Hasbrouck Dining Hall
In a response to a petition calling for a change to the name of the campus dining hall to honor a long-time employee, SUNY New Paltz president Donald P. Christian said he’d ask the university’s Diversity and Inclusion Council to look at the pros and cons of retaining or replacing the names of campus buildings named for the town’s founding families, who were slaveholders.
“Some view these building names as perpetuating the legacy of slavery, and I am aware that some students, particularly students of color, have expressed their discomfort about living in halls with these names,” wrote Christian. “These issues have not been addressed fully and openly by our community to ensure that the visible symbolism of building names is culturally consistent with our values. Now is the right time to do so, when our nation is engaged in discourse about removing Confederate statues or changing building names that commemorate or memorialize the era of slavery in America.”
Darold Thompson
The petition on Change.org, signed by over 2,000, asked that Hasbrouck Dining Hall be named for Darold Thompson, who worked at the dining hall (through food-service contractor Sodexo) for 17 years. The petition did not make any reference to the building’s current namesake or the broader national conversation about renaming buildings.
After stating that he would be unable to grant the request to change the name of the dining hall, Christian brings up the wider issue of building namesakes. “This worthy effort to honor a longtime employee brings immediacy to a matter I have been thinking about for some time: initiating a community dialogue about names of the Hasbrouck Dining Hall and residence halls in that complex.”
Buildings in that part of campus, which abuts S. Manheim Blvd., include the dining hall and four residence halls: Bevier, Crispell, Deyo, DuBois, and Lefevre.
“There is no question that each of these families owned slaves during the period of slavery in New York,” writes Christian. “This is a shameful and painful legacy that we must acknowledge and portray openly and honestly.”
Christian said the Council will look at the question of retaining or replacing the building names, but won’t debate alternative names. “If the Council’s work results in a recommendation to change one or more names, we will engage a further deliberative, consultative process to develop new names to recommend to the Board of Trustees; any changes must be consistent with Board of Trustees policies.”
He said the report would be made by April 15, 2018.
Here’s the full letter:
Hasbrouck Complex Building Names: A Call for Community Dialogue
NEW PALTZ – The following statement was sent by SUNY New Paltz President Donald P. Christian to the campus community and alumni today. A detailed charge to the College’s Diversity and Inclusion Council will be communicated to the campus after Labor Day.
Members of the SUNY New Paltz Community:
I write for two purposes and ask that you read the entirety of this letter:
I am responding to a change.org petition asking that the College rename Hasbrouck Dining Hall; and
I am introducing a process we will undertake to evaluate the current names of buildings in the Hasbrouck Complex.
The petition asks that Hasbrouck Dining Hall, in whole or in part, be renamed to honor the memory of Darold Thompson, a New Paltz alumnus and long-term Sodexo food service employee who passed away recently. It is clear from the petition comments that Darold was a friend and inspiration to many students during his 17 years as a Hasbrouck employee. I enjoyed my interactions with him when we met on campus or now-and-then at the gym. He will be missed by many.
I am moved by the outpouring of support for a member of our community who embodied much of the spirit of New Paltz, from people who interacted with him daily over many years. Despite my appreciation for that sentiment, I am unable to honor the request to rename Hasbrouck Dining Hall in this way, as this request is not consistent with longstanding practice and current Board of Trustees policy. More recently, when a beloved member of our community has passed away, friends, family, or colleagues have worked with our Foundation to raise funds to memorialize that individual through a tree, bench, or plaque. The campus is considering alternative ways to honor Darold, and more information will be shared shortly about how those interested may contribute to that effort.
This brings me to my second purpose for writing. This worthy effort to honor a longtime employee brings immediacy to a matter I have been thinking about for some time: initiating a community dialogue about names of the Hasbrouck Dining Hall and residence halls in that complex. Some view these building names as perpetuating the legacy of slavery, and I am aware that some students, particularly students of color, have expressed their discomfort about living in halls with these names. These issues have not been addressed fully and openly by our community to ensure that the visible symbolism of building names is culturally consistent with our values. Now is the right time to do so, when our nation is engaged in discourse about removing Confederate statues or changing building names that commemorate or memorialize the era of slavery in America. This is also a time that we are embarking on a series of diversity and inclusion goals to make SUNY New Paltz an even better place to learn, work, and live.
