University of Texas at Austin Removes Jefferson Davis Statue From Campus

After a months-long battle, the University of Texas at Austin removed a statue of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate during the Civil War, early Sunday morning.

It took about two and a half hours to remove the statue from the campus main mall, as about 100 students gathered to watch and cheer, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Earlier this year, UT-Austin President Greg Fenves set up a task force to consider removing the statue from the campus after complaints from students. The statue was sprayed with graffiti several times.

Earlier this month, Fenves recommended moving the statue to the campus’ Briscoe Center for American History.

“As a public university, it is vital that we preserve and understand our history and help our students and the public learn from it in meaningful ways,” Fenves said in a statement. “Jefferson Davis had few ties to Texas but played a unique role in the history of the American South that is best explained and understood through an educational exhibit. The Briscoe Center has the expertise to do that.”

Last week, the Sons of Confederate Veterans filed a request for a temporary restraining order to block the move, but a judge denied that request.

“When we were making fun of it back in March, we didn’t think it would result in anything but resparking a debate,” Xavier Rotnofsky, UT-Austin’s student body president, told the paper. The Sons of Confederate Veterans said they would continue to fight to put the statue back.

“What has happened was a cultural atrocity — this is a discretion of art,” said Kirk Lyons, the lawyer for the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Read more here.

[PHOTO: Change.org]