Gene Sapakoff of the "Newsless" Courier takes shot at Clemson

[Creamjunior]

You will have to read the long article to get your blood pressure up like it did me . He rants about how Tillman Hall is a blight on the university and why we should change the name .
What got me the most was how he was trying to connect Clemson football with Tillman Hall . He even put in there that we only have 6-7 percent black students in our student body and that makes us look racial .
The whole article just really upset me and I think you all should read it .

 

[okclem]

Pass

 

[Smiling_Tiger]

*racist, not racial

He’s not wrong about Tillman Hall. The fact that it was not the original name and that it was changed to that in the 60’s as a reaction to integration says a lot. It should be changed back to the original name. Everything else he says is completely idiotic nonsense

 

[Larry_Williams]

Change it to Gantt Hall or Old Main.

 

[Larry_Williams]

*racist, not racial

He’s not wrong about Tillman Hall. The fact that it was not the original name and that it was changed to that in the 60’s as a reaction to integration says a lot. It should be changed back to the original name. Everything else he says is completely idiotic nonsense

It was changed in 1946, but your point still stands.

 

[trich24]

You will have to read the long article to get your blood pressure up like it did me . He rants about how Tillman Hall is a blight on the university and why we should change the name .
What got me the most was how he was trying to connect Clemson football with Tillman Hall . He even put in there that we only have 6-7 percent black students in our student body and that makes us look racial .
The whole article just really upset me and I think you all should read it .

Ok, so I took your advice and read the article. The timing is very odd and the 6-7% black enrollment isn’t really a huge deal to me, but he’s absolutely right about how embarrassing it is for Clemson to have its most recognizable academic building named after Ben Tillman.

 

[Smiling_Tiger]

Change it to Gantt Hall or Old Main.

and just do it quietly. Don’t make a big deal out of it. I guess if they change it to Gantt Hall they should invite him and do a naming thing but if they just change it back to the original name they don’t even have to make it a big thing. Just change it and move on

 

[Larry_Williams]

and just do it quietly. Don’t make a big deal out of it. I guess if they change it to Gantt Hall they should invite him and do a naming thing but if they just change it back to the original name they don’t even have to make it a big thing. Just change it and move on

I don't know how many African-American players are on the football team, but I'm guessing not many of them are cool with the most prominent landmark on campus being named for that horrible human being.

Only a matter of time before one of them (rightly) speaks his mind publicly on it. Surprised it hasn't happened already, honestly.

 

[OculusTiger]

Cancel culture at his finest. We should not change monuments from the past to fit today’s narrative

 

[OculusTiger]

and just do it quietly. Don’t make a big deal out of it. I guess if they change it to Gantt Hall they should invite him and do a naming thing but if they just change it back to the original name they don’t even have to make it a big thing. Just change it and move on

agreed. Do it in like 2-3 years when nobody is talking about it if anything. Don’t succumb to outside pressure. Augusta National is a great example of this with how they handled the whole female member thing. They did it on their own terms, not caving to a vocal minority

 

[OCG89]

I honestly didn’t know he was that big of a POS. Not sure we need to honor him.

I’m not a fan of political correctness but I’m not also not a fan of doing things a certain way because “we’ve always done them that way“.

 

[RubbinTheRock]

What was it called before 1946?

 

[Smiling_Tiger]

What was it called before 1946?

Old Main if I remember correctly

 

[OCG89]

Swinney Hall.

 

[wmnesbitt]

Swinney Hall. It fixes everything.

 

[cjtiger300]

I honestly didn’t know he was that big of a POS. Not sure we need to honor him.

I’m not a fan of political correctness but I’m not also not a fan of doing things a certain way because “we’ve always done them that way“.

He boasted about lynching black people and openly promoted it. I'm glad he helped Clemson become a college, but he has no business having anything named after him.

 

[OCG89]

Swinney Hall. It fixes everything.

Ha! Great minds. 30 seconds apart.

 

[RoyalBengal25]

Ole Gene.

He is right about Tillman Hall. Wish they could just change it back to Old Main & move on. It’s a win for everyone. Clemson has transcended everything that Tillman’s legacy stood for.

 

[okclem]

Cancel culture at his finest. We should not change monuments from the past to fit today’s narrative

I disagree entirely. All old monuments were not created equally. Ben Tillman was a truly wretched, despicable human being and he doesn't deserve to be honored in any way.

My beef with this article is the timing of it. Gene is clearly trying to stir shit up at this moment.

 

[CU1TruTiger4Life]

Should be known as Wilkins Hall. After David and Christian to show unity and appreciation for the men they are.

 

[padtigers]

Change it to Gantt Hall or Old Main.

I like Old Main the best. It s not tied to a person so it should satisfy everyone involved. I thought I read once where there was a state law where we could not just change the name without gong through some legal hoops. I may be incorrect though.

 

[SouthStTiger]

I’d take 0-12 every year on the football field if it means we can keep “Tillman” Hall

 

[dbjork6317]

Cancel culture at his finest. We should not change monuments from the past to fit today’s narrative

What narrative? Ben Tillman was a domestic terrorist who bragged about murdering black people. That’s not the narrative, that’s what happened, that’s who he was. We know that now and we knew that in 1946.

Just like many of the “monuments” out there, Old Main was renamed largely in response to the civil rights movement. But I suppose it was ok to rename it for that “narrative?”

Maybe we should rename it Rudolph Hall or Kaczynski Hall. Hey McVeigh Hall has a nice ring to it! What other domestic terrorists can we celebrate at Clemson?

