If you would like to add your name to the petition below, please submit your name, university affiliation, and department if applicable.
To the CPUC Committee on Naming and President Eisgruber:
We believe that the prominent place on campus of the John Witherspoon statue is inappropriate, and that the University should remove it from its pedestal in Firestone Plaza. We believe that its place should be taken by an informational plaque which details both the positive and negative aspects of Witherspoon’s legacy.
The argument that leads us to believe in the importance of this significant change is straightforward. We believe, first, that the statue pays great honor to Witherspoon, and encourages members of the University community to honor Witherspoon. Second, we believe that paying such honor to someone who participated actively in the enslavement of human beings, and used his scholarly gifts to defend the practice, is today a distraction from the University’s mission. Unless the statue is removed, this distraction will remain, and indeed may only continue to grow, going forward.
That the statue’s presence constitutes a significant honor to Witherspoon is clear from both the details of the statue itself, and its prominent location. The statue, by virtue of its pose, countenance, and symbolism, undeniably presents Witherspoon as a benevolent and wise founding father. Moreover, the size of the statue makes it impossible to ignore. A tall bronze figure on a pedestal already as tall as most visitors to Firestone Plaza, it looms over everyone who travels between East Pyne and Firestone Library, or between Murray-Dodge and the University Chapel, and is easily visible from far away. Such a magnificent statue cannot avoid honoring the one it depicts, nor indeed holding them up as a model for emulation.
Why is this honoring of Witherspoon a source of distraction? Because the fact that so recently in our cultural past some groups saw themselves as racially superior and fit to enslave, and others as inferior and fit to be enslaved, is a shocking and upsetting one. Awareness of this fact, and of Witherspoon’s active participation in such a way of life, stands at odds with the natural instinct to give honor to such a statue. Regardless of our evaluation of Witherspoon’s moral standing given his time and context, the issue of the race-based enslavement of human beings presents a rupture between us and John Witherspoon. Everyone has a right to feel uncomfortable, to feel less at home, in a place where such honor is being done to someone who stands on the far side of that rupture.
Where, we ask, should the Princeton community feel at home, if not in Firestone Plaza? In such a hub of University life, where people eat, study, socialize, and commute on a daily basis, should students, staff, and faculty not be free from the elevated gaze of someone who held beliefs, and engaged in and defended practices, which we all find so repulsive? Particularly for community members descended from enslaved peoples, the homage the statue does to Witherspoon can be a jarring experience. Furthermore, for all community members, such a statue can dull or disturb the sense that the University has a mission in the service of all of humanity. We believe that the University should do what it can to prevent the daily experience of these forms of discomfort, and thus strengthen among community members the sense of shared mission.
Of course, there are other forms of discomfort which are often productive, including the humbling experience of explicitly acknowledging the shortcomings of those who built a beloved institution. This is why we believe that a plaque acknowledging Witherspoon’s connections to slavery, to match what the University has done on its website, would be a valuable addition to Firestone Plaza. But is the present statue, given its size, its posture, its elevation, and its location, particularly well-suited to serve as part of this sort of uncomfortable reminder? We think it is not. By reason of the physical details already described above, we believe that the tacit honorific message of the statue will tend to overwhelm any critical reminders of Witherspoon’s failings, so long as these reminders are kept at a reasonable size. Indeed, many of the daily visitors to the University will simply see the statue from afar without ever stopping to read the fine print. We believe that, for the message of a historical plaque to shine forth clearly, the statue itself should be removed.
What is good in John Witherspoon’s legacy, in particular the care he took for the growth of the University, will remain with us whether or not he has a statue. We are confident that the University wishes to remember its history rightly and with an eye to its future mission, and it is in this spirit that we recommend that the statue of Witherspoon be removed from Firestone Plaza and an informational plaque be put in its place.
