On November 12th, many people gathered in town square in front of the Georgetown Courthouse to protest the statue in front. The statue ist of a Confederate soldier, built in the early 20th century to memorialize the death of the foot soldiers of the Confederate States of America, the rebel army that the United States warred against in the American Civil War.

The protest, including many Southwestern students and faculty, was arranged to protest the removal of the statue, contending that the legacy of the Confederacy was one of racism and slavery–nothing to be celebrated. Others argue that preserving these monuments helps preserve the history and culture of the south, preserving ancestors that fought for the Confederate States.

Ron Swain, University Chaplain and Director of Spiritual Life, comments, “Well, I think that the history of the Confederacy and the War between the States is well documented, and we don’t need these monuments to celebrate the defeat, actually, of the South, in the War between the States.”

Many Southwestern students attended the gathering on Sunday afternoon, including, notably, the Kappa Alpha Fraternity, who came to show support for both the organization “Move the Monument” said one of their members, Jamal Collins, who spoke at the event.

“Tremendous support from the Southwestern community, as you saw, the students, Jamal Collins from the Kappa Alpha chapter was here, I see President Trombly is here, there are faculty members are here, and just tremendous support from the community,” Swain said. “Because, I’ve been told that there are students that are hesitant to come downtown because of this statue, and our community is growing, new people are coming in, we need to be more inclusive and more welcoming to everyone coming into Georgetown.”

In 2021, the County Commissioners for Georgetown promised to create a committee to discuss removal of the statue from Courthouse grounds– such committee has been created

“What we’re asking now is that the County Commissioners do what they said they were going to do,” Ron Swain continues.

There are protests to remove the monument led by the Georgetown group, The Wilco Patriots, on the lawn of the courthouse every Saturday, if local Southwestern students wish to participate in any events to remove the monument going forward.