Debating C.C. Little Past and Present at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

It's not acceptable that a university building should still be named after an active eugenicist and open racist. I support the call for the name to be changed. (Former Visiting Lecturer)

Renaming this building is one of way of coming to terms with parts of our past that are degrading to all of us. I appreciate the research and thoughtful analysis that went into this petition.

This is a well-reasoned and thoughtful petition that makes a devastating case against Little. He was a talented mouse geneticist and a skilled communicator. Unfortunately, he misapplied these talents in the service of two pseudoscientific organizations responsible for much human suffering: the American Eugenics Society and the Tobacco Industry Research Committee. "First, do no harm"...

Naming a building after someone indicates that they are someone worthy of honor and respect. CC Little was the president of the American Eugenics Society and advocated for restricted immigration and forced sterilization of the "unfit". We cannot consider ourselves leaders & best if we are elevating and honoring a eugenicist.

As a biologist I am appalled and embarrassed by having a building named after someone known as the "father of American eugenics".

Remnants of the past – monuments, names, words, plaques, etc – still have the power to do harm. As a historian, I am very much in favor of preserving history, but it has to be done in a fashion that provides context and proper framing rather than bestow exaltation on problematic and destructive figures and practices of the past. The naming a building after an eugenicist is not is not an act of historical preservation, rather it perpetuates and naturalizes racist ideas that we have since come to reject on moral and on scientific grounds.

I support this petition, and along with the change I would like to see a plaque/display that details why the name was changed and discuss Little's accomplishments and failures. It's an important part of understanding historical figures to note their moral and ideological failings, and be aware of the social context of their lives, and the messy nature of scientific research. I am also not swayed by the points against in the document, as they mainly rely on the ignorance of the student body and the silencing of critical critique which is counter to our institutional values. LSA Staff and Class of 2013

As a faculty member in CC Little Building, I have often remarked upon who CC Little was to the students in my classes and they've been universally appalled. Changing to reflect the long history of world class science at UM would be a positive move, just as a plaque or other memorial should be included so that we haven't sanitized history, just considered what we want to take from it.

We should not be celebrating a eugenicist at the University of Michigan. I am very proud of the University community for stepping up and pushing for this change. UMich CoE, Class of 2019

Thank you for the measured case for and against renaming the building and for the opportunity to become informed and involved re. this decision. The naming of a building should not only celebrate contributions to a field, but also to the institution. But an individual's character should also play a role in these decisions. Clearly, When these are weighed together, the CCLittle building definitely deserves to be renamed.

I agree that the building name should be changed. CC Little's beliefs and work were not in the spirit of the University's mission. He put people at risk and was a science denier. His name doesn't belong on a science building, or any University building for that matter. Regarding new name proposals, I would like to see submissions accepted from students of color campus groups. Thank you. (LSA 2014)

LSA, class of 2017.

Let's rename that building. As a current student, I'm incredibly disappointed to understand the namesake's true origins.

LSA Student Government Vice President--It is important to pay attention to and learn from the past. However, instead of learning about C.C. Little in negative light, he is glorified on a science building. Both his Presidency of the Third Race Betterment Conference and his aid in advocacy related to forced sterilization, eugenic research, restrictive immigration, among many other eugenic ideals, were deeply troubling, and raised awareness of the American eugenics movement, which Hitler referred to.

LSA '81

LSA Class of 2009, B.A.

Good arguments on both sides of this debate, but ultimately, the name didn't have much of a special meaning in the first place (true, he was a University president, but he had no particular connection to this building), and there must be better people we can honor (e.g. someone who wasn't a eugenicist).

The Name Change Request that is linked in the description gives a list of examples as to why the name should be changed. It also gives counterexamples, such as censorship and erasure of the University's history. If you haven't read through the document, I suggest you do that, because while it obviously concludes that the name should be changed (hence the petition), it gives in-depth explanations of arguments on both sides. I'm personally not "offended" by the fact that the building is named after C.C. Little, but I am signing the petition because in my mind, the benefits of changing the name outweigh the detriments. It's not like anyone is striking Little's name from a history book. Like you said, it's just the name of a building.

Long overdue

It's a little funny that the petition would be anonymous.