(Headline USA) Cornell University reinstated an historic bust of Abraham Lincoln after it was abruptly removed earlier this year following complaints from woke students.
Victory as Lincoln statue returns to Cornell.
It was abruptly removed last year after “someone complained and it was gone”.
Well done to Professor Wayne and @CUFreeSpeech.https://t.co/febyKS13aE
— Save Our Statues (@_SaveOurStatues) November 17, 2022
The Lincoln bust was removed from its display case in June, ahead of the federal Juneteenth holiday. It had been on campus since 2013.
“Someone complained, and it was gone,” Cornell University biology Professor Randy Wayne said at the time.
The school claimed that the bust had been removed because it was part of a “temporary exhibit” to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, and that it would be put back into storage.
However, Wayne said this week that the bust is back in its display case in the university’s Kroch Library.
“I believe that this is the uncanceling of the cancel culture. The uncanceling of Lincoln is a real win against cancel culture that has taken over the universities,” he told Fox News.
Wayne was one of the most vocal faculty members advocating against the removal of Lincoln’s bust. He said he met with a library official and emailed school leaders repeatedly to find out what happened. The school never publicly addressed his concerns, nor did it explain why the bust had been put back into place.
Wayne said he is optimistic that Lincoln’s return will inspire other colleges to take a stand against liberal cancel culture.
“I’m hoping that Abraham Lincoln will be the first of many statues and busts that the alumni associations at each college can bring back,” he said.
Every week there is a new story of an “elite” American university canceling some part of its past.
Earlier this month administrators of Washington and Lee University announced that they are planning to wall off Civil War General Robert E. Lee’s chapel’s main auditorium from a section of the building that features a statue of the general.
