Change the Reitz Union to the Virgil Hawkins Union
Change the Reitz Union to the Virgil Hawkins Union
The Issue
“I’ll be the first to admit that anyone who was a homosexual was a complete aberration.”
-J. Wayne Reitz, 1988 [1]
The J. Wayne Reitz Student Union at the University of Florida is a centerpiece of campus life for students at UF. It houses the university’s bookstore, a food court, a hotel, the university’s welcome center, student government functions including their senate chamber, and more.
All of these services operate under the name of a man that helped deny entry to 85 qualified Black applicants between 1948 and 1956 on the basis of race [2][3]. After the Brown v. Board of Education ruling forced the integration of public schools, UF STILL denied one of those Black applicants, Virgil Hawkins, to the UF College of Law.
Reitz also welcomed the entry of what is known as The Johns Committee to the university’s campus. This state legislature committee’s purpose was “to purge the state of LGBTQ teachers and students” after the committee failed to stop Florida integration by going after the NAACP [4]. The committee’s actions resulted in the firing, expulsion, or resignation of 70 teachers and students [4]. UF Geography department chair Sigmund Diettrich attempted to commit suicide after being outed and forced to resign [5].
This University’s student union is named after a racist homophobe.
In the face of Reitz’s actions lies the work of Virgil Hawkins. After being denied admission after the university was forced to integrate, Hawkins kept fighting. Hawkins continued to take his case to the Florida and U.S. Supreme Court [3]. Ultimately, he sacrificed his admission to the College of Law by withdrawing it in exchange for a “court order [that] desegregat[ed] UF’s graduate and professional schools”[4]. Two years later, George Starke became the first Black student admitted to the UF College of Law.
Instead of naming one of this university’s most important buildings over a man with a history of discrimination, racism and homophobia, we should be naming it after someone that broke barriers and paved the way for equality. Especially at this time where the nation is having overdue conversations about this country’s past injustices, we should change the name to the Virgil Hawkins Student Union.
By signing this petition, you stand up to the racist and homophobic past that is memorialized on this campus. We will take the petition to administration to make a case for the name change. This will also further our case with the UF Supreme Court to help our chances in getting a referendum on the ballot for students to vote on if we need to resort to these measures.
SOURCES:
[1] https://www.gainesville.com/article/LK/20120909/News/604154624/GS
[3] https://www.law.ufl.edu/areas-of-study/experiential-learning/clinics/virgil-d-hawkins-story
4,295
The Issue
“I’ll be the first to admit that anyone who was a homosexual was a complete aberration.”
-J. Wayne Reitz, 1988 [1]
The J. Wayne Reitz Student Union at the University of Florida is a centerpiece of campus life for students at UF. It houses the university’s bookstore, a food court, a hotel, the university’s welcome center, student government functions including their senate chamber, and more.
All of these services operate under the name of a man that helped deny entry to 85 qualified Black applicants between 1948 and 1956 on the basis of race [2][3]. After the Brown v. Board of Education ruling forced the integration of public schools, UF STILL denied one of those Black applicants, Virgil Hawkins, to the UF College of Law.
Reitz also welcomed the entry of what is known as The Johns Committee to the university’s campus. This state legislature committee’s purpose was “to purge the state of LGBTQ teachers and students” after the committee failed to stop Florida integration by going after the NAACP [4]. The committee’s actions resulted in the firing, expulsion, or resignation of 70 teachers and students [4]. UF Geography department chair Sigmund Diettrich attempted to commit suicide after being outed and forced to resign [5].
This University’s student union is named after a racist homophobe.
In the face of Reitz’s actions lies the work of Virgil Hawkins. After being denied admission after the university was forced to integrate, Hawkins kept fighting. Hawkins continued to take his case to the Florida and U.S. Supreme Court [3]. Ultimately, he sacrificed his admission to the College of Law by withdrawing it in exchange for a “court order [that] desegregat[ed] UF’s graduate and professional schools”[4]. Two years later, George Starke became the first Black student admitted to the UF College of Law.
Instead of naming one of this university’s most important buildings over a man with a history of discrimination, racism and homophobia, we should be naming it after someone that broke barriers and paved the way for equality. Especially at this time where the nation is having overdue conversations about this country’s past injustices, we should change the name to the Virgil Hawkins Student Union.
By signing this petition, you stand up to the racist and homophobic past that is memorialized on this campus. We will take the petition to administration to make a case for the name change. This will also further our case with the UF Supreme Court to help our chances in getting a referendum on the ballot for students to vote on if we need to resort to these measures.
SOURCES:
[1] https://www.gainesville.com/article/LK/20120909/News/604154624/GS
[3] https://www.law.ufl.edu/areas-of-study/experiential-learning/clinics/virgil-d-hawkins-story
4,295
Petition created on June 5, 2020