LEXINGTON, Va. – A woman with ties to Washington & Lee University’s founding is not happy about the recent name change proposal.
“I’m very angry,” said Tina Tabor, who feels like history is being destroyed.
She is a descendant of Robert Alexander, who served as president of Augusta Academy, which later became Washington & Lee University.
Currently, W&L faculty members are working on a petition to change the name in response to the nationwide emphasis on removing public references to the Confederacy in the wake of the death of George Floyd.
The “Lee” in the university’s name refers to Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
“I feel like because it’s a name, it shouldn’t be messed with. It’s history. If we don’t learn from our past, we’re doomed to repeat it,” said Tabor.
Faculty members have not discussed what they’d like the university’s new name to be.