Signed,
Katie Rech, Graduate Student, Philosophy
Chris Register, Graduate Student, Philosophy
Nancy Groll, Staff, Philosophy
Benjamin Morison, Professor, Philosophy
Ian McKeachie, Graduate Student, Philosophy
Colin Bradley, Graduate Student, Philosophy
Kyle Landrum, Graduate Student, Philosophy
Boris Kment, Associate Professor, Philosophy
Brendan Kolb, Graduate Student, Philosophy
Elizabeth Harman, Professor, Department of Philosophy & Center for Human Values
Rebecca Mullen, Graduate Student, Philosophy
Norah Woodcock, Graduate Student, Philosophy
Eleanor Gordon-Smith, Graduate Student, Philosophy
Daniel Garber, Professor, Philosophy
Adam Elga, Professor, Philosophy
Grace Helton, Assistant Professor, Philosophy
Haley Brennan, Graduate Student, Philosophy
Giulia Weißmann, Graduate Student, Philosophy
Gabriel Shapiro, Graduate Student, Philosophy
Alice van’t Hoff, Graduate Student, Philosophy
Waner Zhang, Graduate Student, Philosophy
Fay Slakey, Graduate Student, Comparative Literature
Megan Wicks, Graduate Student, Philosophy
Joy Shim, Graduate Student, Philosophy
Chen Yang, Graduate Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Deepen Garg, Graduate Student, Plasma Physics
Elaine Yim, Graduate Student, Politics
Narrelle Gilchrist, Graduate Student, Politics
Hee Joo Choi, Graduate Student, Chemical and Biological Engineering
Jing Wu, Graduate Student, Economics
Linda McNulty Perez, Graduate Student, Classics
Perry Carter, Graduate Student, Politics
Jessica L. Wilson, Graduate Student, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; Undergraduate Alum 2015
Ishita Batra, Graduate Student, SPIA
Elijah Kolmes, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Plasma Physics
Lidal Dror, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Philosophy
Hans Halvorson, Professor, Philosophy
Jesse Wisch, Graduate Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Erin Flowers, Graduate Student, Astrophysical Sciences
Tim Alberdingk Thijm, Graduate Student, Computer Science
Roohi Dalal, Graduate Student, Astrophysical Sciences
Mira Gordin, Graduate Student, Applied Mathematics
Matt Coleman, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Astrophysical Sciences
Michael Strauss, Professor, Astrophysical Sciences
Goni Halevi, Graduate Student, Astrophysical Sciences
Jahmour Givans, Presidential Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Astrophysical Sciences
Marta Faulkner, Graduate Student, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
Ruby An, Graduate Student, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Jacob Hughes, Staff, Mendel Music Library
Adrienne Rusinko, Staff, Special Collections, Firestone Library
Andrés A. Plazas Malagón, Associate Research Scholar, Astrophysical Sciences
Jessica Blundin, Staff, Lewis Library
Thomas Lambert, Graduate Student, Philosophy
Amy C. Vo, Staff, PUL Special Collections
Matt Chandler, Staff, Princeton Research Data Service
Emily Wei-Hsin Sun, Graduate Student, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Nehemie Guillomaitre, Graduate Student, Chemical and Biological Engineering
Robel Geda, Graduate Student, Astrophysical Sciences
Jasanté’ Howard, Graduate Student, Politics
Joel William Strothers, Graduate Student, Civil and Environmental Engineering
R.J. Bergmann, Graduate Alum 2021, Comparative Literature
Rouguiatou Diallo, Graduate Student, SPIA
Ariana Myers, Ph.D. Candidate, History
Jolaun Hunter, Graduate Student, English
Chelsey Clark, Graduate Student, Psychology
Griffin Jones, Graduate Student, History
Jack Lattimore, Graduate Student, Politics
Camille Borders, Graduate Student, History & African American Studies
Christian Keith, Graduate Student, SPIA
Shuk Ying Chan, Graduate Alum 2022, Politics
Benjamin Muhoya, Graduate Student, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Jiya Pandya, Ph.D. Candidate, History & Gender and Sexuality Studies
Thiago Tarraf Varella, Graduate Student, Psychology
