Sunday, Oct. 12,2008 9:28 p.m.
The All University Committee on Names will recommend in less than two
weeks whether the Ora L. Wildermuth Center should be renamed.This
move comes more than a year after an Indiana Daily Student columnist
reported that Wildermuth, whom the Center is named after, espoused
segregationist views.Part of the hand-wringing around renaming
the building derives from the dangerous precedent it might set. Terry
Clapacs, head of the Committee on Names and IU’s vice president and
chief administrative officer, said officials did not want to rush into
a name change because of the enormity of the decision.To be
sure, a mere disagreement with one’s views does not warrant
dissociation from the University. However, members of the Committee on
Names must consider whether staying with the name sends an even larger
and more dangerous message to the University’s populace, particularly
people of color. In order to understand the significance of
the Center’s name, one must examine Wildermuth’s well-documented views
on race. On Nov. 19, 1945, in a letter to IU comptroller Ward G.
Biddle, Wildermuth wrote, “I am and shall always remain absolutely and
utterly opposed to social intermingling of the colored race with the
white. I belong to the white race and shall remain loyal to it. It
always has been the dominant and leading race.”In the summer of
1948, in regards to integration of educational facilities, Wildermuth
argued “So few of them (blacks) succeed, and the average of the race as
to intelligence, economic status and industry is so far below the white
average that it seems to me futile to build up hope for a great future.”
