Posted on August 9, 2021

University of Wisconsin Removes Rock from Campus

Jake Dima, Washington Examiner, August 8, 2021

The University of Wisconsin, Madison has removed a rock that sat on campus for nearly 100 years after it was determined to be a “painful symbol of racism.”

Chamberlin Rock was hauled away by a construction team on Friday and taken from Observatory Hill, a place it sat since 1925, following revelations that the stone was referred to “by a deeply offensive nickname that included a racial slur” in a newspaper the same year it was placed, the school wrote. The rock was dedicated to Thomas Chamberlin, a geologist and a former university president who served the school in the late 1800s.

The removal effort is estimated to cost over $50,000.

“It took courage and commitment for the Wisconsin Black Student Union to bring this issue forward and to influence change alongside UW’s Wunk Sheek student leaders,” Lori Reesor, the college’s vice chancellor for student affairs, said in a statement. {snip}

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“Moving the rock to this remote site prevents further harm to our community while preserving the rock’s educational and research value for current and future scholars,” Gary Brown, director of campus planning and landscape architecture, said in a statement. {snip}

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