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Community divided over Washington and Lee University’s name

LEXINGTON, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s Washington and Lee University says that there are deep divisions over its name as the nation continues to grapple with its racial past.

The school in Lexington said in a statement last week that it received 14,000 responses to a survey it has conducted as it examines issues of diversity, equity and inclusion on campus.

The school was named for founding father George Washington and Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Lee was a president of the university and is buried in a campus chapel.

The school surveyed students, parents, faculty and alumni. In July, faculty voted to remove Lee’s name and sent a recommendation to the school’s board of trustees.

Jason Arday’s death sparks UK debate over academic rigor, racism after media ‘frenzy’

LONDON (AP) — In 2012, a smiling Jason Arday was photographed by the British press carrying the Olympic flame in the torch relay that preceded the London Games. He was back in the news in 2023 when Cambridge University hailed him as the youngest Black professor in the institution’s history. Three years later, after weeks of news stories presenting evidence that he was a plagiarist and fabulist, Arday, 41, was found dead on Friday at his apartment in south London. His death quickly led to a blame game. Cambridge has been criticized for elevating Arday in a rush to promote diversity — despite red flags about his qualifications — and the news media has been targeted for driving him to despair when his credentials and life story began to unravel under intense scrutiny. Universities' ‘due diligence’ criticized
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