Logan Pearce, Graduate Student, Psychology
Jordana Composto, Graduate Student, Psychology
Sero Toriano Parel, Ph.D. Candidate, Neuroscience
Madison Wolfert, Ph.D. Candidate, English
Judy Du, Graduate Student, Quantitative and Computational Biology
Jessica Gott, Graduate Student, SPIA
Jay Stone, Graduate Student, History
Liz MacDonald, Graduate Student, Molecular Biology
Francisco Garcia Bellego, Graduate Student, SPIA
Christopher Lawrence, Graduate Student, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Eden Girma, Graduate Student, Astrophysical Sciences
Mona Wang, Graduate Student, Computer Science
Karalyn Enz, Graduate Student, Psychology
Eric Geunes, Graduate Student, Chemistry
Jarome Ali, Graduate Student, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Sofia Menemenlis, Graduate Student, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
Lachlan Lancaster, Graduate Student, Astrophysical Sciences
Paul Eberwine, Graduate Student, Classics
Andrew Schlager, Graduate Student, English
Hannah Williams, Graduate Student, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Mélena Laudig, Graduate Student, Religion
Yuxin Liu, Graduate Student, Sociology
Alex Place, Graduate Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Sara Sussman, Graduate Student, Physics
Sam Bisno, Undergraduate Student, History
Valerie Neske, Undergraduate Student, SPIA
Uma Menon, Undergraduate Student, SPIA
Hector Betanzos, Undergraduate Student, Near Eastern Studies
Hannah Faughnan, Undergraduate Student, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology & Latin American Studies
Hannah Lee, Undergraduate Student, Sociology
Aaron Brzezinski, Undergraduate Student 2024
Sierra Stern, Undergraduate Student, English
Joseph Feng, Undergraduate Alum 2022, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Alessandro Troncoso, Undergraduate Student, Politics
Issa Mudashiru, Undergraduate Student, Medical Anthropology
Ashley Ponce, Undergraduate Student, Computer Science
Jenia Marquez, Undergraduate Student, Linguistics
Kit H. Bernard Foster, Undergraduate Student, Chemistry
Adam Sanders, Undergraduate Student 2025
Emma Mohrmann, Undergraduate Student, Art
Laura Sandoval, Undergraduate Student, Neuroscience
Alexander Tao, Undergraduate Student, Mathematics
Ariyan Sajid, Undergraduate Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Grace Rosenberg, Undergraduate Student, German
Katie Goldman, Undergraduate Alum, SPIA
Andrew Alexander, Undergraduate Student, Mathematics
Theresa Lim, Undergraduate Student, Computer Science
Chloe Webster, Undergraduate Student, Chemistry
Masha Musthafa, Undergraduate Student, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Elizabeth Zheleznyakova, Undergraduate Student, Chemical and Biological Engineering
Sebastian Liu, Graduate Student, Philosophy
Wilson Conn, Undergraduate Student
Rosangela Lopez, Undergraduate Student, Sociology
Aya Eyceoz, Undergraduate Student, Chemical and Biological Engineering
Ivy Wang, Undergraduate Student, Computer Science
Tanéyah Jolly, Undergraduate Student, Sociology
Jupiter Ding, Undergraduate Student, Astrophysical Sciences
Pia DiCenzo, Undergraduate Student, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Maryam Ibrahim, Undergraduate Student, Sociology
Sean Horton, Undergraduate Alum 2022, Architecture
Zhaleh Mahootian, Undergraduate Student, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Vera Ebong, Undergraduate Student
Emma Chang, Undergraduate Student, SPIA
Kate Stewart, Undergraduate Student, Independent Study
Yi Jin Toh, Undergraduate Student
AnneMarie Caballero, Undergraduate Student, Computer Science
Priyanka Aiyer, Undergraduate Student, English
Reema Choueiri, Undergraduate Student, Molecular Biology
Gabriela Veciana, Undergraduate Student, Music
Olivia Cao, Undergraduate Student, Mathematics
Caroline Schuckel, Undergraduate Student, SPIA
Katya Kopach, Undergraduate Alum 2022, Philosophy
