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Letter to the Editor: Our perspective on the Wilson mural

In the wake of the protests this fall, President Eisgruber wrote Wilson College Head Eduardo Cadava, asking him to consider removing the image of Woodrow Wilson in the Wilcox dining hall. In response, Cadava asked students associated with Wilson College to volunteer for a committee to study the history of the mural and other iconography of Woodrow Wilson within Wilson College, and of the College in general, and to make a recommendation on the fate of that mural. Last week, we, the members of that committee, submitted a consensus response to Cadava, indicating our recommendation that the mural be removed, contextualized with a plaque acknowledging the process leading up to its removal, and replaced by another piece of artwork reflecting the unique history of Wilson College.

On Wednesday, Cadava announced that he endorses our recommendation and will seek the replacement of the mural.

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When President Eisgruber wrote to Cadava about the mural, it was in recognition of the fact that, whatever his personal views, the decision about something affecting primarily the community of Wilson College should be made by Wilson College, and not by the President or Broad of Trustees. When Cadava asked for students to serve on the mural committee, it was in recognition of the fact that, regardless of his personal views on the matter, the input of the students — who live, eat and work in Wilcox hall — was essential to making a decision about the mural.

The decision-making process on the mural was thus student-driven from beginning to end: from the student activists who initiated this important conversation to the student committee members and the many other students whose input we sought through a public meeting earlier this month and through the many thoughtful written comments we received from other students.

What became clear as we studied the history of the College was that, like the conversation about the mural, Wilson College owes its existence to student activists working towards a more accepting and inclusive University. Members of the committee spoke with Darwin Labarthe '61, one of the students who created the original Woodrow Wilson Lodge. Labarthe and his peers founded the Lodge in 1957 (which would grow into the College, and eventually the residential college system) and led many students into it in the aftermath of the so-called “dirty bicker” of 1958 in which several students, many of them Jewish, were rejected by every eating club; at the time, no other upperclassman eating options existed.

Labarthe told us that he and his peers were at the time unaware of the deplorable aspects of Wilson’s legacy which have rightly been brought to light and condemned.

The name Wilson College was chosen for a very specific aspect of Wilson’s legacy: the vision – though it was not achieved in his lifetime – of a more inclusive system of residential colleges, allowing social and intellectual communities to prosper outside of the exclusive club system. As Wilson’s deplorable views and actions have been acknowledged (in a long-overdue process), the question becomes how to honor Wilson’s vision of inclusivity without embracing his prejudice, discrimination and paternalism.

The Black Justice League said this fall that “the way we lionize legacies set precedents.” Though the Trustees’ report does not mention the mural in particular, they note that the lack of diversity in campus iconography “perpetuates… a representation of Princeton that is not welcoming to members of the community who come from diverse backgrounds.” On the mural in particular, President Eisgruber noted in his letter to Cadava that the mural seems “unduly celebratory.”

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We agree: How we remember the past matters. The mural is a relatively recent addition to Wilcox dining hall, added during the 2009 renovations. The photo of a smiling Woodrow Wilson – absent any historical context – seems to celebrate the man rather than any particular of his ideas.

The members of the committee did not, and still do not, agree on everything — in fact, we had many discussions over the Trustee Committee’s recent decision to keep Wilson’s name on the College and the School which, despite being thoughtful and educational for all of us, ended in disagreement. But we do agree that the mural should be removed from Wilcox dining hall. Wilson should be remembered, but the mural is both “unduly celebratory,” and not in line with other campus iconography — it is the only image of comparable size anywhere on campus..

This was a long process. Cadava sought the input of busy students at the beginning of this semester, and arranging to hear and understand the viewpoints of all stakeholders while midterms were taken, majors were declared, theses were written, took more coordination with even more busy people. The mural is only a small part of the College, and we hold no illusions that its removal will cure the many structural and social inequities that still plague this school.

But symbols matter. Replacing the mural with something to honor Wilson College’s past, present and future in student activism and dissent says that student voices, too, matter, and that this college — our home — truly is ours.

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Signed,

The members of the Wilson Mural committee,

Bennett McIntosh ’16

Mariachiara Ficarelli ’19

Zach Feig ’18

Allison Fleming ’18

Ghita Guessous ’17

Abigail Johnson ’16

Tyler Lawrence ’16

Denay Richards ’19

Caleb South ’19

Cara Yi ’19