The tombstone of Thomas Jefferson at the University of Missouri received new protection over the weekend as the university purchased and installed a $20,000 acrylic encasement.
Christian Basi, a spokesperson for the university, said vandalism near the tombstone has already happened this year.
“We felt we had an obligation based on that to protect the tombstone,” Basi said. “It is his original tombstone and it was entrusted to this university, and we have a responsibility to ensure that it is preserved appropriately,” said Basi.
The tombstone is not the only Jefferson landmark on campus.
A statue of the late former president sits just a few feet away from it.
Protests over social justice this year have renewed conversations over how the university honors historical figures.
The Jefferson statue was the subject of many conversations this summer.
A petition to remove the statue circulated in May, gathering over 3,000 signatures.
But in a statement on June 12, the university said it would not remove it.
Roman Leapheart, the student who started that petition, said the university’s decision sends the wrong message to students.
“It makes me and a lot of other students of color, and black students and indigenous students, feel like powerful white men mean more than us,” Leapheart said.