When I walk across campus, other than the million red bricks, I expect to see the names of people on our buildings who were essential to our campus. I may have little emotion for the names due to a lack of knowledge; however, I envision them exuding excellence in their field or being a role model for our students. On our campus, there are buildings where that premise is seemingly contradicted by racial bias. 

For example, Eugene Brooks, the person after whom Brooks Hall was named, advocated for education for the masses — Brooks also advocated for segregation. Do the masses not include people of color? In consequence, Brooks could have done his role better. 

Moral relativists may argue this is just how things were during the time. However, I would say I don’t want my role models to follow the status quo; I want them to set a new status quo. So here are some suggestions for new names that don’t remind people of inequality and white supremacy. 

Thomas E. H. Conway Jr.

Conway served our school for 32 years and is the former dean of undergraduate academic programs. Conway was able to achieve his lifelong goal in 2016 when he was appointed chancellor of Elizabeth City State University, a historically Black college in Elizabeth City. 

Tom Regan

Tom Regan is arguably our most renowned philosopher. Regan is known for his theory on animal rights and spent 34 years working for the University. Tompkins Hall could be a potential building to change to Regan Hall. 

Frank Harmon

Frank Harmon is a former design student who won several awards throughout his professional career, including the F. Carter Williams Gold Medal — the highest award that the North Carolina Chapter of the American Institute of Architects can give. The University should look at renaming Brooks Hall, since it houses classes for the College of Design. 

Donald L. Bitzer 

Broughton Hall, which has the words mechanical engineering inscribed in its stone, should honor the advancements NC State has made in the trade. Bitzer, a university professor since 1989, is often credited with being a forefather of the plasma TV for co-inventing the flat plasma display panel. He is in the National Inventors Hall of Fame for his invention.

David Aspnes

Aspnes has been a professor of physics at our university since 1992. He is an inventor with over 23 patents and over 500 papers published in his field.

Christina Koch

The second that the administration found out we have a three-time graduate going to the moon is the exact second they should’ve chosen what building to name after Christina Koch. 

David Martin

Martin was head of the psychology department from 1992 to 2006. He created his own textbook, “Doing Psychology Experiments,” and he has over 75 publications. Poe Hall houses the Department of Psychology, so it would be a perfect fit for the change.

George E. Jefferson

This change is a rogue shout because George E. Jefferson is a fictitious person; however, the story behind George E. Jefferson is one of the most unique stories about our university. 

For those who are unaware, our Belltower is a memorial tower dedicated to students of the University who lost their lives during World War I. Inside the tower are the names of students who lost their lives in the war, including George Jeffers. Initially, Jeffers’ family thought he died due to severe combat wounds; however, he recovered, so there was no reason for his name to be in the tower. 

Even in the early 20th century, our university administrators were penny pushers, so they decided not to create a new plaque. They replaced Jeffers with a new name — George E. Jefferson — to honor unidentifiable soldiers who died in the war. Having George E. Jefferson on a building would be a good way to commemorate our fallen soldiers and their families.

Bob Patterson 

Bob Patterson has extensive knowledge of crop sciences and has spent his entire career ensuring this knowledge serves our impoverished community members. 

He has traveled the world to ensure this knowledge gets passed on to the less educated. His consulting travels have sent him to China, Peru, Hungary, Belgium and the Democratic Republic of Congo — he has even worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He has also spent more than 50 years at our university. 

We can commemorate individuals actively and historically involved in bolstering the prestige of our university and people who serve as true role models to our community.