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Name Change Decision OF Forrest Hall Delayed

Posted at 7:59 PM, Aug 23, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-23 23:43:40-04

The Tennessee Historical Commission announced it would wait until February to decide what to do with the controversial name of Forrest Hall on Middle Tennessee State University's campus.

The debate around the ROTC building's name has been ongoing for more than a year.

The Tennessee Historical Commission, a mostly unelected statewide group of 29 members, said it would wait until February to make a decision on whether the name of the former Klan Klux Clan leader and confederate general should remain there.

Student groups pushing for the removal of the name said keeping the name promotes white supremacy, and they want the removal to move quicker, especially after seeing statues fall down in the aftermath of the Charlottesville protests.

"I don’t see any reason why this process should’ve taken a month really," said one student.

However, that argument has been met with those saying the building's name, as well as other confederate monuments deserve to remain. 

The Sons of Confederate Veterans, based in Columbia, released the following statement saying:

“...we denounce the hatred being leveled against our glorious ancestors by radical leftists who seek to erase our history, and we will continue to fight these battles in court or by any and all other lawful and peaceful means.”