well. Many elders frantically & rudely label others, placing new viewpoints into an old, traditional construct…and, in doing so, forsake your generation’s creativity, compassion & empathy for others. Someone taught you well. You understand concepts like “dignity” & respect for human lives…good for you. I’m older but applauding those in your generation who are kind to each other & trying to get it right for a change. Don’t stop questioning injustice & try not to turn your back on those needing your empathy & compassion…that may be all you can do, as you begin to make this world a better place than the one we created for you. The world is yours to inherit so it is great that you’re speaking up!

          1. “And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth. ‘Who controls the past’ ran the Party slogan, ‘controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.”
            ― George Orwell, 1984

        3. Politically correct is what YOU think is correct and want to force down everyone’s throat. I lived in a Communist country and that’s how they operated like yourself and enforced their beliefs by killing people who disagreed. I have no doubt most PC supporters would do the same if only they could. Luckily the Communist dictator I grew up with ended up machine-gunned, as he amply deserved.

    2. Racism, sexism, and homophobia are the most normal and natural survival instincts besides mating and breathing.

      Bunch of metrosexual beta males controlled by their women. Pathetic.

    3. The AA community is struggling and you should be frustrated. But blaming “institutional racism” – which is just a buzz word within the halls of liberal universities – is like trying to kill a tree by plucking off a few leaves. Look to the roots that drive today’s struggles…remember the past…but focus on what’s driving today’s problems.

      If I were black…I would not be upset with the whites..I’d be wondering why the Asian’s and Indians who surround this area, have flourished. I’d dissect their social makeups and say….”Hey, maybe we should preach these values and take control of our own future. Maybe we should love ourselves first.”

    4. Jackson is on the 20 dollar bill to spite him; he hated the national bank and now his face is on our money (granted, there is no national bank anymore but he point remains)

  18. When did The Onion take over Planet Princeton? Singing “Amazing Grace” to “show support” for these misguided knuckleheads? Like they’re trying to free Nelson Mandela or something. The whole thing is hilarious and terrifying all at once. This PC culture–never especially helpful or rational–has now become completely unmoored from reality. Here’s hoping Princeton has the backbone to slap down these silly “demands” and tell these protesters to go back to class or GTF home. Enough is enough. The tyranny and extortionate tactics must stop.

  19. The whole idea of Blacks attending a college is just absurd.

    The Negro is a significantly differing species that comes from a much divergent evolutionary lineage and this pretending equality stuff is complete nonsense.

    1. Since you spent all that time looking for al those big words in a thesaurus, you van spend some more time researching the evolution of the human race. White people are a mutation of Black people. And Guess what, your president, is black and your taxes pay his salary. 😉 stay humble

      1. Doesn’t take away from what Rick wrote. How did you comprehend(big word) his ideas..a dictionary?

    1. Truth is, few people in the South even realized the flag was still viable. No one cared, even if it were flying at a few state houses. In Georgia license plates bearing the flags were discontinued years ago because there was so little demand for them. The silly flag was meaningless – a symbol of another time. Wilson was a man who lived in his times, and people can do only that.
      So tell us, you genuinely have no prejudices?
      You don’t intensely dislike white people?

    1. if it wasnt for folks pretending that the republican party isnt the most racist, i wouldnt know who robert byrd is. lol

        1. actually, it is. i have very little respect for older generations (e.g., baby boomers). a lot of my peers feel the same way.

  20. When I was a student at a public university, I had some very enlightening conversations with students of color about race. Specifically, that our school sent recruiters into low-income minority neighborhoods (especially out of state) and promised them grants to help pay for tuition. After the students were enrolled for a year, however, the grants were taken away. The students were then forced to take out large loans to continue their education.

    This was a racist and money-grubbing policy. It had a material, financial effect on students of color. Policies like this however, don’t receive the national outrage that the name on a building does. Modern liberalism is all about semantics and symbolism rather than actually promoting economic justice.

