(Lack of) Buildings on Campus Named for Women

[bobtheenchantedone]

http://theboard.byu.edu/questions/75842/ (which links to an old question, here: http://theboard.byu.edu/questions/19257/ )

I have to disagree with you, Tally; I don't like Horatio's answer at all. He doesn't know what feminism is (or else he'd never proudly claim to be anti-feminist). He claims having a building named after you is not that big a deal, then says we'd better let the men who do have buildings named after them hold on to that honor. (By the way, the question asker didn't say we should change names; I assumed he/she meant that women should be considered for new buildings.) He doesn't believe any woman in the history of the church or BYU has done anything to merit getting a building named after them. (Seriously???) He thinks Emma would be offended at having a building's name changed to be after her, and cannot imagine a reason why any building would get a name change at all... until, of course, the next (male) head of the church should pass away.

All in all, that answer of his was a pat on the head and a suggestion to get back in the kitchen while the men do the work and get buildings named after them.

[mic0]

Thanks bob, I actually felt the same way reading it last night but didn't know what to say. Instead I got off the computer and read a book. But yeah, I second everything you said. Hated Horatio's answer.

[Whistler]

geez, is Horatio trolling?

[yayfulness]

Anyone who says they are pro-woman and anti-feminist does not actually know what feminism is.

[Portia]

One of my most positive experiences at BYU was living in Shipp Hall, named after Ellis Reynolds Shipp, who was truly a pioneer both for women and in medicine. Not retaining the names of these impressive leaders for Heritage buildings is gravely disappointing.

[Concorde]

His answer legitimately makes me want to punch a wall.

Must be nice to have never actually dealt with sexism...

[bobtheenchantedone]

geez, is Horatio trolling?

I don't think so. His blog (last updated in 2009) is linked to in his writer profile, and forgive me if I make assumptions... but with his lack of facts on the economy, the national debt, etc., I can easily believe he is also misled about sexism.

[thatonemom]

I'm with you guys. There are so few women role models on campus to begin with. It'd be a shame to have even fewer. And I know most students don't sit around and think about the person their building is named for, but even the two No Dice mentioned in his comment are rarely used by students. The Harman is tacked on the Conference Center & mostly holds Continuing Education. And the AKB used to have some art classes in it, but I think it's mostly offices these days.

[mic0]

thatonemom, that is a great point about role models.

Also, I was talking about this with Mr. Mico over lunch, and he made a good point. First, here is a quote from Horatio's answer: "The naming for buildings on campus are specific honors given to specific people. Most Buildings on campus are named after Prophets, Apostles, University Presidents, or Major Donors. As of now, there have been few women who fall into those categories except when donating together with their husbands. That is not to say that women have not been active and integral in the campus community, but there have not many who made such large contributions to BYU as to warrant a building."

Mr. Mico's point was, very simply, women in the church don't even have an opportunity to become prophets or apostles. Can they become University Presidents? Well, they haven't so far, and none have been CES presidents (although a few women are on the board! yay!). So, 3 out of 4 ways to get a building named after you are basically out of the picture for women. Add to that the fact that women in the church are much much more frequently encouraged to marry rather than contribute to their academic field in a significant way that might warrant a building being named after them, and there you go. Good luck getting an eponymous building!

(PS - all of this is to say, Horatio's points just further point out the inequality.)

[Whistler]

I met Horatio before, he seemed nice. He reminds me of my brother now though.

[Violet]

Also, side note: the AKB was likely only named after a woman because it was a women's dorm at the time (like Heritage started out). I'm glad other people realized the serious issues with Horatio's answer.

[Violet]

Also, to contribute to awesome experiences with buildings named after women, when I was writing for the Student Review we did research on the women who had buildings in Heritage named after them (because of all the construction/tearing down of buildings) and there are some really great women in church/BYU history that should be recognized. Like Portia, I'd like to see those names retained.

[Tally M.]

Just adding my own viewpoint on this. I mainly linked to it for the quote Mico mentions, and that it lists other places that are named after women. Not necessarily whether they should be named after women.

As for No Dice pointing out that I'd forgotten them--I hadn't. I just didn't include it in my response. I'd already answered the question and the addition of Horatio's link with just something extra I threw in. I didn't think it necessary to mention the other places named after women. However, looking back on the question as I just did, it does seem like the question-asker forgot them, so I suppose it was helpful to remind them...