Students of the Washington & Lee School of Law in Virginia are petitioning their school to take the pictures of the school’s namesakes, George Washington and Robert E. Lee, off of their diplomas because of their “controversial” past of having been slave owners.

A petition being circulated to current students and alumni states, “Given the aftermath of the 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville and the heightened awareness of making Washington & Lee an inclusive and compassionate environment to all students, we believe this request provides alumni the ability to honor their alma mater without the presence of the portraits that some may find controversial or offensive.”

The petition goes on to say, “The goal of establishing this option is to create a diploma that alumni are proud to prominently display in their homes and places of work.” They also note the diploma has been changed in the past and that this would be an optional change students could partake in, not a mandatory one. The petition has several hundred signatures to date.

The student’s problem with these two legendary historical figures is that they were both slave owners in a time where slavery was legal. Washington owned hundreds of slaves throughout his life and set 123 of them free upon his death in 1799. Lee also owned slaves and was commander of the Confederate States Army in the Civil War,