Carter Kellam|Marlin Chronicle
Following confirmation from President Scott Miller that the name change to Batten University is final, alumni who oppose the change continue to challenge it through digital expression and an in-person demonstration.
Virginia Wesleyan alumni organized a protest in opposition to the name change to Batten University outside campus gates on Aug. 29, to precede a Town Hall meeting in which the change would be discussed among faculty and staff.
Coordinating efforts to challenge the change primarily occurred on a Facebook group titled “Stop the Renaming of Virginia Wesleyan.” Devin Cowhey ‘10 created the group, which has around 1,200 members as of Sept. 3.
Andrew Mullen ‘71 said he participated in the 12 p.m. protest with other members of the first three graduating classes of Virginia Wesleyan, including Tom Brett ‘72 and Suzy Brett ‘73, “to make sure that we had a nice turnout here today to let people know what we think.”
“We were aware that [the protest] was coming, and we appreciate people’s right to disagree with the decision,” President Scott Miller said in an interview with The Marlin Chronicle on Sept. 3.
“I think there should be an open discussion with the alumni [and] Dr. Miller so that he can listen to everyone. Everyone will have a chance to speak with him and other members of the administration so that everyone is involved,” Mullen said.
Regarding the protest, “There were 27 people there, and they were respectful in their form of communication,” Miller said.
At 1 p.m., Miller held the Town Hall for faculty and staff. “I do Town Halls every semester. That Town Hall was not intended exclusively to address [the name change],” Miller said. “It’s always been for faculty and staff, and it’s so that the faculty and staff can have a discussion with the president without having any other groups or individuals inside.”
Moderated by the Director of the Robert Nusbaum Center, Dr. Craig Wansink, faculty and staff submitted questions ahead of the meeting and gathered together for Miller to address them.
After the meeting, “I thought people just understood things a lot more,” Wansink said. “It was very calm. It was very informational.”
“It was a good, healthy, cordial conversation that was just like all the rest of them,” Miller said.
Regarding the name change, “The decision is final,” Miller said in an interview with WAVY TV 10 released on Aug. 28. “There will be no changing that.”
“I hope [Miller] just takes a second to realize that we deeply care about this. We’re not going to just back down. That’s why we’re standing out here today,” protest attendee Emily Cantor ‘21 said.
Protest attendees expressed their shock toward the change. Mike McCluskey ‘18 said that when Miller released his 10-year plan upon his start as university president in 2015, “There was no mention of a Batten University name change.”
“The discussion of Batten University is not new here,” Miller said in the interview with WAVY. “It goes back 18 years.”
“My concern is not so much with the name change. If the name has to be changed, Batten certainly would be appropriate.” Protest attendee Art McDonough ‘72 said. “My problem is the lack of openness and the lack of respect for the alumni.”
McDonough also referenced a quote from the WAVY interview, where Miller referred to comments as “mean-spirited.” McDonough said that Miller should first apologize for this comment if the university wants to respond to the situation and engage productively with alumni.
McDonough said he hopes to see Miller agree to meet with members of the alumni to explain the name change decision in-depth. “I have a feeling he doesn’t want to do that because he doesn’t have a good reason,” McDonough said.
No current students attended the protest.
“For me and my group of people I’m close with, we don’t really care. We didn’t get super attached to the name Virginia Wesleyan,” sophomore Lynsey Cox said.
Cox referenced the protest and the change.org petition created by Cowhey, which has just over 5,500 signatures as of Sept. 3. Cox said she does not think these will make a difference in the outcome.
Senior Miguel Hernandez said he did not know there was a protest scheduled until he heard about it happening while he was in class. Hernandez said he has become a little more open to the name change but was initially more upset, relating to the alumni who said they felt “alienated” by the decision. Hernandez said he thinks the name change announcement may have been better received with more community involvement in the decision.
Hernandez said the petition “really shows how many people actually are against it […] and what a sense of community there is around here, especially regarding the university name, and how many people are still involved and in connection with their school.” While he said the petition and the protest brought attention to the topic, “I don’t know if those will be things that will actually incite them to change at all.”
According to Tom and Suzy Brett, the protest ended in good spirits. They said participants cheered for Cowhey, the protest’s primary coordinator, and were told more activities were in the works and to keep challenging the change.
By Lily Reslink
lbreslink@vwu.edu