Esha Umbarkar, Undergraduate Student, Physics
Haley Hendrickson, Undergraduate Student, Psychology
Reese Owen, Undergraduate Student, Astrophysical Sciences
Mary Tsahas, Undergraduate Student, Computer Science
Chris Leahy, Undergraduate Student 2022, SPIA
Helen Brush, Undergraduate Student, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Abigail Samuel, Undergraduate Student, Psychology
Aaron Serianni, Undergraduate Student, Mathematics
Sam Miller, Undergraduate Student, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Max Diallo Jakobsen, Undergraduate Student, History & African Studies
Blue Carlsson, Undergraduate Student, Environmental Engineering
Paul-Louis Biondi, Undergraduate Student, Comparative Literature
Seza Tunc, Undergraduate Student, History
Noura Shoukfeh, Undergraduate Student, Near Eastern Studies
Isabella Swartz, Undergraduate Student, Molecular Biology
Sajia Shahrin Neha, Undergraduate Student, Astrophysical Sciences
Chiara Vilna-Santos, Undergraduate Student, Architecture
Audrey Royall, Undergraduate Student, Anthropology
Justin Zhang, Undergraduate Student, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Isabel Schoeman, Undergraduate Student, Politics
Jahir Morris, Undergraduate Student, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Bryce Springfield, Undergraduate Student
Jayson Badal, Undergraduate Student, Computer Science
Lillith Price-Wharff, Undergraduate Student, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Ethan Haque, Undergraduate Student, Computer Science
Calla Schultz, Undergraduate Student, East Asian Studies
Caroline Hochman, Undergraduate Student, History
Silma Berrada, Undergraduate Student, English
Naomi Farkas, Undergraduate Student, Computer Science
Ari Riggins, Undergraduate Student, Computer Science
Colin Vega, Undergraduate Student, Linguistics
Xuefei Gao, Undergraduate Alum, Architecture
Layla Williams, Undergraduate Student, English
Bailey Glenetske, Undergraduate Student, SPIA
David Eniola, Undergraduate Student, Psychology
Shoichi Hayashi, Undergraduate Alum, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Julia Hutto, Undergraduate Student, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Ahmed Farah, Undergraduate Alum 2022, Mathematics
Warren Quan, Undergraduate Student, Computer Science
Kai Torrens, Undergraduate Alum 2022, Physics
Rowen Gesue, Undergraduate Student, Neuroscience
Virginia Cobbs, Undergraduate Student, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Adriana Alvarado, Undergraduate Student, SPIA
Carrington Symone Johnson, Undergraduate Student, Spanish & Politics
Joseph Kim Sexton, Undergraduate Student, English, Creative Writing, Film, & Cognitive Science
Sekinat Aliu, Undergraduate Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Titi Sodimu, Undergraduate Student, Art and Archaeology
Sydney Bebon, Undergraduate Student, Classics
Madison Esposito, Undergraduate Student, Chemistry
Maya Jaaskelainen, Undergraduate Student, Chemical and Biological Engineering
Danielle Samake, Undergraduate Student, Sociology
Luisa Chantler Edmond, Undergraduate Student, Anthropology
Mirabella Smith, Undergraduate Student, Politics
Nyherowo Omene, Undergraduate Student, Architecture
Windsor Nguyễn, Undergraduate Student, ORFE
Aminah Aliu, Undergraduate Student, Computer Science
Daniel Wey, Undergraduate Alum 2022, Computer Science
Jacob Beyer, Undergraduate Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Eleanor Monroe, Undergraduate Student, Religion
Marissa Mejia, Undergraduate Student, Psychology
Nina Onyemeziem, Undergraduate Student, Computer Science
Jaeda Woodruff, Undergraduate Student, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Nal Xaviera, Undergraduate Student, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Allison Thomas, Undergraduate Student
Lucy Huelskamp, Undergraduate Student, Psychology
Ayinde Bradford, Undergraduate Student, Architecture
Nely Serrano, Undergraduate Student, Sociology & Political Science
