UNC Will Remove Name of Klan Leader From Building

The board of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill voted to change the name of Saunders Hall, which since 1920 has honored William L. Saunders, a Reconstruction-era leader of the Ku Klux Klan. Board members said that they believed it was a mistake for the board in 1920 to say that Saunders's Klan ties were worthy of honoring. The building will be renamed Carolina Hall.

The board also announced plans to more formally create ways to study the university's history, and declared a 16-year moratorium on renaming other buildings. Students and faculty members have been pushing for a name change, saying that it was inappropriate to have an academic building named for Saunders.