155:"We, the students of Florida State University, do not believe in honoring slave owners and those that enforced slavery. Therefore, we demand President John Thrasher, and the FSU Board of Trustees, remove the Francis Eppes Monument in front of the Westcott Building and rename Eppes Hall to remove Francis Eppes’ name. Do you agree? Yes or No."
178:: "This kind of confirms what I already knew ... we have a lot of work to do in building a progressive movement at FSU", she said, following the announcement on the vote. "SDS is going to continue to fight against the legacy of slavery at FSU, dropping black enrollment and other forms of oppression."
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Eppes, as the intendent of
Tallahassee, introduced a proposal to the Legislature in 1856 that aimed to establish one of the two institutions in Tallahassee. Through offering a building, thousands of dollars, and annual endowments to the school, Eppes was able to convince Legislature to pass the act.
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When designing the statue, Jonas thought carefully about the direction
Francis Eppes was facing on the bench. Eppes is seated on the bench with his body angled towards the rest of Tallahassee rather than towards the university as a symbol of the criticisms he faced. One of those criticisms was that
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According to Jonas himself, the most difficult part of modeling the statue was attaining Eppes' likeness. Since there were no records of his appearance, the sculptor frequently had to use photographs of his descendants to construct the facial features. He also did extensive research into clothing
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Although able to acquire the necessary 500 signatures to bring the referendum to the SGA, on
October 19, 2016, the students of Florida State University overwhelmingly defeated the proposal, with 71.7% against and 28.3% for the removal. Turnout was roughly 6,000 out of a student body of more than
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Francis Eppes was appointed to the Board of
Education where he served for eleven years, eight of which he was the president of. The board was in charge of managing the property, regulating finances, appointing teachers, determining their salaries, and establishing their duties.
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In 2016, a proposal to remove the statue of
Francis Eppes from its Westcott Fountain location and to remove his last name from one of the school's academic buildings was brought to the Student Government Association (SGA) by the
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cause, such as night watches to catch slaves in the streets of
Tallahassee, the Students for a Democratic Society felt his presence on campus was in a way "honoring slave owners and those that enforced slavery".
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of higher education. Eppes was among the group of men in 1836 who petitioned to
Congress for the organization of an institution nearby. The plea failed but Eppes was determined and later appealed to the
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When it came time to actually carve the statue, Jonas was unsure how to proceed. There were only two known portraits of Eppes in existence, one of which was from when he was five years old.
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styles from the 1850s as this sculpture was created until 1999. The final difficulty he faced, unrelated to Eppes' facial appearance, was how to make the statue's eyes look lifelike.
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page titled "Keep Eppes" was created in 2016 to support, and encourage other students for, the keeping of the statue, the anonymous creator's main stance being:
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to honor one of
Florida State University's founders. This monument was created by sculptor Edward Jonas and was unveiled to the public eye on January 24, 2002.
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80:. Jefferson's influence on Eppes was very apparent throughout his life, but no more evident than in Eppes' perseverance to establish an institution in
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Eppes' constant effort in creating this academy is what led to the expansion of a great institution, the
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ordered the Eppes statue permanently removed from campus display and announced the formation of a
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Francis Eppes is integral to the founding of the
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It was approved in 1857, thus marking the founding of the forebear of
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Katherine Draken, president of the Students for a Democratic Society, told the
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302:"Eppes statue removed from FSU as Thrasher announces anti-racism task force"
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The statue was the starting point for Florida State University's
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President's Task Force on Anti-Racism, Equality, and Inclusion
437:"FSU students reject effort to remove Francis Eppes statue"
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is declared as the founder of Florida State University.
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dates back to the original formation of the school as a
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the original campus location was too far west of town.
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248:"Edward Jonas Sculptor Painter Fine Art"
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362:"Francis Eppes Statue"
331:"Francis Wayles Eppes"
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493:Categories
446:2016-11-14
422:2016-11-14
395:2016-11-15
371:2016-11-09
340:2016-11-09
311:2023-12-08
281:2016-11-15
257:2016-11-02
234:References
150:referendum
58:symbolism
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207:See also
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115:Creation
62:Seminary
72:History
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