Recognition of Statues and Names Attributed to Controversial figures at UF
- Kian Thomas
- Jul 8, 2020
- 10 min read
Author: Cole Hersom
Edited by Kian Thomas
We are maintaining a map of University recognitions currently under scrutiny and debate within our network of campus-based think tanks:
J. Wayne Reitz Union
The Building
The J. Wayne Reitz Union (Reitz Union) serves as the main student union for the University of Florida. As such the building serves an immense number of functions. The Reitz union houses multiple extensive open areas for gathering/eating/studying, 11 dining locations, multiple Grand Ballrooms, a theatre, the UF Student Senate Atrium, a great number of conference rooms, student and university offices, a computer lab with free printing for students, the UF Bookstore, a dance studio, a large game room, and a multi-story hotel. Innumerous student activities occur here, as clubs are able to rent out the conference rooms, with the most prominent being UF Student Senate meetings. As such, thousands and thousands of students will use the Reitz Union on a daily basis, for an equally numerous varieties of reasons.
Groundbreaking for the union began in 1964, after receiving funds from the Florida Development Commission (funded by Florida student fees). Students had expressed overwhelming support for the construction of a new union, as the resources for the previous union (now Dauer Hall) had become inadequate. The new facility was opened to the public on May 1, 1967. It was during the ring cutting ceremony that the building was named in honor of former UF President J. Wayne Reitz, who had resigned that January. In the coming decades, many expansions and remodeling shaped the Reitz Union into the heart of student activity that it is today.
The Person
Julius Wayne Reitz was born on December 31, 1908 in Olathe Kansas. His family later moved to Colorado, where Reitz undertook further education at Colorado State University to earn his Bachelor’s. After earning his master’s at Illinois University, Reitz served as an assistant professor of agricultural economics in 1934 at UF. He held the position for 10 years while he earned his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin. Later in life Reitz became Chief of the Citrus Fruits Section in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He was prompted to return to UF when he was appointed Provost for Agriculture by President J. Hillis Miller. After a lengthy process of finding a successor after President Miller’s death, Reitz was named President on March 22, 1955, the first UF faculty to receive the appointment. Under Reitz UF grew rapidly, erecting over 300 buildings, creating new educational programs, and doubling the student population (9,000 -> 18,000)
Controversy
Reitz’s main source of public controversy came from his interactions with the Florida Legislation Investigation Committee. The FLIC is also known as the Johns Committee as it was chaired by prominent Florida Politician Charley Johns. The Johns committee was established during the 2nd Red/Lavender Scare, and as such, it was tasked with investigating institutes and people considered to be in connection with communism. During this second scare wave, the Johns Committee primarily targeted homosexual individuals, who were considered a threat to national security and children. A primary target of their investigations was UF, possible due to the large academic student population and early end to racial segregation there. Unlike many Florida universities, Reitz did not seem to oppose the investigations, "Reitz happily allowed Johns on campus." (Lilly, 2019). On campus, uniformed officials would pull out faculty and students and interrogate them for potential homosexuality in violation of their civil rights. Faculty or staff accused of homosexual activity would be forced to resign, and students would be expelled, unless they named other homosexual students and received psychiatric treatment. Faculty who did not leave on their own will after being accused would be discharged under Reitz’s orders.
Stephen C. O’Connell Center
The Building
The O’Connell Center is a multipurpose indoor arena, with a 10,133-person capacity (main arena). It serves its primary purpose as the home arena for a variety of UF sports including: Men/Women’s Basketball, Volleyball, gymnastics, swimming, and diving. O’Connell Center also serves as a venue for a wide variety of events such as concerts.
The O’Connell center came about as the result of a deal with USF to commission similar architectural designs to help with stretching state funding. As such the O’Connell Center and USF’s Sun Dome “central dome” share near identical design. The O’Connell center broke ground in October 1977, and was completed in December 1980. The Center was dedicated to O’Connell on September 19, 1981 to recognize his years of service at the University.
