The Florida philanthropist who became persona non grata at the University of Alabama after his call for a boycott of the school made a good point as his name was being chiseled off of the university’s law school last week.
“You probably shouldn’t put a living person’s name on a building, because at some point they might get fed up and start talking,” said Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr.
Or even if they don’t say something that riles an institution’s feathers, they may do something that tarnishes their name, such as going to prison.
The safer course is to wait until benefactors or public officials have been dead a few years before naming a building after them. Even then, it’s not a guarantee because, as society evolves, sometimes behavior or attitudes that were once accepted are no longer.