Accordingly, over this academic year we will foster a transparent, open, respectful dialogue to 1) analyze and build awareness and understanding of historical and contemporary issues surrounding these names and northern slavery, with the help of scholars including our own faculty members; and 2) develop a consensus view about both the pros and cons of either retaining or replacing those names. We undertake this process with no preconceived notion of the outcome, and with the understanding that careful speaking and listening must come before conclusions are drawn. This process will be inclusive, drawing on the voices and perspectives of all members of the campus and broader New Paltz communities. We will also learn from the experiences of other colleges and universities that have evaluated names attached to statues or buildings recognizing individuals whose actions promoted or supported slavery or racial discrimination.
It would be naïve to think that these discussions will not be difficult. They will require the empathy and careful listening that I have written about before. We need to be aware at the outset that this discussion will draw attention from audiences beyond the university, and that others will be watching our process and its outcome. We have an opportunity to model problem-solving and community building that is sadly elusive in much of contemporary society.
I am asking the Diversity and Inclusion Council to lead this process as a priority of its work this year, issuing a report of its activities, findings and recommendations by April 15, 2018. That lengthy timeline reflects my intention that we give this topic the full attention it deserves, and ensures we will have an opportunity to examine multiple perspectives.
This charge is beyond the normal scope of responsibility that we envisioned when forming the Council, but I see this group as best positioned to lead our community through this discussion, with the care and attention it deserves. The Council will provide multiple forums to invite broad input from current students, alumni, faculty and staff, members of the College Council, Historic Huguenot Street and other community partners.
The detailed charge to the Diversity and Inclusion Council will be communicated to the campus after Labor Day. My charge directs the Council to determine whether to retain or replace these building names, not to debate alternative names. If the Council’s work results in a recommendation to change one or more names, we will engage a further deliberative, consultative process to develop new names to recommend to the Board of Trustees; any changes must be consistent with Board of Trustees policies. Here is a brief summary of relevant background, which will be a platform for launching this dialogue.
Buildings in the Hasbrouck Complex are named after Huguenot families – Bevier, Crispell, Deyo, DuBois, Hasbrouck, and Lefevre – that were the original settlers of New Paltz, and that have more than three centuries of history in the United States. These buildings were named explicitly to recognize these families, not individual family members, and not specifically the founding members.
There is no question that each of these families owned slaves during the period of slavery in New York. This is a shameful and painful legacy that we must acknowledge and portray openly and honestly. We must recognize that the legacy of the building names has a very different, painful impact for African-American members of our campus community than for others. Historic Huguenot Street (HHS) in New Paltz maintains historic buildings dating back to the earliest European settlement of this community, and engages in educational programming about Huguenot history. HHS has agreed to be a partner in these discussions, and has already undertaken programming – such as the recent “Slave-Dwelling Project” – to educate about this history and its contemporary consequences, including reckoning with slave ownership by early Huguenots. We will welcome the expertise and viewpoints from HHS members, among them emeritus professor of black studies, A.J. Williams-Myers, who serves on the HHS board. You will hear more soon about an upcoming event co-sponsored by HHS, SUNY New Paltz, and other organizations that will inform thinking about this legacy of slavery.
The Hasbrouck buildings were built and named in the 1960s, about 130 years after slaves were emancipated in New York, and about 100 years after the end of the Civil War. Current prominent citizens in the Hudson Valley and beyond, white and black, are further descendants who carry these family names. Those families and their influence on higher education opportunities in New Paltz are a key part of the College’s deep roots in this community.
This is the complex history that we must understand and translate into meaning — about the names we attach to campus buildings, the history behind those names, and what they convey about our values. SUNY New Paltz has a longstanding reputation as an inclusive, welcoming and diverse learning community dedicated to providing a path to a better life for New York citizens. We are proud of our work over many decades to advance that goal. Our purpose in this effort is to evaluate and embrace what we stand for, in order to ensure rich learning opportunities for future generations of citizens.
We will provide frequent communication to the community about this effort.
