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Re: U.S. Universities and Colleges

Posted: 18 Feb 2016, 17:56
by Marcus Karlsson
JMcMillan wrote:Just found this image of the banners of some of Princeton's residential colleges. A mix of good and bad. I think these were adopted independently by the students of the various colleges, with only a bordure as a unifying element.

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Anyway beats the heck out of the House "Coat of Arms" at the University of Pennsylvania.

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For instance this insigna of the Hill College House.

Or Riepe College House:

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Re: U.S. Universities and Colleges

Posted: 05 Mar 2016, 06:33
by Chris Green

Re: U.S. Universities and Colleges

Posted: 10 Mar 2016, 04:45
by Edward Hillenbrand
I agree that heraldry should not be a political football; worse now with today's generation that is offended at everything. With that said however, Isaac Royall was not a nice person by any stretch. He reportedly burned slaves in punishment, among other things. In this case I think Harvard would be well served by divesting themselves of arms that are linked , as these are reported, to the Royall family.

Re: U.S. Universities and Colleges

Posted: 10 Mar 2016, 14:39
by JMcMillan
Let us stipulate that Isaac Royall was, on the whole, a bad guy. His will, however, provided the bequest upon which the Harvard Law School is based, something for which the beneficiaries of that gift ought to be thankful as long as they continue to benefit from it. If the Royall bequest is tainted because it ultimately derived from slavery, then by all means repudiate it.

So let's see, $2,938 invested for 90 years at 19th century rates for long-term Treasury obligations, and then invested in low-risk equity index mutual funds--oh my God: $1.1 billion! Ummm.... well, gee, we wouldn't want to assuage our institutional guilt by cutting salaries, or faculty positions, or God forbid scholarships. I know: let's change the HLS coat of arms to erase any reference to Royall, and maybe change the name of the Royall professorship of law.

Yes, yes, that's it. Now we can carry on, smugly self-satisfied that we've righted that historical wrong.

Re: U.S. Universities and Colleges

Posted: 10 Mar 2016, 15:50
by Martin Goldstraw
My view, for what it is worth, is that history is history; it happened and it happened when the views and laws of the time were what they were. We move on, our views change and we act differently but history is a record of how it was. If we are offended by the Coat of Arms or the history of a particular place or service we have the option of choosing not to endorse its product. No student of Harvard was ever forced to study there (well, perhaps they were under pressure from their parents but you know what I mean) and if it so offends them .... they can go study somewhere else. What really matters is that the 21st century views and actions of the present faculty don't offend 21st century views. Let's leave the past to be recorded in the history books and on monuments and historical decoration and not try to erase it.

Re: U.S. Universities and Colleges

Posted: 10 Mar 2016, 16:54
by JMcMillan
I wonder how many students went to Harvard Law instead of Yale Law just because it had a better coat of arms. Probably not many. Nevertheless:

Yale Law School
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History and explanation at https://www.law.yale.edu/about-yale-law ... ool-shield

Re: U.S. Universities and Colleges

Posted: 10 Mar 2016, 17:16
by JMcMillan
Moving down the east coast: Rutgers (the State University of New Jersey) was founded in 1766 as Queen's College.

The school's heraldry is another story of iconographic schizophrenia.

In 1966, for Rutgers's 200th anniversary, the shield on the left was adopted. Not good heraldry, but at least heraldry. The first quarter of Orange-Nassau is for the Dutch settlers who were heavily involved in founding the college, the second for Queen Charlotte (the original namesake), the third for New Jersey, and the fourth the arms of Col Hendrick Rutgers (the current namesake).

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But now it's 2016 and our emblems must "convey where we have been and who we are now" (as the university's website explains, http://www.rutgers.edu/about/rutgers-shield ). Sadly, an opportunity to simplify the 1966 arms into something more genuinely heraldic was missed.

Re: U.S. Universities and Colleges

Posted: 12 Mar 2016, 20:26
by Edward Hillenbrand
We do need a "like" button here, just for some of Mr. McMillian's posts. I agree, I don't think anyone ever chose Harvard over Yale due to their CoA. And since we are posting US colleges & universities with their CoA ... how do I link them again? :oops:

Re: U.S. Universities and Colleges

Posted: 16 Mar 2016, 04:42
by Kathy McClurg
JMcMillan wrote:Let us stipulate that Isaac Royall was, on the whole, a bad guy. His will, however, provided the bequest upon which the Harvard Law School is based, something for which the beneficiaries of that gift ought to be thankful as long as they continue to benefit from it. If the Royall bequest is tainted because it ultimately derived from slavery, then by all means repudiate it.

So let's see, $2,938 invested for 90 years at 19th century rates for long-term Treasury obligations, and then invested in low-risk equity index mutual funds--oh my God: $1.1 billion! Ummm.... well, gee, we wouldn't want to assuage our institutional guilt by cutting salaries, or faculty positions, or God forbid scholarships. I know: let's change the HLS coat of arms to erase any reference to Royall, and maybe change the name of the Royall professorship of law.

Yes, yes, that's it. Now we can carry on, smugly self-satisfied that we've righted that historical wrong.


I think your calculations are a little low, Joe. Should we also include the ill-gotten gains of everyone who benefited from the bequest since it was made? I mean, let's say everyone who has graduated from Harvard benefited from this bequest which helped establish it. So all of their earnings are based on the slave trade and should also be returned, right?

Re: U.S. Universities and Colleges

Posted: 16 Mar 2016, 06:05
by Chris Green
This thread is becoming increasingly political. I blame myself for providing a link to the Harvard Law School controversy. We are here to discuss heraldry, so let us please do that rather than be diverted into a discussion of the slave trade.