The well-known congressman’s building needs a name change due to his controversial past. ORACLE GRAPHIC/CAROLINA MOLERO ROCA

C.W. Bill Young Hall is the building that houses USF’s Joint Military Leadership Center, and the Army, Naval and Reserve Officers Training Corps programs on the Tampa campus. 

The building opened in 2007 and was named after Charles William Bill Young, in recognition of his support during its construction, according to the official USF website. 

Young was known for his active political career, spanning from 1960 to 2013, first as a Republican Florida senator and then as a U.S. representative, according to his official congressional biography. 

But Young, who died in 2013, remains a controversial figure for multiple reasons. 

Young served on the Florida Legislative Investigation Committee from 1962 to 1964, which examined claims of Communism and homosexuality in colleges throughout Florida, according to the USF Digital Commons. 

During his time with the committee, Young was involved in publishing the report “Homosexuality and Citizenship in Florida,” otherwise known as the Purple Pamphlet, in 1964.

The Purple Pamphlet was an informational booklet available for mail order that portrayed homosexuality as a sin or a sickness, and aimed to target and prosecute LGBTQ+ faculty and students at the time, according to The Oracle. 

Related: Controversy over C.W. Young hall continues 

Young’s involvement with the committee helped spread hate across Florida — causing more than 100 professors to lose their jobs and forcing 400 college students to drop out because of their sexual orientation or support of the community, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.  

I believe the C.W. Bill Young Hall should be renamed, considering how Young’s homophobic narrative demeans students and contributes to harmful rhetoric.

USF has students of all sexualities and even includes a residential community program for LGBTQ+ students who are living on campus, according to its website. 

I feel that it is inappropriate to honor a man who, at one point, condemned and aimed to get rid of LGBTQ+ faculty and students. 

In 2015, the Students for a Democratic Society at USF created a petition to rename C.W. Bill Young Hall because they did not like the actions associated with Young.

The petition gained over 400 signatures, but USF released a statement at the time saying it didn’t have any plans to rename the building.

USF spokesperson Ryan Hughes said the university is not aware of any recent conversations regarding university facilities named after Young.

Related: USF alumnus, Navy veteran shares story of service and survival 

Sage Solis, a freshman cybersecurity major who joined SDS last semester, would be in favor of renaming the hall if conversations resurfaced.

“Considering the nature of Bill Young’s controversies, renaming the Bill Young Hall on the college campus would be the right thing to do,” Solis said.  

Solis said USF’s decision not to rename the hall in 2015 disregarded the harm that Young had caused the LGBTQ+ community. 

“By having a building in honor of someone with these views, [USF] is directly promoting this agenda and showing its support for it,” Solis said. “If campus is supposed to be an open and welcome place for all students, they should be naming buildings after people with that same mindset.”

I believe the C.W. Bill Young Hall should be renamed, as Young himself is not a representation of what USF should stand for. 

LGBTQ+ students at USF should not have to walk by a building named after a man who stood for hatred. 

Keeping the name of the building allows for his past actions to be celebrated rather than condemned.