Tag: Paul Jennings Hall
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“More than Just One Man”: JMU Honors Paul Jennings in New Residence Hall
More than two hundred people gathered on Friday for the ribbon cutting ceremony for JMU’s newest residence hall, which officially opened this semester. The building was named in honor of Paul Jennings, the enslaved personal servant of James Madison during his presidency and time at Montpelier.
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JMU starts a new academic year with a new residence hall, parking deck and an overhauled Wilson — and several other major projects still in the works
Without many students on JMU’s campus for the last three months, the university crossed some key construction projects off it’s to-do list, giving the sprawling campus a slightly different look. It even spruced up the main entrances to campus with stone signs.
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In the name of history: Should Paul Jennings Hall coexist on a campus with buildings that also honor Confederate leaders?
JMU leaders say the naming of the new residence hall after Paul Jennings is a step toward confronting racism that has been embedded in the history of the campus and its namesake, as well as the Harrisonburg community, the commonwealth of Virginia and the country. But some people, including students and community activists in Harrisonburg, are asking what this might signal about the renaming of other buildings on JMU’s campus — the ones named after confederate leaders.