    1. Pretty sure most of us had to take loans for school. Paying ones way and pulling your own weight is not racist.

  21. Hey, jigaboos, I’m going to my Alma Mater tomorrow and use the library. If ONE of you apes lays a hand on me because of my White Privilege, it WILL make the news.

  22. “Disgustingly racist” professors? That is a serious accusation. Any proof? Or just vague accusations?

    1. Totalitarians need no proof. Just like Ayatollah Khomeini’s murderous students, these will not give proofs or discuss – only give orders.

    1. I would think if they create a space only for blacks, they would have to create similar spaces only for:
      whites
      native americans
      mandarin chinese
      japanese
      peruvians
      vietnamese
      women
      men
      transgender
      bi-curious
      catholics
      baptists
      muslims – shiites
      muslims – sunnis
      buddhists
      hindus
      sikhs
      wickens
      etc. etc. etc.

      They could spend so much time and space giving everyone their own spaces, that they wouldn’t have anywhere to, you know, hold classes.

      I understand the anger against past racism. But giving a “black only” area seems to be counter to the entire point of integration and moving forward; of respecting differences of views and opinions and beliefs.

  23. The administration has been taken hostage.
    It will be interesting to see if they are too weak-kneed to stand up to these silly, self-absorbed young people who have no idea what they’re asking.
    If Princeton folds, they deserve the long, rocky road ahead that they’re in store for.
    “Thanks, Princeton, for giving a poor person like me a scholarship and the opportunity to attend one of the world’s best universities.”

  24. Looks like they are showing their inferiority by the use of ABSURD demands.
    How many of these demanding students are in college on a free ride, schloarships provided by some white person?

  25. The black students would have researched Princeton prior to enrolling so what is the issue! Why are the blacks so racist.

    If the black students don’t like the university then why don’t they simply LEAVE

  26. From all the things I have seen and heard, it is the black students that are stirring up “hate”. I am very concerned about the current activities going on at the univ./colleges lately. I am also very concerned about the level of racist hatred that is being stirred up by the Republican presidential candidates. I am scared for America because of the beliefs and behavior of Americans–not because of the possibility of Syrian refugees coming in, or because of the American Muslims, or because I fear “terrorists” from outside America.

  27. These students are disgusting totalitarians – they are similar in style to young Communists Red Guards that Mao to used to kill millions of people during the Cultural Revolution in China.

  28. The chant “We been here. We ain’t leaving. We are loved.” tells volumes to future employers of Princeton graduates. Your use of language is bested by committed 7th graders, but the self-esteem is way up there. In the limited time remaining before adulthood, it would be best to assess and improve your marketable skills.
    Then, near the end of your lives, when you assess your successes and failures, you may have things about which to be personally proud of achieving.

  29. These discussions & times like Thanksgiving can be hard, when those of different mindsets gather together…and yet we must. Hope this makes you smile as you share the love: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2zyjbH9zzA (A Thanksgiving Miracle – Saturday Night Live 2015). Wishing Princeton a Happy Thanksgiving, hoping for a miracle…and thanking Adele & SNL!

  30. Google what the cost of tuition is at Princeton… I was never afforded such a luxury (it wasn’t because I wasn’t smart enough). If my “white privilege” weren’t an issue or if money grew on trees, I’d be spending my time learning how to make the world a better place instead of creating more division. History can’t be changed, and if we cover it up and pretend like Woodrow Wilson didn’t exist we’re bound to keep doing the same thing over and over again. Not to mention the good things this president did for our country.

    To hold these “old white men” by the standards of today misses the whole point of being able to see how far we’ve come, and the work that still needs to be done to overcome the ugliness of racism. I don’t understand how focusing on Wilson has anything to do with correcting the ills of society today. Woodrow Wilson isn’t here to learn or confront himself and his beliefs. Do you think in the 21st century he’d have the same feelings? We all know that he came by them innocently enough by what he had been taught, and the influences of society… Today, the MAJORITY of people don’t share the racist beliefs of those who were born in the 18th CENTURY! For what it’s worth he was born in Virginia and was six years old when the Civil War broke out… Just trying to put his legacy in context.

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