Princeton Students Rally Against Former U.S. President

Former President Woodrow Wilson’s legacy is at the center of a debate at Princeton University.

About 30 black and white students from a group called the Black Justice League staged a protest in the office of the University president on Wednesday, saying they want his name removed from buildings and programs on campus, NBC reports. Wilson is a former president at the University.

While President Christopher Eisgruber agreed that the University needs to acknowledge that he was racist, he also said the extent of his racism needs to be weighed against the good he did for the University, according to the report.

Wilson’s name is on one of the school’s residential colleges, as well as the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy and International Affairs. Protesters also want his dining hall mural removed, according to the report.

Wilson is a graduate of the University, and served as president of Princeton University from 1902-1910, and as New Jersey Governor from 1910-1913, just before becoming president. He supported segregation, and appointed Cabinet members who segregated federal departments.

Eisgruber abd Dean of College Jean Dolan spent about an hour on Wednesday speaking with the protesters, University spokesman Martin Mbugua said.

“We expect the conversation to continue beyond yesterday’s meeting,” Mbugua said on Thursday.

The protest began as a sit-in at Nassau Hall, according to The Tab, which has a live blogger keeping track of events.

The Tab reports protesters remained in Eisgruber’s office Wednesday night.

The Black Justice League is a group of Black Lives Matter protesters, according to the Daily Caller.

The protest is part of a larger movement for racial justice on college campuses across America. Yale recently discontinued use of the term “Master,” and the University of Missouri’s president resigned after a group of football players said they would leave the team over racial tensions.

But the protesters have met with critics on social media.

“If they don’t want to be students at Princeton I recommend they go study somewhere else,” Terry Allen Williams wrote on Facebook. “I am a graduate of Princeton and proud of the institution and people like Wilson. You were all aware of this heritage when you applied. Making idiotic demands like this and attempting revisionist history is totally inappropriate.”

“These students think they’re heroes for being SJW when in reality they themselves are guilty of the kind of racist narcissism that they would claim to be opposing,” Stevie Wyer wrote.

“Woodrow Wilson was a man who made bad choices...who hasn’t, but he also made some really great choices that positively impacted our nation and Princeton University,” Lisa Draper wrote. “If we demand that every person in history to be perfect in order to honor the good they do, there will be no one left to honor.”