The statue of Thomas Jefferson sits on a bench just outside the Residence on the Quad, gazing at out at the quad he inspired. As one of the writers of the Declaration of Independence, he fittingly has a quill in his right hand, in mid-scribble on a piece of paper.

Now, several groups on campus are using Jefferson’s tools, pen and paper, against him: to determine whether his statue should stay on campus.

On Oct. 20, the MU College Republicans organized a #StandWithJefferson movement and started a petition to keep the statue in the Quad, which 143 people signed during the two-hour event. Two weeks earlier on Oct. 7, members of the University of Missouri Student Coaltion for Critical Action organized the #PostYourStateOfMind movement. They posted sticky notes labeling Jefferson as a “slave owner,” “misogynist” and “rapist.”

Graduate student Maxwell Little started a petition to remove the statue, which 106 people have signed since early August. He said he started the petition because he believes the statue symbolizes a separation of class and race.

MU is the first state university built on land bought in the Lousiana Purchase. Jefferson’s epitaph has rested at MU since the late 1800s. In 2013, the Smithsonian restored the grave marker, which was rededicated Oct. 9.

The College Republicans draped an American flag on the statue’s shoulders and posted sticky notes that read: “Thank You,” “Freedom Fighter” and “President.” They worked in conjunction with Amy Lutz of the Young America’s Foundation to generate the idea for the event.

After reading some of the sticky notes posted by the #PostYourStateOfMind event, MU College Republican President Skyler Roundtree made several counterclaims about Jefferson.

According to the [website](monticello.org) of Thomas Jefferson’s plantation in Virginia, Jefferson fiercely opposed slavery, calling it an “abominable crime.” Jefferson owned slaves — he inherited them from his father — and did not participate in the formal slave trade. However, he did sell some of the slaves who ran away from his plantation.

He signed a law in 1807 prohibiting “the importation of slaves into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States,” and endorsed a gradual emancipation process in his private journals.

Jefferson also drafted the first Virginia Constitution and made an effort to end slavery in his draft in 1776: “No person hereafter coming into this county shall be held within the same in slavery under any pretext whatever.”

This draft was not adopted by the state.

In another Virginia State Constitution draft in 1783, Jefferson again tried to end slavery. “Nor to permit the introduction of any more slaves to reside in this state, or the continuance of slavery beyond the generation which shall be living on the 31st. day of December 1800; all persons born after that day being hereby declared free,” he wrote.

Little cited the fact that Jefferson publicly denounced slavery but owned approximately 267 slaves over his lifetime, which helped him become the second-richest man in Abarmarle county in Virginia. While Jefferson did not set the majority of his slaves free upon his death, he did grant freedom to seven slaves in his will.

Of the seven slaves he freed, at least five were related to Sally Hemmings, who was a descendant of Jefferson’s father-in-law, according to several sources. DNA tests between Jefferson’s descendants and Hemmings’ descendants were inconclusive, but it is well documented that Jefferson may have been the father of of her four children, all of whom he freed between 1822-1826.

Roundtree wanted to focus the discussion on the positive side of Jefferson.

“Thomas Jefferson in history stands as a memoir of what we came from and what we fought through,” Roundtree said. “By no means whatsoever is our nation’s history perfect or flawless, but it serves as a memoir to what we’ve overcome and I feel like statues (like Jefferson’s) are a memoir of that.”

And the support for the Jefferson statue from other students encouraged Roundtree.

“A lot of times people just accept the status quo without looking into it, so when I see all these students gathering together, it makes me feel like taking a stand has importance,” Roundtree said. “Whenever we stand together and voice our unanimous opinion, I think it’s really cool when people can come together under that.”

While the #StandWithJefferson movement was a peaceful event, later that day, things got heated on Twitter. The College Republicans tweeted a picture posing with the statue and petition, and Twitter user @kennedyxpress called out club member Jasmine Wells.

“And a black girl got the nerve to have been in the picture and sign the petition #UncleTom,” she tweeted.

Reuben Faloughi, the founder of the Student Coalition for Critical Action and an active member of social justice movements this school year, said people need to be more cognizant of and careful about what they say.

“I think we have to be careful to criticize ideas and not people,” Faloughi said. “Because to an extent, we’re all miseducated in our own different ways, and there’s a certain way to deliver certain messages. But I definitely understand the sentiment from both sides.”

The notes sparked discussion with people passing by the statue on their way to class.

“The point of that action was to engage in discussion, not necessarily to remove the statue,” Faloughi said. “For people who were unaware, they were able to walk away with some knowledge.”

Little said he believes the statue symbolizes UM System President Tim Wolfe’s views toward minority students.

“As you can see it takes peaceful demonstrative action for him to acknowledge our concerns after several attempts of reaching out formally,” Little said in an email. “It symbolizes the hypocrisy here at MU, the recent claim of ‘One Mizzou’ is a clear example.”

While Little knows that the petition may not necessarily succeed, he already sees the petition as a success because of the awareness it has created.

“Students are being heard, not only by MU executive administrators, but we are being heard nationally,” Little said. “#ConcernedStudent1950 here at MU are being heard and we are pushing for more shared governance. Even if the petition does not succeed, historically marginalized student concerns are being addressed by putting peaceful pressure on university administrators’ to act and not just talk. This is a great accomplishment.”

Anyone who wants to participate in either movement may sign either petition. Little’s petition to remove the statue is [here,](https://www.change.org/p/the-university-of-missouri-remove-the-statue-of-thomas-jefferson-from-campus) and those who want to sign the MU College Republicans’ petition to keep the statue can attend their meetings 7 p.m. Wednesdays.