NEWS AND OPINION:

Horses can be regarded as noble heroes — but not by everyone, it seems.

“Traveller, the horse which served Confederate General Robert E. Lee, has long been a fixture of campus culture at Washington and Lee University, as the famous steed, known for his courage and stamina, is buried on campus,” advises the College Fix, a student-written watchdog organization which monitors cultural developments on U.S. campuses.

“But Traveller’s Confederate connections recently led university officials to remove two markers erected in his honor, his gravestone as well as a plaque honoring the beloved companion. The decision prompted anger and concern from some alumni and students. Traveller served Lee both during the Civil War and afterwards, when the ex-general became president of the then-Washington College. Lee was president from 1865 until his death in 1871. Traveller died a few months later,” the report said.

The university has replaced one marker – Traveller’s gravestone – with a version omitting original references to Lee along with the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

“University officials said they would also replace the plaque they stripped from a campus building, which had noted Traveller’s last home and was a visible part of the campus environment. As of Aug. 7, the plaque has yet to be replaced,” the report noted.

The original marker stated: “The last home of Traveller. Through war and peace the faithful, devoted and beloved horse of General Robert Lee. Placed by the Virginia Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy.”

The university’s board of trustees has made its intentions clear, however — and are “making changes to remove doubt about our separation from the Confederacy,” they said.

But the horse was considered a campus icon.

“Traveller was a beloved part of the campus story,” said Kamron Spivey, president of Students for Historical Preservation, in an email to the College Fix.

“People like to hear tales about animals because they do no wrong. That is how Traveller has been immortalized in campus history. He was a faithful horse whose beauty and loyalty Robert E. Lee said would inspire poets. Until this month, very few people seemed bothered by the horse,” Mr. Spivey noted.

DEBATE NO. 2

We know that the first Republican presidential debate takes place on Aug. 23 in Milwaukee. But what about some details on debate No. 2?

Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel reveals that Fox Business, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, Univision, and Rumble are the partners for the second Republican presidential primary debate.

It will take place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. on Sept. 27.

Mrs. McDaniel calls the debate site an “iconic venue,” and she is right about that. The Reagan library is a spectacular and significant spot.

“President Reagan felt strongly that the institution that bore his name should be a ‘dynamic intellectual forum’ where leaders would debate the future,” said David Trulio, president and CEO of the Reagan institute.

“Given the challenges and opportunities facing our country, there is no better place for presidential contenders to make their case as they honor the man — Ronald Reagan — who rebuilt America’s military and economy, and changed the world,” Mr. Trulio noted.

Executives from the trio of media partners also expressed some very positive feelings in their statements about the upcoming event.

It is “an unparalleled opportunity to assess the candidates and their stances on critical issues,” advised Jay Wallace, president and executive editor of Fox News Media.

Maria Martinez-Guzman, executive vice president for network news for Noticias Univision, calls the event an “unprecedented partnership” between the GOP and her company.

Rumble Chairman and CEO Chris Pavlovski said “we look forward to continuing to build an online home for debate, on a stage that we promise will remain free from censorship and Big Tech bias.”

ONE FOR RILEY

She is a gifted athlete and a poised public figure. That would be two-time All-American swimmer Riley Gaines — who has launched the Riley Gaines Center at the Leadership Institute in Arlington, according to a formal announcement from the new organization shared with Inside the Beltway.

“The new Riley Gaines Center at the Leadership Institute will advocate for girls, women, and parents at a time when women are under attack, stripped of opportunities to fairly compete in sports, denied access to sex-based scholarships and academic opportunities, put in physical danger on athletic courts and fields, and exposed to bodily harm and humiliation in locker rooms and private areas,” the organization said in a mission statement.

“The Riley Gaines Center will unapologetically protect the female identity, firm the basic biological truth that men are men and women are women, and defend freedom of speech,” it said.

“The women and men trained through the Riley Gaines Center will be given the tools and support to engage in the cultural and political battles to determine America’s future – and win,” Ms. Gaines said in a written statement.

She will serve as director of the new organization.

POLL DU JOUR

• 40% of U.S. business leaders believe recent college graduates are unprepared to enter the workforce.

• 94% of this group admit they avoid hiring recent grads at times.

• 88% say it would be helpful for colleges to offer office-etiquette classes.

• 70% say students are unprepared because of their work ethic.

• 62% blame “culture” for the lack of student preparedness.

• 57% have had a recent grad “ask for an unreasonably high salary request.”

• 50% blame parents for these developments.

• 48% blame the COVID-19 pandemic.

• 46% blame educators.

SOURCE: An Intelligent.com/Pollfish poll of 1,243 U.S. business leaders conducted online on July 7 and released Tuesday.

• Follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.

• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.