RUSSELL: The University must atone for its legacy of genocide
The University of Virginia is affectionately referred to as “Mr. Jefferson’s University,” as it was this Founding Father’s own brainchild, intended to compete with the eminent universities of the north. Since its inception, the University has become a prestigious university with a healthy endowment and many prominent graduates. Many students though, while proud to attend the University, are deeply troubled by Thomas Jefferson’s and the University’s role in perpetuating policies of racial oppression. The University has acknowledged the need to address that harm and has started making investments in programs to acknowledge its role in perpetuating the oppression of enslaved laborers.