Sincerely,
Donald P. Christian
President
I have lived in New Paltz for 56 years. I am appalled that SUNY New Paltz is even considering changing the names of some buildings on the campus, in effort to be politically correct. By wiping out history and legacies of a town. Perhaps the people that want to change/erase history, should first learn what it means? IF the college decides to change names of campus buildings and the legacy of our beautiful town, then they need to shut down Huguenot street, and demolish ALL the stone houses, and erase the entire beginnings of the town. This would be necessary to do because if you want to wipe out the legacy of a town, this is the only way to do it. COMPLETELY REMOVE ALL THE HUGUENOT STREET HISTORY AND ERASING IT. ! ! The LeFevre house, the Bevier house, The DuBois house, the Hasbrouck house. And don’t forget Hasbrouck Park, ALL need to be demolished too ! Be sure to shame the founding families of the town who had businesses, homes, and got the town of New Paltz on the map. Please also make sure the town of New Paltz REMOVES and destroys all the street signs in the town that have any reference to any kind of slave holder in history. Manheim is a German name and must be included in Nazi / racist signs to be removed as well. If people are so offended by the history of a town, then they can choose to live elsewhere. It is their choice to come to New Paltz. Slavery is bad, we all know this, that is why a war was fought, and slavery was abolished. It was legal when the founding families lived here.
So let me pose this question to all the bleeding heart liberals out there. No disrespect to Darold Thompson. I am sure he is an honorable man. But do you really think that renaming the halls for people of color solves the current dilemma our nation faces that has been perpetuated by the racist radical left in this country??? If you do then you are about as smart as an acorn. How any of you got into college, much less now hold the esteemed positions in academia that you now hold, befuddles me.
Moreover, here is a factoid for all of you liberals. We DID NOT have the unrest we have today until we had a liberal black president. Obama did more to set our country on the path to self-destruction than any president before him. He has taken us back 160 years in historical racial context rather than having done anything positive to help our country grow and move forward. But now the left wants to blame Trump for the cause of their plights. You people are really as dumb as acorns.
You were on a roll until you feel off the tracks with the Obama statement. Where have you been all your life? We did not have the unrest…” Did you miss the civil rights era or were you one of those who sat in the North and viewed the racial issues in the South as being “down there and not here”? You are truly an apple-knocker. I don’t necessarily consider changing names to be much of an answer to anything but it should be debated. You don’t get to have your way simply because you want things to stay the same.
Hey Bill you take my Obama analogy out of context. It was Obama’s vindication of the Black Lives Matter movement, which has morphed into pure racist hate based group by the way, when Obama stated it was “our movement.”
Did we have problems before Obama? Certainly. Did Our Country have many dark moments in the systemic mistreatment of people of color throughout our history. Most definitely. But this rabid virulent hatred based movement, BLM and it’s spinoffs, simply did not exist before Obama. The historical wounds, though deep, were healing though never to be forgotten. Under Obama all the scabs were torn off setting us back 50 years in race relations.
One final Obama example for you Bill. Name me one other President in history upon leaving office that identified himself as “part of the resistance.” That statement alone served to infuse the BLM and “Resistance” movements with a vigor and self-justification to their hate based agendas that will only served to tear our country apart.
One thing for sure I can tell you is this. While we eat ourselves alive
Putin is drinking his vodka and eating his caviar and laughing his head off.
When did Obama identify himself as “part of the resistance”?
Hello Hank,
Both Obama and Hillary stated that they are part of the resistance. If you look it up on YouTube I am sure you can find the videos so that you may hear the words directly from their mouths. Rather than rely on some unverified report. Not only that, but when Obama was still in office, right after Ferguson, he called the BLM “our movement.” Basically, telling the racists, because that’s what BLM is let’s not parse words for political correctness, that I agree and support your methods. I just can’t say it out loud.
This is a bridge too far. It’s almost exactly what Trump referred to when he said who’s next, George Washington or Thomas Jefferson. At the time everyone sympathetic to Confederate statue removal dismissed that, saying that Washington and Jefferson should be judged for their overall importance to our nation and in light of the standards of their time. If all place names should be changed if the namesake owned slaves, we need a new national capital to start with, and probably thousands of other changes, considering slavery was legal and practiced in the north as well back when a lot of places were named.
Also, I don’t know much about the college’s “Diversity and Inclusion Council” but I would bet the farm that a body of that name within a liberal university is going to come down in favor of changing the names.
And I’m not sure why the college president felt this was necessary. I would understand it better if a large portion of the student body had been undertaking a sustained push for changes. In this case, they weren’t even asking for this. If I were the president, and I really felt this issue was worth exploring absent strong pressure to do so, I would certainly not decide to do so at the height of the national controversy. The names have stood for 50 years. They could have stood another year or so, when the question could be examined more soberly (as by then the rest of the nation will most certainly have moved on to an entirely different controversy of the moment).