The Person
Stephen Cornelius O’Connell was born on January 22, 1916 and grew up in West Palm Beach, Florida before attending the University of Florida. He was involved in the ATO Fraternity, and excelled at boxing, for which he is now in the Florida Athletic Hall of Fame. He received 2 bachelors’ in business and Law, and eventually his Bachelor of Laws Degree from Florida. He began to practice Law in Ft. Lauderdale before being conscripted for WWII, where he ended up serving as a Major in the Air Force. After the war O’Connell returned to law practice in Ft. Lauderdale, but also became involved in politics.
O’Connell worked with the Democratic party on several senatorial and gubernatorial races. In 1955 he was appointed to the Florida Supreme Court, becoming Chief Justice in 1967. Three months later he was chosen as the next president of the University of Florida. He would be officially inaugurated October 7, 1968. To curb the student unrest that was nationwide at the time, O’Connell created an Action Conference to discuss student issues. Potentially as a result of these discussions, UF was able to continue class during the social aftermath of the Kent State shootings, which forced many universities to close. Under his tenure a variety of new buildings were put into place (including the Reitz Union and Natural History Museum), as well as a great expansion of student activity facilities. Furthermore, O’Connell helped to reorganize the Alumni Association, which has greatly bolstered the endowment system. O’Connell retired on June 28, 1973.
The Controversy
O’Connell came on to the Florida Supreme Court shortly after the decision of Brown v. Board of Education, as such much of his career dealt with the integration of schools. O’Connell believed in gradualist integration (Pleasants, Gator Tales, p. 97), believing that integration should be delayed because "violence in university communities and a critical disruption of the university system would occur if Negro students are permitted to enter the state white universities at this time, including the Law School of the University of Florida, of which it is an integral part." State Ex Rel. Hawkins v. Board of Control, 83 So.2d 20 (1957). One of the greatest sources of student protest during his term as President were race issues. Feeling that too little was being done by the university to minimize race issues and enroll black students, a sit-in at the president’s office by the Black Student Union occurred on April 1971. As a result of this demonstration, 66 students were arrested. O’Connell refused to give amnesty to these students, 125 of the university's black students and several black faculty members left the university in protest.
1. https://web.archive.org/web/20140227053305/http://president.ufl.edu/about/past-presidents/oconnell/
Buckman Hall
The Building
Buckman Hall serves a student dormitory in the historic Murphree area. Providing students housing at the heart of the university. This location puts many prominent locations within easy walking distance, with ample access to bus stops. Due to its age, the floor plan of Buckman’s dorms are often uniquely shaped (to benefit or loss). Most common dorm amenities are provided (Bathroom, shower, oven, microwave).
In 1905 the Florida legislation passed the Buckman Act (named for Henry Buckman). This act consolidated the 6 Florida higher learning institutions into 3, one for white men, white women, and Africa Americans. Four of those institutions would become the University of Florida, which was designated for white men. The act also empowered the Florida Board of Control to govern the university system. The law was discontinued after World War II, with the single gender provisions being removed in 1947, and the racial provisions discontinued in the 1960s. Since the Buckman Act was responsible for the creation of the University of Florida at Gainesville, Buckman hall was named after the author of the Act. Buckman Hall along with Thomas Hall, are the two original buildings on campus. Originally the two buildings housed all university activities, including dormitories, classrooms, offices, food, and recreation. From 1974-2003 Buckman hall was a cooperative student dormitory. This implied that students would have to complete the housing upkeep and less maintenance in exchange for lower costs. This was discontinued in 2003 and Buckman Hall became a typical dorm. Buckman Hall has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Person
Henry Holland Buckman, born 1858, worked as an attorney in Duval County. Later in life he joined the Florida Legislation and authored the aptly named Buckman Act, which organized the university system as mentioned earlier. He was also involved the in the development of Florida’s state road system.
The Controversy
The issue here seems appears to be with Buckman Act (though that has some obvious carry over to the man himself). While the Buckman Act lead to the establishment of 3 prominent Universities: University of Florida (White Male’s College), Florida State University (White Women’s College), and Florida A&M (Black College); it lead to a further cementation of these sexist and racist divides. And putting these colleges under the control of a single governmental entity would allow for easier manipulation of funding and attention. It is both troubling and unfortunate that it can be said that UF was literally founded on racial and sexual divides.
