Protestors gather around the Thompson Statue in February to listen to protest savitspeaker. Credit: Daniel Bush | Lantern File Photo
An Ohio State committee recommended no action should be taken regarding requests to review and remove former President William Oxley Thompson’s name from one of the campus’ most iconic landmarks– the Thompson Library.?
The Standing Advisory Committee for the Review of University Space and Entity Names said its multi-year historical investigation did not find enough evidence to determine Thompson specifically led efforts to segregate Columbus schools and Ohio State housing, in a July 23 memorandum published on Aug. 14.?
The decision comes as the university is mulling hundreds of requests to remove prominent Ohio State donor Les Wexner’s name from university buildings, due to his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The request to remove Thompson’s name was made by Citizen Advocates to Public Education in 2022, alleging that he played a role in establishing the university’s segregationist policies, including laws that redrew neighborhood boundaries to reinforce segregation, per prior Lantern reporting.?
“The requestors ultimately sought the removal of Dr. Thompson’s name from the library given his alleged ‘leadership role, as a member of the Columbus City Schools Board of Education, in establishing de facto racially segregated schools in Columbus, starting in 1909 and lasting until 1977,’ and ‘maintenance of racially segregated student housing at The Ohio State University during his tenure as president,’ ” the memorandum stated.
While the committee could not find evidence that Thompson intended to create or maintain a segregated school system, they also did not deny the opportunity his positions gave him to address discrimination within his areas.?
“It is undisputed that Dr. Thompson served in prominent leadership roles at both the University and on the board of the Columbus City Schools, and that in these roles he would have had the ability to make decisions that impacted both institutions on these issues,” the memorandum stated.?
“However, the evidence submitted by the requestors does not clearly identify what specific roles Dr. Thompson played relative to the allegations made, or what his intentions or motivations for taking any such actions were beyond his positions of leadership in the organizations.”
Chris Cade, President of the Undergraduate Student Government, said this recommendation brings up urgent concerns for items of such priority.?
“This took far too long to come up,” Cade said. “I understand there is a lot of nuance and research that goes into developing these recommendations, but four years is far too long, especially when the university population is so transient.”
Cade said even though the memorandum found no evidence worthy of a name change, it also doesn’t mean Thompson wasn’t in favor of segregational policies.??
Up until recently, these requests from Citizen Advocates to Public Education were the main focus of the Standing Advisory Committee for the Review of University Space and Entity Names.?
Now, the university has over 500 requests to review Wexner’s name from the university Medical Center and other buildings, per prior Lantern reporting,
Wexner, founder of LBrands and chairman of Wexner Medical Center, and has been in the public eye since his relationship with Epstein came to light, including campus protests last semester over the university’s ties to Wexner, per prior Lantern reporting.?
Cade said he thinks this recommendation draws the blueprint for possible decisions from the Wexner review requests to come.
“I think this sets the precedent that even despite perception and what we all can almost say is fact, based on the information that is available out there, they are probably come to the same conclusion unfortunately,” Cade said. “It’s so sad what this university is doing.”
