Following Yale’s decision to rename its Calhoun College for a less contentious, contemporary figure over the weekend, students at prestigious Clemson University in South Carolina have resumed their calls to rename controversial Tillman Hall.
The building is named after Benjamin Tillman, a founding trustee, politician, and avowed white supremacist. Tillman served as governor of South Carolina and later became a US Senator, where he often spoke out against black people and ridiculed them on the Senate floor. Historically, Tillman restricted black enfranchisement and is accused of having allowed lynchings to occur.
The name change was first proposed in 2015, when members of the Clemson Faculty Senate argued their points for renaming the building, in the wake of the debate about South Carolina’s use of the Confederate flag at government grounds.
“Ben Tillman was complicit or directly responsible for the killing of many black people, an action for which he apparently felt no remorse,” they wrote on the faculty website. “Why would we honor this legacy by retaining his name on one of the iconic buildings on campus?”
Regardless of the complaints, the university’s Board of Trustees chose not to rename the building. Their rationale was that the University’s historical foundations needed to be preserved—and that denying someone like Tillman as part of its legacy would not change anything.
“Every great institution is built by imperfect craftsmen. Stone by stone they add to the foundation so that over many, many generations, we get a variety of stones. And so it is with Clemson. Some of our historical stones are rough and even unpleasant to look at. But they are ours and denying them as part of our history does not make them any less so. For that reason, we will not change the name of our historical buildings.
“Part of knowledge is to know and understand history so you learn from it. Clemson is a strong, diverse university in which all of us can be proud. That is today’s and tomorrow’s reality and that is where all our energy is focused. To that end, the Board recognizes there is more work to be done.”
The Tab reports that students at Clemson have taken to social media to follow in the footsteps of their peers at Yale.
“Your turn @ClemsonUniv,” wrote one person, who linked to the Yale story.
“I hope that @ClemsonUniv will one day follow suit. The Tillman legacy is a blight on our campus, and a reason I am embarrassed by my school,” wrote another.
A former Clemson football player, Chris Hairston, voiced his anger at the University’s decision to not rename the building.
“Hey @ClemsonUniv ask @Yale about John C. Calhoun,” he wrote.
It remains to be seen whether Clemson will follow Yale or stick to their 2015 statement in the face of mounting calls to rename the building. The bar for renaming may be higher at Clemson, where Southern Confederate pride runs deep, than at Yankee Yale.
Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter and on Facebook.
