Duke University took down a monument to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee Saturday, which had been vandalized Wednesday with gashes to its nose, forehead and cheek.

Duke president Vincent Price announced the statue would be preserved in an email sent Saturday morning to the university community, reported The Hill.

“Wednesday night’s act of vandalism made clear that the turmoil and turbulence of recent months do not stop at Duke’s gates,” said Price in the email. “We have a responsibility to come together as a community to determine how we can respond to this unrest in a way that demonstrates our firm commitment to justice, not discrimination; to civil protest, not violence; to authentic dialogue, not rhetoric; and to empathy, not hatred.”

The president mentioned that the monument will be preserved so that students can “study Duke’s complex past and take part in a more inclusive future.”

Price condemned the statue’s vandalism Thursday, saying it violated the university’s Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion and that everyone at the university “deserves a voice” in deciding how to approach the monument debate. The university took down the monument two days later. (RELATED: Confederate Statue At Duke University Latest To Be Vandalized)

The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to Duke for comment but received none in time for publication.

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