TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) -- Students at Florida State University will vote Wednesday for more than just their student government. They'll also decide the fate of a historical marker on campus that has become a topic of controversy.
Frances Eppes, a grandson of Thomas Jefferson, is memorialized as "founder of Florida State University" with a statue overlooking Legacy Walk and the famous Westcott Fountain.
"He lobbied for money to come to Florida State University as it was," said junior Taylor Ney. "He's really the reason we have a 'Florida State University' in Tallahassee."
As part of the university's 150th anniversary, officials unveiled the statue in 2002.
However, a referendum on the Fall 2016 Student Government Association (SGA) ballot asks students to vote on the following:
"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?"
The student organization Students for a Democratic Society is among those who want Eppes' name and likeness removed from campus.
On Twitter, the group calls Eppes a Confederate "who owned 91 slaves, started a slave-catching militia, and sold his plantation to support the Confederacy."
Other students have created a counter-movement with a Facebook page called "Vote No, Keep Eppes."
"We denounce some of the things in the past like slavery, but just having the statue here doesn't mean we actually support it," said junior Daniel Duque.
"When I see Frances Eppes, I see an individual who's contributed a lot," Ney said. "It appears that Students for a Democratic Society is attempting to make this an issue about the statue being erected to support slavery."
The Students for a Democratic Society could not be reached for comment. The university is not commenting on the referendum until after the election is over.
Vote here or at Ogleby Union.