Ann Webb, Undergraduate Student, French and Italian
Emilio Chan, Undergraduate Student, Computer Science
Max Gotts, Undergraduate Student, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Dylan Shapiro, Undergraduate Student, SPIA
Alliyah Gregory, Undergraduate Student, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Anya Sharma, Undergraduate Student, Computer Science
Leila Granier, Undergraduate Student, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Debby Park, Undergraduate Student, Molecular Biology
Christopher Lugo, Undergraduate Student, SPIA
Andrew Duke, Undergraduate Student, Mathematics
Taryn Sebba, Undergraduate Student 2023, SPIA
Albert Lee, Undergraduate Student, Sociology
Heather Madsen, Undergraduate Student, Geosciences
Sophie Main, Undergraduate Student, Comparative Literature
Miral Disi, Undergraduate Student, Anthropology
Elliot Lee, Undergraduate Student, English
Tiffany Huang, Undergraduate Student, ORFE
Claire Shin, Undergraduate Student, Computer Science
Coley Martin, Undergraduate Student, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Thomas Silldorff, Undergraduate Student, Chemistry
Ned Dockery, Undergraduate Student
Ana Blanco, Undergraduate Student, SPIA
Sabrina Kim, Undergraduate Student, Comparative Literature
Eli Costa, Undergraduate Alum 2022, Physics
Nooha Kawsar, Undergraduate Student, Molecular Biology
Simon Gotera, Undergraduate Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Noah Harrigan, Undergraduate Student, Economics
Maguire Sholette, Undergraduate Student, SPIA
Waree Sethapun, Undergraduate Student, Physics
Nathan Gage, Undergraduate Student, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Bryan Foo, Undergraduate Student, Physics
Viki Mancoridis, Undergraduate Student, Computer Science
Joy Patterson, Undergraduate Student, Computer Science
Emma Harlan, Undergraduate Student, History
Millie Hernandez, Undergraduate Alum 2022, SPIA
Aria Lupo, Undergraduate Student, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Zoe San Martin, Undergraduate Student, SPIA
Shireen Amna Waraich, Undergraduate Student, History
Diego Solorio, Undergraduate Student, Astrophysical Sciences
Jessica Wang, Undergraduate Student, Chemistry
Tara Cubeisy, Undergraduate Student, Computer Science
Edward Siaw, Undergraduate Student, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Rosemary Dietz, Undergraduate Student, English
Owen Travis, Undergraduate Student, Computer Science
Destiny Gonzales, Undergraduate Student, Psychology
Adam Ziff, Undergraduate Student 2023, Computer Science
Aisha Chebbi, Undergraduate Student, Anthropology
Ida Narli, Undergraduate Student
Rafay Khan, Undergraduate Student, Computer Science
Ryan Vuono, Undergraduate Student, SPIA
Katie Rohrbaugh, Undergraduate Student, History
Magnus von Ziegesar, Undergraduate Student, German
Emily Sanchez, Undergraduate Alum 2022, History
Enrique Zúñiga González, Undergraduate Alum 2022, Spanish and Portuguese
Mel Hornyak, Undergraduate Student, Psychology
Jessica Lee, Undergraduate Student, History
Emily Liushen, Undergraduate Alum, Music
James Adams, Undergraduate Student, Molecular Biology
Tiffany Zhong, Undergraduate Student, Neurosciecne
Jessica Jean Scott, Undergraduate Student, English
Belinda Wu, Undergraduate Student, Astrophysics
Anagha Rajagopalan, Undergraduate Student, Computer Science
Laura Robertson, Undergraduate Student, History
Beth Kushner, Staff, PUL Special Collections
William Silversmith, Staff, PNI
Aaron Shkuda, Staff, Princeton-Mellon Initiative in Architecture, Urbanism, and the Humanities
Jeanette DeGuire, Staff, Graduate School
Jesse Kaminsky, Graduate Student, Neuroscience
Chika Okeke-Agulu, Professor, Art & Archaeology / African American Studies
Sidra Alibrahim, Undergraduate Student, Neuroscience
Courtney DelPo, Graduate Student, Chemistry
Pedro Moranchel Jr., Undergraduate Student, Mathematics
Kim Kreiss, Graduate Student, SPIA
