Yale University announced Tuesday it will remove a carving depicting violence between a Puritan and Native American, following the school’s decision to simply cover the Puritan’s gun because it was “not appropriate.”
Yale claims that it will preserve the carving for viewing and studying in an unreported location and attach a caption to contextualize it, according to Yale News. The school had previously covered the Puritan’s musket when it was positioned in a main entrance of a library, but not the Native American’s bow and arrow.
Yale covered up a Puritan’s gun in a stone carving. https://t.co/JB0418utBA pic.twitter.com/EyvZNAKPSx
— The Daily Signal (@DailySignal) August 14, 2017
“The university has an obligation not to hide from or destroy reminders of unpleasant history; at the same time, the university chooses the symbols and depictions that stand in places of honor,” said the university in its announcement. “The prominence of this carving changed when its location became a main entrance to the Center for Teaching and Learning.”
Peter Salovey, Yale’s president, clarified that the university will uncover the gun in the carving and elaborated on why Yale made the decision to move the artwork. (RELATED: Yale Covers Up Gun In Puritan-Native American Stone Carving)
“We cannot make alterations to works of art on our campus,” said Salovey to Yale News. “Such alteration represents an erasure of history, which is entirely inappropriate at a university. We are obligated to allow students and others to view such images, even when they are offensive, and to study and learn from them.”
“In carrying out this obligation, we also have a responsibility to provide information that helps all viewers understand the meaning of the image,” said Salovey. “We do so in a setting that clearly communicates that the content of the image is not being honored or even taken lightly but, rather, is deserving of thoughtful consideration and reflection.”
The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to Yale for comment, but received none in time for publication.
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