College Inc. - U-Texas reconsiders dorm named for Klan leader: According to this recent Wall Street Journal report, the University of Texas is reconsidering the wisdom of naming a dormitory near its law school after a late law professor who was a leader in the Ku Klux Klan.
William Stewart Simkins was a longtime UT law professor. According to the Journal, he and his brother 'helped form the Ku Klux Klan in Florida after the Civil War.'
The dorm opened 55 years ago under Simkins's name, and the university apparently overlooked his past.
The Daily Texan student newspaper opines:
'William Stewart Simkins was, by all accounts, a deplorable human being. Some people may say he was only playing into the sentiment of the time period in which he lived. Regardless, any person that participates, much less organizes, a group that advocates for the murder of individuals on the basis of race is horrible, no matter what era he or she lived in.'
A public forum on the potential name change was held on campus Monday. An advisory committee will forward a recommendation; any name change would require action by university regents.
