The Editor's Corner

Editor's Corner- October, 2020 

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Since we last updated our website in early August, a number of developments have occurred at Washington and Lee, and The Generals Redoubt has responded to several of them. Not all of these developments were negative. For example, President Dudley announced that the university would open for in person classes in late August, and we applauded him for that decision. We have since learned that 90% or more of students are in Lexington. We recognize that each college or university  has to deal with the pandemic in its own way, but we believe that President Dudley made the right decision and we have told him so. 

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Unfortunately, a number of the developments at W&L have not been so positive, and we have felt the need to respond to these as well. In late July or early August, a group calling itself Not Unmindful sent a letter to the President and Board outlining its reasons for changing the name of the university and omitting the name of Robert E. Lee. We have responded to their letter, demonstrating some poor historical research on their part, particularly with regard to Lee. At the same time, we have said that if the name of the university is not changed, we would be glad to work with members of this group on challenges facing our alma mater. Copies of both of these documents can be found in our "Letters" section. 

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In early September, we learned of a course being taught to freshmen this fall and entitled "How to Overthrow the State." We learned of this through various national media outlets. How these outlets discovered that this course was being offered we do not know. We wrote our own letter about the course to President Dudley. We did not question the content of the course or state that it should not be taught. We did say that we questioned the common sense and good judgement of those who allowed the course to be taught under this title. Our letter to President Dudley on this subject can also be found in the "Letters" section of the website. 

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Not long after the controversy over "How to Overthrow the State" erupted, a conservative freshman decided to run for the Executive Committee. He posted a campaign ad on his Instagram account. Shortly thereafter he began to receive uncivil remarks from some of his fellow students, calling him and his supporters "racists" and using vulgar and profane remarks. We have placed all of this exchange in an article on our "Articles" section. Around the same time, another freshman student  posted a video which was widely distributed. In this video, the student expressed her opinion about some of the developments at Washington and Lee. We must warn you that the video contained profane words and gestures.  The Generals Redoubt has not taken a  position on the video, and we certainly believe in complete freedom of speech and expression both with regard to this student and the students mentioned above. However, some individuals have contacted us to state that the manner in which the student expresses herself violates the Washington and Lee tradition of civil discourse. We have included one of these responses to the video in the "Letters" section. 

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Despite some of these negative developments, The Generals Redoubt remains optimistic about the university's future. We are hopeful that the Board will maintain the name of our university and will continue to honor our namesakes. We are hopeful that we can continue to work with the Board and university to preserve our history, values, and traditions. We remain optimistic that the university will recruit students and faculty  who also honor our namesakes. Finally, we look forward to working with all groups to meet current and future challenges to our beloved alma mater. It is because of our hopefulness and optimism that we have launched our second annual fund. We have attached our annual fund appeal letter under the "Support Us" section of our website. 

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Neely Young,

Editor, The Generals Redoubt 

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July 8, 2020 (Updated August 23, 2020)

 

So much has happened in the last month or so, both at the national level and at our university, that it is difficult to keep up with all of it, much less comprehend and respond to everything.We will be focusing here on developments at Washington and Lee, and posting items which pertain to the ever changing environment there. Most of you are aware of the various petitions and actions by the majority of the faculty and some alumni and students calling for a change to the name of Washington and Lee. Below you will find a copy of our response to all of this. We think that our position represents that of a vast majority of alumni, parents, and students taken together. 

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Under the "Letters" section of the website, we have posted a very strong letter from the vast majority of the emeritus trustees of Washington and Lee to the current Board of Trustees opposing a name change to the University. In addition, there are four extraordinary letters sent to the Board by other individuals regarding the importance of maintaining the name of Washington and Lee and preserving the history, values, and traditions of the university. 

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Under the "Articles" section, there is an essay by Garland Tucker, class of 1969, which was recently published in The National Review. There is also an article "Defending Lee" by Al Eckes, W&L class of 1964, accompanied by an addendum by Neely Young, class of 1966. Dr. Eckes has also produced a YouTube video on maintaining the name of the university which is available at the following link.

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We have provided a link to a balanced analysis of the issues at hand which was recently published in the student newspaper, The Ring Tum Phi. The authors merely ask for a balanced and civil discussion of the issue of a name change. Despite this, some of the proponents of a name change have stated that civility  must be done away with, and no discussion can be had on this issue. 

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We have also provided a link to a brief, inspiring video produced by the University about seven years ago. The  video reminds us that we should always honor and respect the namesakes of our beloved university

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Neely Young,

Editor, The Generals Redoubt 

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June 27, 2020

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To the Board of Trustees and Alumni:

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The Generals Redoubt unequivocally opposes the changing of the name, in any form, of Washington and Lee University; it opposes the removal of the Founders’ portraits from the diploma of any student, graduate or undergraduate; it believes a recent resolution by tenured faculty calling for removal of Robert E. Lee’s name from that of the university poses a serious challenge of financial and reputational sustainability; and it notes the lack of serious and believable scholarship in Toni Locy’s article ‘Letting Go of Robert E. Lee at Washington and Lee University’ published recently in The Nation. We believe the Honor System at Washington and Lee should be mandatory for students as well as for its faculty. The Generals Redoubt is preparing definitive responses on a number of matters to be published in the near future. These include President Dudley's most recent letter on racial issues and observations of younger alumni on their current and active petition.

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The Redoubt is most appreciative of the overwhelming support expressed by our alumni and friends for our efforts of the past year, and those we ardently pursue now to save the traditions and values bestowed on the University by our revered Founders.

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The Generals Redoubt

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