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Middle Tennessee State University

Middle Tennessee State students protest hall named for KKK Grand Wizard

Sarah Grace Taylor

In light of the recent national conversation about the Confederate battle flag brought on by the horrific Charleston S.C. shooting, Middle Tennessee State University students, alumni and faculty are petitioning the name of Nathan Bedford Forrest Hall.

RELATED: Building honoring KKK Grand Dragon renamed by U. of North Carolina

Forrest Hall was dedicated to Nathan Bedford Forrest in 1958 for his involvement with the Confederate Army. While his Confederate involvement has stirred feelings, it's Forrest's role as the Ku Klux Klan's first Grand Wizard -- the organization's highest ranking member --  that has students protesting.

Students vigorously took to social media early this week to petition against the name, starting the Facebook group “Change the Name of Nathan Bedford Forrest Hall MTSU,” which has received nearly 650 likes since its creation.

Students are also debating the issue on the university's Class of 2018 Facebook page. One student even posted a photo of the battle flag being burned, prompting the page's moderator, Laurie Witherow, who is an assistant dean at MTSU, to comment.

"I've had requests to remove both the flag post from Rebecca Gibbs and the flag burning post from Jeremy Dobbs," Witherow wrote. "I'll leave them both and trust you with the healthy discussion of what kind of country you're going to build for me to live in. I trust you."

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The exchange also prompted response from the university.

“In light of the horrific killings in Charleston, and the national discussion that has ensued in the aftermath, it is right and appropriate to revisit this matter with the university community, our alumni and supporters, and state officials, who by law must approve any change,”  University President Sidney A. McPhee said in an email statement.

McPhee said the issue has been brought up periodically throughout the years. But after a series of discussions and a Student Government Association vote, the name was left unaltered.

In the wake of the renewed civil rights discussion,  MTSU students do not seem to be discouraged by past failed attempts to rename Forest Hall. The organization had its first meeting on June 26 and later released a statement explaining that they believe Forrest Hall to be an "inappropriate" name for MTSU's ROTC building.

"Nathan Bedford Forrest is a symbol of white supremacist violence across the United States and the world," the statement read. "As the nation comes to grips with the power of white supremacist symbolism, we are calling for Forrest’s name to be removed from the building, just as other symbols of his legacy have been removed from campus in the past," they said in the release. "It is perplexing to many that a figure associated with a massacre of black American soldiers and the most notorious terrorist organization in our nation's history could be honored on an ROTC building."

RELATED: Newsome: Confederate flag 'banner of racial intimidation and fear'

The organization created a petition on June 27 to have the hall's name changed and has "[called] on President Sidney A. McPhee, the State Legislature, the Board of regents, the SGA, and the Department of the Army to support our campaign and help to promote justice on MTSU's campus." As of June 30, it has been backed by 170 supporters.

MTSU student Lane Matthews created a counter-petition to preserve the name of Forrest Hall, arguing that Forrest left the Klan soon after joining and became "reformed and reestablished much like others in history." He says that the name has too much historical value to remove from campus. His petition, which launched June 25, has been backed by nearly 50 supporters.

Forrest has now been condemned to upheaval from all instances of his likenesses and name," he says. "I understand that this fight is long standing, but the new revival is most certainly associated with the violence in South Carolina, and due to a man's crimes we are now associating these actions with great heroes and people who fought and died for something they believed in. I can almost guarantee that the shooter did not take a stroll through Nathan Bedford Forrest Park that morning nor did he stand outside and admire the great works of MTSU's Forrest Hall. Why due to one man's actions do we have to fly off the handle and remove heritage from every instance in America?"

Sarah Grace Taylor is a student at Middle Tennessee State University and a member of the USA TODAY College contributor network.

This article comes from The USA TODAY College Contributor network. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of USA TODAY. You understand that we have no obligation to monitor any discussion forums, blogs, photo- or video-sharing pages, or other areas of the Site through which users can supply information or material. However, we reserve the right at all times, in our sole discretion, to screen content submitted by users and to edit, move, delete, and/or refuse to accept any content that in our judgment violates these Terms of Service or is otherwise unacceptable or inappropriate, whether for legal or other reasons.

This story originally appeared on the USA TODAY College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.

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