making Harding the second private institution in Arkansas to admit black people. In a 2012 article, it was suggested that this decision was motivated by expectation that the coming Civil Rights Act would require "Harding to desegregate to continue receiving federal funds", but contemporary sources make no mention of this as a consideration: The Gazette applauded Harding's "voluntary action" as an "example" for other Arkansas church-related colleges and deserving an "ovation...for the grace with which they have undertaken this social change". The Bison proclaimed "Benson's leadership in the movement for equal opportunity makes us proud, even boastful; it makes us happy, even ecstatic", though at least one scholar viewed that statement "dubiously". By 1969 Harding had only 20 black students out of a student body of over 2,000. While President Clifton L. Ganus, Jr, stated that he did not "see any Biblical injunction against it", he discouraged interracial relationships. Under his leadership, the Harding administration allowed students to enter into interracial relationships, but made it policy to caution them against it and informed their parents in writing. The policy of allowing such relationships was the focus of much anger from the families of some white students. In 1969, three black students who protested racism at the university were expelled. In 1969, Ganus attempted to placate students by promising to hire 'Negro' teachers, but this never transpired. Since the Civil Rights Era In 1980, Richard King became the first African-American faculty member. In the fall of 2019, white students constituted 81 percent of the student body, 4.7% were black students, and 3.8% were Hispanic/Latino. Botham Jean and the Benson Auditorium In 2020, a former graduate organized a petition drive to rename the Benson auditorium because of Benson's racist views. The petition also asked that the auditorium carry the name of Botham Jean instead, a recent Black alumnus who had been murdered in his own apartment by a white Dallas police officer who alleged she had confused their apartments and mistaken the 26-year-old for a burglar. Upon review, and against the wishes of the Black Student Association, the university, under the leadership of Bruce McLarty, defended Benson and chose to retain the name. However, President McLarty recognized the university had no buildings or landmarks on campus that recognized Black Alumni and promised some sort of memorial to Botham Jean within a year. Facing this controversy and a 23% decline in enrollment over