SUNY New Patlz is one step closer to re-naming buildings at the Hasbrouck Complex. The buildings are named after the Huguenots who enslaved and "owned" people. 

Spectrum News asked students what they think. 

"Morally it's not right, and it's contradictionary. How do you have a building named after a slave owner, and you have black campus? I mean, black people on campus and going to the school. It kind of just feels like a slap in the face you know?" said SUNY New Paltz Junior Ohene Okera.

Laura Scanlon, a SUNY New Paltz senior, disagreed.

"If you compare the good stuff they did with the bad, if the good is better then it really doesn't matter what they did. If they impacted this place a lot then they should keep the names," Scanlon said. 

The College Council voted four to three for the name changes. University officials say they have to keep names on the buildings for safety reasons, and to avoid confusion, but the next step is to discuss replacements.

"Our goal here is to be very clear that we want to create a opportunity to more fully tell the complete history of the region. The history of the original Huguenots and the linkage to slavery, the lives of enslaved Africans, the long impacts of slavery on economic and racial legacies," said Dr. Donald Christian, SUNY New Paltz president.

A criticism of renaming is the idea that it would erase the history of New Paltz. But freshman Alaney Ocasio disagrees with that sentiment.

"I don't think we're changing history, 'cause it's not changing history by changing the name of a building. You still have the history of what's left here, it's just now we're moving forward," Ocasio said. 

After the College Council picks replacement names, members will take the resolution to the Board of Trustees. If approved, the names would likely be up on the buildings this fall.