Student activists from Long Island’s Hofstra University -the site of former presidential debates- demanded the removal of a Thomas Jefferson statue over the weekend; saying the founding father’s memorial represents “racism and slavery.”

“Students participated Friday in the second annual ‘Jefferson Has Gotta Go!’ event over the statue that has been subject to protests and acts of vandalism in the past, with some previously defacing it with ‘DECOLONIZE’ and ‘Black Lives Matter’ slogans,” reports Fox News.

“Jefferson’s values aided in the construction of institutionalized racism and justified the subjugation of black people in the United States,” the petition read. “Jefferson has been embraced as an icon by white supremacist and neo-nazi organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan and online white supremacist chat rooms.”

“Yes, the removal of the statue is important, but it is about what the statue represents: a legacy of racism and bigotry on college campuses,” added one activist.

Read the full report at Fox News.