Two women cover their bricks
April 16, 1996
In the continuing controversy over Carrie Chapman Catt Hall, two women covered their personalized bricks with black cloth on Tuesday.
Blue Maas, an Iowa State secretary who had a brick placed in her honor in the Plaza of Heroines, and Phyllis Harris, a graduate student in human development and family studies, from Waterloo, who placed a brick in honor of her mother, both covered their bricks with black cloth on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. By 4 p.m. the cloth had been anonymously removed.
Maas said she sympathizes with the September 29th Movement, which is the group of ISU students and faculty fighting to change the name of Catt Hall.
Harris said she purchased the brick in honor of her mother. Because of racist, classist and xenophobic statements that Catt allegedly made and because of the university’s treatment of the issue, Harris said, “I don’t feel [the brick] is an honor any longer. It’s been disrespected by Catt’s comments and the reaction of the university.”
Harris said she has had several conversations with her mother about what to do about the brick since she first found out about Catt’s history in October.
“I feel my mother is not any less of a heroine than Catt, and she should not be diminished by Catt’s comments,” she said.
Both Maas and Harris said they want the bricks to be covered until the name is changed. If the name is not changed, then they want to see the bricks removed.
“I would hope it wouldn’t get to that point,” Harris said, “because I did it to honor my mother, and we just don’t feel it was as much of an honor as it was meant to be.”
Harris had also placed black cloth over her mother’s brick on Saturday, April 13.
Both times the cloth was removed anonymously. She said she intends to continue recovering the brick as long as she has to.
According to Cleo Honold, secretary to Elizabeth Hoffman, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, those within Carrie Chapman Catt Hall did not know who had removed the cloth.