I attended the Descendants of Saint Louis University Enslaved (DSLUE) teach-in on Feb. 8, and to my surprise, I was one of 15 SLU students in attendance. Being at 11 a.m. a school day didn’t help, but the turnout still shocked me. For a school that prides itself on social change and social action, I am not sure that those are the words I would use to describe my first two semesters at SLU.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Robin Proudie, the founder of DSLUE and a descendant herself, a handful of times. Not only are Proudie and her organization’s request for a monument to the enslaved reasonable, but it is excessively unreasonable not to do so. If we can have buildings named after William DuBourg and Peter Verhaegen, both enslavers, we can certainly build a monument to their enslaved. After all, those are the people who actually built the campus these men’s names are plastered all over.

Proudie isn’t seeking for the entire problematic history of SLU to be washed away and overtaken by DSLUE, in fact, far from it. She does not want to pull DuBourg’s and Verhaegen’s names from campus. “It’s not about taking their names down, because when you remove that, you remove the history. They were the founders, but what we want to look at is adding our ancestor’s names to the buildings, [and] telling the complete story,” said Proudie. Proudie made efforts to join forces with some of SLU’s committees to see this plan through but was denied entry to said groups.

When considering this request, I find it saddening that the administration here at SLU would do anything but welcome it with open arms. But, much to my disappointment, little of note has happened at all in the eight years since the Slavery, History, Memory, and Reconciliation research project began. A well-researched historical archive is good, but more must be done.

It seems that SLU is under the impression that merely publicizing this gruesome history and notifying the descendants, sometimes with the offer of free basketball tickets, is the end of their obligation to the descendants. For a school that prides itself on social change, justice, and action, I find this to be a stretch. If we can afford to spend sixteen million dollars on a new Jesuit center, something tells me we can find the money to get a monument for those who built the campus we live, walk, and eat on every day. 

But, back to the title of the article, I want you to do something about it. If you are a student, I want you to sign petitions, show up to events, and speak your mind about a monument being built. If you are an alumni, I want you to contact your fellow alumni and see to it that your generosity towards your alma mater is dependent on it living up to the social change it loves to advertise. If you are faculty, I want you to start this dialogue, really start it, and get this up the ladder in any way you can. If you are an administrator, I want you to do what you already know is right—what Ignatius, Jesus and anyone of love would do– to be on the right side of history.