It’s been almost ten days, and I’m still peeved by this article. The Aug. 29 article titled “Building names reflect different era on campus” perturbed me for multiple reasons, but the one that bothered me the most was the absolute lack of objectivity or respect for history (regardless of the sins of the past) shown by the author. While it was not surprising to me to learn of Ku Klux Klan affiliations among 19th century University leaders, I was stunned that the author took such a damning position with regard to the men in question.

This is the South, people. Sure, we have quite a few black marks on our history when we look at it now, but the era of Nott, Graves, Morgan and Ferguson is not our own. This distinction seems to have been overlooked by the author. He has taken the names of these men, esteemed men in the history of the University of Alabama, and the article can only point out that these men are “unsavory characters,” at least according to our standards today. “Yeah, they may have done some great things, but they still weren’t good people” – that’s the message I got from reading this article, a closed-minded viewpoint displayed on the front page as “news” for all to read.

Being a member of white supremacist organizations or being racist does not make them bad people – it makes them average citizens of their time. Racism, for them, was just a part of their culture – a part of who they were. It’s called history for a reason – the good and the bad alike are both part of it, and we must understand those social, political and cultural climates before we judge the views of the past.

Caitlin Clark is a senior majoring in French and pre-medical studies.