MURFREESBORO — MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee, in a statement
released Wednesday, said it was “right and appropriate” to engage the
university community on the name of Forrest Hall, the campus building that
houses the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program.
“Debate about the name of Forrest
Hall has surfaced periodically through the years,” McPhee said. “In light of
the horrific killings in Charleston, and the national discussion that has
ensued in the aftermath, it is right and appropriate to revisit this matter with
the university community, our alumni and supporters, and state officials, who
by law must approve any change.”
Forrest Hall was built in 1954 to
house the ROTC program, but wasn't dedicated until 1958, when the name Nathan
Bedford Forrest Hall became official. It was chosen because of Forrest's
notoriety as a military tactical genius for the Confederate Army and because of
his ties to Middle Tennessee, including being born in the region.
Debate about the university's ties
to Forrest rose periodically through the civil rights era and beyond, with the
university removing a 600-pound bronze medallion of Forrest from the Keathley
University Center in 1989. Opposition to the name of Forrest Hall didn't reach
its height until 2006-07 when a number of students petitioned to have the name
removed because of Forrest's ties to the Ku Klux Klan.
Others supported keeping the name.
A series of public forums were held to discuss the issue, with the university
deciding to keep the name after the Student Government Association rescinded an
earlier request to consider a name change and African-American student groups
informed university leaders that such a name change was not a priority for them
at that time.
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