BOWLING GREEN — The longstanding Gish Theater is no more.
Bowling Green State University trustees Friday afternoon voted 7-0 to remove the Gish name from the campus theater following student calls to do so, according to a university spokesman.
For more than 40 years, the theater has honored actresses Dorothy and Lillian Gish. Members of the college’s Black Student Union questioned the theater's name because Lillian Gish is particularly well-known for starring in The Birth of a Nation. The film is a 1915 D.W. Griffith-directed silent-movie tribute to the Ku Klux Klan that is credited for reviving the white supremacist group.
There are no plans at this time to rename the theater, which moved into the student union two years ago during campus construction, said BGSU President Rodney Rogers. It had been located in Hanna Hall since June, 1976.
A representative from the Black Student Union did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon about the trustees’ vote.
In February Mr. Rogers released a statement hours before welcoming Black Lives Matter movement co-founder Opal Tometi, the leading key speaker for the university's third annual "Beyond The Dream" series celebrating diversity and inclusion. In his statement, Mr. Rogers said the administration was approached by Black Student Union leaders regarding "the propriety of the naming."
A subsequent university-convened task force issued a report last month finding the Gish name and associated Birth of a Nation related displays “contribute to an intimidating, even hostile, educational environment.”
It also found that while the Gish sisters “do not appear to have been advocates for racist or exclusionary practices or perspectives,” the content and historical impact of an actor’s work should be taken into account. The task force also stated it could not find documentation that Lillian Gish ever denounced the themes of the film or distanced herself from the director or his views.
Mr. Rogers praised the careful consideration of the task force of students, faculty, and staff, chaired by College of Arts and Sciences Dean Ray Craig.
“We struggled with historical issues in today’s time and I think that, at the end of the day, that's what universities are all about,” Mr. Rogers said.
“As a public university we engage in these discussions and debates,” he said. “While not everyone will agree with this decision, I know, this is what makes strong democracy. We listen to each other, learn from each other and move forward.”
An endowment and scholarship program to support film students and studies will remain in the Gish name, Mr. Rogers said.
In other business, BGSU trustees voted to:
- Approve $5.67 million in infrastructure upgrades in the northwest quadrant of campus and renovation of the Technology Building.
- Name the campus quadrant after alumni and philanthropists Ellen Bowen Thompson and Robert Thompson.
- Name Steller Field at Gary Haas Stadium for Gary and Debra Haas’ support of the university and its the baseball program.
- Name the new degree-completion program offered in conjunction with Cedar Fair as the Cedar Fair Resort and Attraction Management Program.
First Published May 3, 2019, 8:10 p.m.
