This sounds like an Aggie joke. How many people does it take to recommend that a dormitory named after a former professor, who was also a Ku Klux Klan member, be renamed?
Give up? The answer is 19. And it's the University of Texas that needs that many people to make the decision, not Texas A&M.
UT's Simkins Residence Hall, opened in 1955, was named for William Stewart Simkins. He taught at UT's Law School for 30 years until his death in 1929. He was a leader of the Klan in Florida after the Civil War.
UT has appointed a 19-member advisory group of faculty members, students, staff members, alumni and civic leaders to mull over a decision that really seems like a no-brainer.
Leslie Blair, a university spokeswoman, tells the Austin American-Statesman that the panel will probably meet four times, with the first meeting Thursday. She says the meetings will be closed to the public.
The panel will make a recommendation to UT President William Powers Jr. at the end of the month.