George A. Smathers Libraries
The Building/System
The Smathers library system is the largest collection of information in the State of Florida, serving every college in the university of Florida. The Library system contains 6 separate libraries, Architecture and Fine Arts Library, Education Library, Health Science Center Libraries, Library West (Humanities and Social Sciences), Marston Science Library, Smathers Library (Special and Area Studies Collections, Latin American and Caribbean Collection, Map and Imagery Library) (note: Smathers library was formally called library East). The Libraries contain a vast number of books and other reference materials, as well as computers, printing, and study areas.
The Library system was renamed to George A. Smathers Library system after Smathers donated $20 million to the library system. This donation was the largest singular donation made to a Florida University ever at that point.
The Person
George Armistead Smathers was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, but his family moved to Miami, where Smathers would grow up. He would go on to attend the University of Florida where he would eventually earn a law degree. During his time at UF, Smathers was the captain of the basketball team (made the UF athletic hall of fame) and served as student body president. Smathers worked as an Assistant United States Attorney before serving as an officer in World War II. After the war, Smathers was elected to serve two terms in the US House of Representatives from 1947 to 1951.
He established a reputation for being a moderate except for his anti-communism stance. Upon President Truman’s request, Smathers ran for the US Senate against fellow Democratic party member Claude Peppers. During the campaign, Smathers accused Peppers of communist leanings due to his civil rights and healthcare platforms. His career as Senator was marked by his stance against Civil Rights and his friendship with John F. Kennedy. He also supported the creation of “universities” to teach Latin Americans to fight communism. After retiring from politics, Smathers became a successful businessman and lobbyist.
The Controversy
As mentioned before, Smathers played heavily into Red Scare tactics in his primary run against Peppers, attempting to put down his Civil Rights platform. This attitude continued into his senate career. Smathers was one of the signees of the “Southern Manifesto” of 1956, condemning the decisions of Brown v Board of Education. The manifesto signees saw the decision of Brown to be an overreach of power by the court, and would use "all lawful means to bring about a reversal of this decision which is contrary to the Constitution and to prevent the use of force in its implementation". Furthermore, Smathers voted against both the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Yulee Complex Halls
The Buildings
Reid, Mallory, and Yulee Halls is are dormitories located in the Southeast corner of campus. These dorms are contemporary style, offering the typical dorm situation with over 250 available rooms. Their location in the SE corner of campus is provides somewhat convenient access to campus locations.
The Yulee Complex dorms were the first on-campus houses for women after campus became co-educational in 1947. Construction of buildings finished in 1950, sporting a cheaper contemporary design as opposed to the college gothic previous buildings displayed. They were the first UF buildings named after women (though in the case of Mallory and Yulee, their prominence came more from their relatives).
The People
Angela Mallory was the wife of U.S. Senator and Confederate cabinet member Stephen Mallory. Stephen Mallory served as Florida’s senator for 10 years before southern succession. After succession Mallory was named the Confederate Secretary of the Navy. Under his leadership the confederate navy pioneered armored ships used in warfare. After the fall of the confederacy Mallory spent some time in prison before being granted parole by President Andrew Johnson, but was not allowed to run for office.
Nancy Wycliffe Yulee, daughter of Kentucky Governor and U.S. Postmaster General Charles A. Wickliffe and wife of U.S. Senator David Levy Yulee. David Yulee founded the Florida Railroad Company, which was instrumental in spreading railroad lines across Florida, including the first railroads to Gainesville. As a Senator he was in favor of slavery and succession. After the war he faced a short imprisonment time for aiding in the escape of Jefferson Davis.
Mary Martha Reid was a famous confederate nurse and heroine. She joined the confederate force as a nurse after her son enrolled in the Florida infantry. She set up a large hospital in Richmond, Virginia for soldiers from Florida. The hospital would later expand but the nickname "Mother of the Florida Boys." Stuck. The first Florida chapter of United Daughters of the Confederacy was named in Mary Reid's honor.
The Controversy
The obvious controversy comes from the origin of all of these women’s prominence being centered on the Confederacy. All three individuals, or at least their family, played a role in aiding the confederacy. Stephen Mallory especially served an important military command role during the war. It brings into question whether these people should be honored up as they are, especially since they have little place in the history of the university (Yulee may have slight argument). Furthermore, in the case of Mallory and Yulee, it comes across as veiled attempts to honor their husbands as opposed to the women themselves.
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