Maybe the U.S. government should just get it over with and pay reparations so we can move on. Lets say, 50k per black American. if there are 40 million blacks in America, that’d be 2 trillion.
New Paltz has fallen off its rocker ! I grew up in NP, none of this nonsense was ever an issue.
I am an Ulster County resident and, incidentally, a descendant of both the DuBois family and the Hasbroucks. I look with revulsion on the institution of slavery and would never condone a monument that glorified such an un-evolved aspect of human history.
However, I think it’s it’s obvious that these are not monuments to slavery. It is important to realize that these families have their names displayed around New Paltz simply because they founded the community. They are not being remembered because their existence represented slavery or they championed it. There was no “side to choose” at that time; the DuBois family came here in the 1600’s, so it is unrealistic to expect that any people who lived 300-400 years ago could have been living by today’s enlightened social and moral norms.
Every single generation has had its pervasive, culturally conditioned moral outrage. In modern society, the masses of people consider it acceptable to cram factory farmed animals into cages for their entire lives, and then violently slaughter and eat them. As times goes on, more and more “ahead of their time” people are living happily and healthily without patronizing this unnecessary institution. It is highly possible— if not probable, judging by trends and technology— that 350 years from now, people will look back upon our heinous treatment of feeling, suffering animals as an “obvious” stain on American society. Will the political leaders and luminaries of our day be stripped of all recognition because they ate hamburgers and participated in a pervasive vice of the day?
No one is morally perfect, let alone when viewed through the privileged lens of hindsight. Anyone throwing stones at the people of 350 years ago should be aware that 350 years into the future, people will be throwing stones at them for the “perfectly acceptable” things they are doing now. Overseas sweat shops and factory farms are contemporary incarnations of enslavement. Are these same New Paltz students who are decrying the “normal people” of 350 years ago also boycotting items “Made in China” and the by-products of animal cruelty? It’s not even difficult to do so today – we have much greater knowledge and options than did the people of the 1600’s.
We should be adding to the historical record with proud displays of positive growth rather than expunging people and things from our memory. The whole purpose of history is to have it handy, to learn from its good and bad aspects. It’s worth noting that as society evolved, descendants of both the DuBois and Hasbrouck families fought against slavery for the Union army in the Civil War. W.E.B DuBois, co-founder of the NAACP, was himself descended from the original DuBois family (through racial inter-marriage rather than slavery).
Slavery was confronted centuries ago, and now we need to pick our battles. The most important battles involve our daily treatment of people, not the labeling of buildings. Focusing on inanimate placards is a lazy, uninspired and minimally constructive form of activism. Though it requires more work and is less sensational, it’s more constructive to confront this generation’s problems of racism and/or boycott modern forms of slavery.
My great 9th (or was it 10th?) great grandmother freed her slaves, which I’m fairly certain was unusual for the time. Because she’s long dead (like slavery), she won’t care if we free her name from buildings or street signs. But it is interesting that the closest thing we have to my ancestors’ “apology” and their continued “evolution through time” is me. I think this sudden demand for new names is not only misdirected, but also a case over putting symbolism over substance. I’d like to see more meaningful changes than name changes on signs. I’d like to see changes in people’s hearts, minds and actions.
I am an Ulster County resident and, incidentally, a descendant of both the DuBois family and the Hasbroucks. I look with revulsion on the institution of slavery and would never condone a monument that glorified such an un-evolved aspect of human history.
However, it’s obvious that these are not monuments to slavery. It is important to realize that these families have their names displayed around New Paltz simply because they founded the community. They are not being remembered because their existence represented slavery or they championed it. There was no “side to choose” at that time; the DuBois family came here in the 1600’s, so it is unrealistic to expect that any people who lived 300-400 years ago could have been living by today’s enlightened social and moral norms.
Every single generation has had its pervasive, culturally conditioned moral outrage. In modern society, the masses of people consider it acceptable to cram factory farmed animals into cages for their entire lives, and then violently slaughter and eat them. As times goes on, more and more “ahead of their time” people are living happily and healthily without patronizing this unnecessary institution. It is highly possible— if not probable, judging by trends and technology— that 350 years from now, people will look back upon our heinous treatment of feeling, suffering animals as an “obvious” stain on American society. Will the political leaders and luminaries of our day be stripped of all recognition because they ate hamburgers and participated in a pervasive vice of the day?
