Nicole Bailey, the editor in chief of The Virginia Advocate, has written a beautiful tribute to Thomas Jefferson who stands in effigy on the campus of the University of Virginia.

Stop and Stare

How often do you pass by the Thomas Jefferson statue in front of the Rotunda? Whether one lives in GrandMarc or walks from dorms to Rugby Road or fancies a Take It Away sandwich between classes, most members of the University of Virginia community including teachers, students, and employees will cross the statue’s path.

Yet why does this statue receive so little consideration in our minds? Why does the average UVa student, proud to rattle off facts about the school like “#1 or #2 in public rankings” or “X Olympic alumni,” lack even the most basic knowledge regarding this crucial piece of our University? The sculptor was a young Sephardic Jew by the name of Moses Ezekiel, who was a student at the Virginia Military Institute and a roommate of our Mr. Jefferson’s great-nephew at the time of the Civil War. The Jefferson statue was unveiled at UVa in 1910 to moving remarks by then-President Alderman.

In the statue, Jefferson is depicted as reading the Declaration of Independence atop the Liberty Bell, which is surrounded by figures representing Liberty, Equality, Justice, and Religious Freedom. In a University known for its American-ness (Americanity?), this statue still stands out. It is particularly the last core value, Religious Freedom, which resonated with Ezekiel; on the statue, the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom is depicted with various names of God inscribed: God-Jehovah, Brahma, Atma, Ra, Allah, Zeus. The meaning and significance of this statue is too beautiful for us as a community to let go. Go take a look sometime.