Princeton will consider excising Woodrow Wilson's name over racism charge

Princeton University will consider removing the name of former U.S. President and university president Woodrow Wilson from buildings and school programs under a deal signed with student demonstrators over what they say is his racist legacy.

The agreement reached Thursday night between 17 students and several top administrators at the Ivy League university in New Jersey ended a 33-hour sit-in at Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber's office, a university statement said.

Shortly after the deal was reached, an email was received on campus containing a nonspecific bomb and gun threat that referenced the student protests, according to NJ.com. Security was tightened, but campus activities were continuing as scheduled Friday.

Under the agreement, the university says it will consider the removal of a campus mural of Wilson, solicit opinions of the campus community about removing Wilson's name from programs and buildings, designate several rooms as a space for "cultural affinity groups," and enhance cultural competency training for staff, among other aspects of the agreement.

"We appreciate the willingness of the students to work with us to find a way forward,” said Eisgruber.

Wilson, U.S. president from 1913 to 1921, was a leader of the Progressive Movement who introduced liberal reforms in the U.S. and fought to establish the international League of Nations following World War I. He was also a native Southerner who supported racial segregation and, as president, reversed a police of racial integration in the federal civil service, according to an article by William Keylor, international relations professor at Boston University. Keylor also reported that Wilson held a private screening at the White House of the film "Birth of Nation," which hailed the rise of the Ku Klux Klan.

Princeton students in the Black Justice League had been talking to university administrators about Wilson’s legacy prior to the protest this week, according to an article by students in September in the Daily Princetonian.

"Despite his extensive presence on campus, Wilson’s legacy — one distinctly rooted in racism and bigotry — is rarely discussed," the students wrote.

On Wednesday, students demonstrated outside the university's Nassau Hall, then occupied the president's office, where they remained overnight. About 40 students spent the night inside the building, NJ.com reported. Other students joined the protest outside the university hall and slept overnight in tents. 

On Thursday, the students launched a YouTube video and online petition to build support.

"Having to walk by buildings that (have Wilson's name), having to walk by his mural, having to live in residential colleges that didn't want our presence on campus, that's marginalizing," said Asanni York, a black junior, as the protest was underway.

The Princeton demonstration came on the same day that Princeton announced it was ending the "master" title for leaders of the six residential colleges where students live on campus. The faculty members will now be known as "head of the college."

Dean of College Jill Dolan said Princeton's faculty members have been discussing changing the title for years.

She also said groups across campus are having discussions about Wilson's place at the school.

It's a "conversation people are having all over the campus, in part because it's part of the national conversation. There are no easy answers here," she said. "It's a conversation we all need to have about the implications of history."

Keylor of Boston University said Wilson had strong attributes and as well as flaws.

"We should recognize that racial aspect of his behavior, of his administration and certainly not deny it or sweep it under the rug, but at the same time we have to recognize that he was a very effective reformer, domestically ... and he was a champion of self-determination abroad," Keylor said. "We have to treat him as a human being with these flaws, but also recognizing his great contributions to American history."

Al Jazeera and wire services