No one is morally perfect, let alone when viewed through the privileged lens of hindsight. Anyone throwing stones at the people of 350 years ago should be aware that 350 years into the future, people will be throwing stones at them for the “perfectly acceptable” things they are doing now. Overseas sweat shops and factory farms are contemporary incarnations of enslavement. Are these same New Paltz students who are decrying the “normal people” of 350 years ago also boycotting items “Made in China” and the by-products of animal cruelty? It’s not even difficult to do so today – we have much greater knowledge and options than did the people of the 1600’s.
We should be adding to the historical record with proud displays of positive growth rather than expunging people and things from our memory. The whole purpose of history is to have it handy, to learn from its good and bad aspects. It’s worth noting that as society evolved, descendants of both the DuBois and Hasbrouck families fought against slavery for the Union army in the Civil War. W.E.B DuBois, co-founder of the NAACP, was himself descended from the original DuBois family (through racial inter-marriage rather than slavery).
Slavery was confronted centuries ago, and now we need to pick our battles. The most important battles involve our daily treatment of people, not the labeling of buildings. Focusing on inanimate placards is a lazy, uninspired and minimally constructive form of activism. Though it requires more work and is less sensational, it’s more constructive to confront this generation’s problems of racism and/or boycott modern forms of slavery.
My great 9th (or was it 10th?) great grandmother freed her slaves, which I’m fairly certain was unusual for the time. Because she’s long dead (like slavery), she won’t care if we free her name from buildings or street signs. But it is interesting that the closest thing we have to my ancestors’ “apology” and their continued “evolution through time” is me. I think this sudden demand for new names is not only misdirected, but also a case of putting symbolism over substance. I’d like to see more meaningful changes than name changes on signs. I’d like to see changes in people’s hearts, minds and actions.
Lets just rip the buildings down. Problem solved,
During my chlldhood in the Village of New paltz over 50 years ago, My family had a big house and business on Main Street In New Paltz. One floor of our four floor house that had four bedrooms and a bathroom was turned into student housing with 8 female students living there, and my mom as a house mother. The students had to sign in and out when then left and came back, there were strict rules to follow too. I remember vietnam protests going on over at SUNY New Paltz, only 3 blocks from my house. I remember when the Woodstock festival came, and New Paltz was flooded with people looking for food and shelter. My fathers business had people lined up out the door for food. As we were the first restaurant on Main Street going downtown from the thruway at that time. The Plaza Diner was not even built yet. But with all the protests and signs of the 60’s going on back then, I never remembered anyone upset about the names of the buildings on SUNY New Paltz Campus. I do remember when they named the college library Sojourner Truth library. The whites did not protest, and call people racist. The liberal left is themselves racist against anyone who does not share their views,. There seems to be a sense of entitlement with so many young people these days. To wipe out the legacy of a town is ridiculous. If you do not like the names of the buildings, street signs, or statues, then go someplace else.
Heritage and family names of Historical New Paltz are not Negotiable, not then, not now, not ever.
My Heritage and the estimated 1 million descendants of our Huguenot founders will remain long after Donnie Christian and his merry band of thugs leaves town.
Most are students who will likely be visiting the town for no more than 4 years. You’re mommy and daddy’s money, student loans are available at other schools, can be spent elsewhere.
Donald P. Christian, your future employment and where you live are negotiable. My Heritage is not. Nor is the settlement history of the United States.
I suggest the 2000 temporary visitors and Donnie leave. Cannot change my Heritage. You can change your future in New Paltz and SUNY, there are schools just waiting to embrace your Hate of Americans Heritages.
The poem goes “then they came for me”. You’re Hate is at my door today, tomorrow it could be you.
Americans Celebrate All our Heritage’s, denigrate none.
Except for the Haters.
Don’t be a Hater denigrating others Heritage’s like Donnie Christian and Nazi’s do.
Be American!!
Move the state university out of the village municipality.
Everybody bone up on the St, Bartholemu Day Massacre. That is where the argonauts are coming from.
One has to consider the times. These families, not designated as individuals, did not bring slaves to the New World, and did not have the kinds of crops found on large-scale plantations later in the South. To the best of my knowledge, my ancestors in New Paltz who had slaves eventually had less than five. This is not to say I approve of slavery, then or now, but that those who had slaves should not condemn the founders to the same label.
DuBois, Deyo, Hasbrouck