University President John DeGioia announced Saturday Nov. 14 that the names of Mulledy Hall and McSherry Hall are to be changed based on a recommendation from the Working Group on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation that he received Friday afternoon.
Mulledy and McSherry are to be named Freedom Hall and Remembrance Hall, respectively, in the interim until the working group decides on permanent names for the building. The two interim names are to be held until the end of the academic year.
“[The Black Leadership Forum and other students’] words are shaped by a thoughtfulness, a passion, and a spirit of constructive engagement that we appreciate deeply and hope will sustain us through the course of this important and painful conversation about our history and its legacy,” the working group wrote in its resolution and recommendation to DeGioia. “We are especially moved by the concern for the naming of buildings and the identification of special sites on campus, such as burial plots.”
In a post on the Facebook page for this week’s events, student organizer Queen Adesuyi (COL ‘16), wrote, “We will continue to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters on other campuses and we will continue to hold Georgetown accountable for the student life of Black students and other students of color on campus.”
Additionally, the working group announced three events for dialogue on the issue in the coming weeks. Two conversation circles are to take place Nov. 18 and 19 and a teach-in on Dec. 1.
In his email, DeGioia showed support for student engagement in the past week.
“As a University, we are a place where conversations are convened and dialogue is encouraged, even on topics that may be difficult. This is what we will continue to do at Georgetown,” DeGioia wrote. “We are supportive of our students and proud of the depth of their engagement in these urgent conversations. These issues require the very best of each of us and call us to continue to come together as a community to engage this important work.”
The announcement was first made via email to residents of Mulledy Hall and then in a campus wide email.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
Update, Nov. 14, 2015: A previous version of this article was published with the headline, “President DeGioia releases statement on removing Mulledy’s name from Former Jesuit Residence Hall.”
Read the full statement below.
