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Lee Hall is named after Claudius Lee. While studying at Virginia Tech, he was the “High Arch Fiend” of the Pittsylvania Club whose motto was “Hang ‘em” and whose emblem was one of a Black man being lynched. He was also the “Father of Terror” of a chapter of the KKK. This is a clear example of institutional bias at Virginia Tech. Recent hate crimes, attacks on affirmative action, and the interpretation of narrow tailoring are further examples of racism as part of the fabric of the institution. University officials have responded by saying that evidence of Lee’s involvement in hate groups is not conclusive since students at that time alledgedly included “phantom organizations” for jokes. This is unacceptable. In light of Virginia Tech’s recent hate crimes, the university must respond to allegations of this magnitude. We demand that the name of this residence hall be changed. In addition to renaming the hall, we demand that a living community that focuses specifically on issues of social inequality, social justice, multi-culturalism, as well as the intertextuality of race, class, and gender be housed in the current Lee Hall. Our choice to demand rather than request is strategic. Allowing such a pillar of institutional bias to remain is a direct assault on the students, faculty, staff, and community persons that tremble with indignation at every injustice. Assaults do not warrant requests. The response or lack of response on the part of the adminstration neccessitates that such a pillar of institutional bias be addressed appropriately before any engagement in a meaningful, ongoing dialogue can ensue. Further, this is not an attempt at the erasure of our history. Rather, this is an attempt to historically contextualize and actively engage the implications of the way race organizes the climate and aesthetic of Virginia Tech. Lee Hall is a clear statement that historically marginalized groups are not welcomed. |
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The Direct Resistance of Privilege Alliance (D.R.O.P.) is a nonhierarchical, consensus based movement on the Virginia Tech campus and in the Blacksburg community that seeks to equip students, faculty, staff, and community persons with the language, knowledge, and resources to combat oppression, exploitation, and discrimination in all of its forms. |
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