Anthony Romero ’87’s Alumni Day address (feature, April 8) and the letter to alumni from President Eisgruber regarding renaming the Woodrow Wilson School give us pause for thought. My other alma mater, Queen’s University at Kingston, Ontario, is debating the naming of a building after Sir John A. Macdonald. Sir John A. was our first prime minister and a Canadian visionary. He was also, sadly, a proponent of indigenous residential schools, which inflicted tragedy.
I believe that we must acknowledge both the strengths and shortcomings of our historical leaders. It doesn’t mean that we have to tear down their statues, but the plaques and our teachings must be revised to reflect that these things are complicated.
Anthony Romero ’87’s Alumni Day address (feature, April 8) and the letter to alumni from President Eisgruber regarding renaming the Woodrow Wilson School give us pause for thought. My other alma mater, Queen’s University at Kingston, Ontario, is debating the naming of a building after Sir John A. Macdonald. Sir John A. was our first prime minister and a Canadian visionary. He was also, sadly, a proponent of indigenous residential schools, which inflicted tragedy.
I believe that we must acknowledge both the strengths and shortcomings of our historical leaders. It doesn’t mean that we have to tear down their statues, but the plaques and our teachings must be revised to reflect that these things are complicated.