 

[areeves]

You will have to read the long article to get your blood pressure up like it did me . He rants about how Tillman Hall is a blight on the university and why we should change the name .
What got me the most was how he was trying to connect Clemson football with Tillman Hall . He even put in there that we only have 6-7 percent black students in our student body and that makes us look racial .
The whole article just really upset me and I think you all should read it .

Gene Sapakoff is a NWO thug!

 

[jeffcoat]

You will have to read the long article to get your blood pressure up like it did me . He rants about how Tillman Hall is a blight on the university and why we should change the name .
What got me the most was how he was trying to connect Clemson football with Tillman Hall . He even put in there that we only have 6-7 percent black students in our student body and that makes us look racial .
The whole article just really upset me and I think you all should read it .

Nice link

 

[snively2]

I don't know how many African-American players are on the football team, but I'm guessing not many of them are cool with the most prominent landmark on campus being named for that horrible human being.

Only a matter of time before one of them (rightly) speaks his mind publicly on it. Surprised it hasn't happened already, honestly.

I read his article and don’t have a problem with it. Don’t know how anyone could. Our BOT is doing a lot of good things to be transparent in representing the racist history of some of Clemson’s founding fathers. It’s not enough, and they should be proactive in addressing the Tillman Hall issue before it is forced on us in an embarrassing and national spotlight like Silent Sam at UNC. It’s the right thing to do for our black alumni as well as current and future black students.

 

[Clemson Goat]

Rename it Tiger Hall.

 

[IHarvestCootsForSport]

Just name it Clemson Hall in honor of Thomas Greene Clemson since his statue is right in front of the building.

Other potential acceptable names:
Gantt Hall
Dabo Hall
Renfrow Hall

 

[okclem]

Just name it Clemson Hall in honor of Thomas Greene Clemson since his statue is right in front of the building./QUOTE]

This. It seems like a no brainer to me.

 

[Willence]

Cancel culture at his finest. We should not change monuments from the past to fit today’s narrative

I am one of the more conservative people on this board. The name should be proactively changed ASAP. First of all, a building shouldn't be named for a politician. They get funding and want stuff named for them. Screw that. We have a real bad habit with this in America. There are transcendent figures to whom this doesn't apply but Tillman isn't one of them.

Also, this man was an awful human being. It was named something before and changed for reasons that aren't good. There is no reason to give oxygen to this. He is hopefully rotting in hell with his vitriol and hatred. Why anyone would defend this simply because of the culture war is beyond me. You don't have to surrender to the cancel culture to see that this is something that must be changed.

 

[gooddogjudge]

and just do it quietly. Don’t make a big deal out of it. I guess if they change it to Gantt Hall they should invite him and do a naming thing but if they just change it back to the original name they don’t even have to make it a big thing. Just change it and move on

Clemson cant change it quietly. I think it requires action by state legislature to change it.

 

[tigerragman]

You will have to read the long article to get your blood pressure up like it did me . He rants about how Tillman Hall is a blight on the university and why we should change the name .
What got me the most was how he was trying to connect Clemson football with Tillman Hall . He even put in there that we only have 6-7 percent black students in our student body and that makes us look racial .
The whole article just really upset me and I think you all should read it .

Change it to Dabo Hall!!

 

[JSpears5]

*racist, not racial

He’s not wrong about Tillman Hall. The fact that it was not the original name and that it was changed to that in the 60’s as a reaction to integration says a lot. It should be changed back to the original name. Everything else he says is completely idiotic nonsense

Did not know this. In light of this, I say change it

 

[Tiger Champ]

Lets see, Tillman was instrumental in the founding of Clemson University and is responsible for the chicken curse. He was a former South Carolina Governor and United States Senator. He deserves the honor in my opinion.

 

[CUForever]

I am for changing the name of Tillman Hall but do we really know that it was changed to that as a reaction to civil rights? First of all, 1946 pre-dates the civil rights movement. Also, it just seems strange to me that even in that time that Clemson decision makers would say "Hey, we don't like blacks gaining equality so let's find a known black hater and killer in our history to name our most prominent building after." May have happened but if so, those were some despicable individuals.

 

[shipyard tiger]

I read his article and don’t have a problem with it. Don’t know how anyone could. Our BOT is doing a lot of good things to be transparent in representing the racist history of some of Clemson’s founding fathers. It’s not enough, and they should be proactive in addressing the Tillman Hall issue before it is forced on us in an embarrassing and national spotlight like Silent Sam at UNC. It’s the right thing to do for our black alumni as well as current and future black students.

So do you change the name of everything named for all our "racist" forefathers? You know, those who owned slaves, That would wipe out a majority of the buildings and monuments in DC,

 

[Jangalang1]

Not sure what the hold up is with officially changing the name. I don't know a single educated person who knows the entire back story that doesn't support the switch. Would lose exactly 0 minutes of sleep after the name change.

 

[saber8689]

Lets see, Tillman was instrumental in the founding of Clemson University and is responsible for the chicken curse. He was a former South Carolina Governor and United States Senator. He deserves the honor in my opinion.

In your opinion, should his actions against black people be overlooked/ignored or also honored?

 

[shipyard tiger]

You will have to read the long article to get your blood pressure up like it did me . He rants about how Tillman Hall is a blight on the university and why we should change the name .
What got me the most was how he was trying to connect Clemson football with Tillman Hall . He even put in there that we only have 6-7 percent black students in our student body and that makes us look racial .
The whole article just really upset me and I think you all should read it .

Sapakoff is just another Yankee carpetbagger who believes his mission in life is to reform and educate all of we dumb, racist Southerners.

 

[saber8689]

So do you change the name of everything named for all our "racist" forefathers? You know, those who owned slaves, That would wipe out a majority of the buildings and monuments in DC,

If they did what Tillman did, then absolutely.