For decades, students from Monash University in Melbourne have walked past the John Medley Library.
But what most did not know is the man the building was named after was once a major player in Victoria's eugenics movement.
John Medley was vice-chancellor of the University of Melbourne in the mid-1900s and a member of the Eugenics Society of Victoria.
The society advocated for sterilising and segregating those people classified as "mental defectives."
That included Aboriginal people, homosexuals, the mentally disabled, poor people and prostitutes.
Historian Ross Jones, who studies the history of eugenics in Australia, says the theory was once widely accepted in Australian society.
"The eugenics movement was widely accepted amongst all the middle class. There were very few people who said anything against it."
Eugenics theory contributed to many events in Australia's and the world's history now considered shameful.
They include the White Australia Policy, the Stolen Generation and ethnic cleansing in the Second World War.
A group of Monash students decided something needed to be done about the John Medley Library, run by university's student union.
Jayden Crozier, a student and Indigenous representative on the student union, says the renaming, when completed, will be a win for all Indigenous students.
"Once we did highlight the fact that he was involved in eugenics and whatnot, it did make people feel a bit disenfranchised by the whole situation. They felt a bit saddened by the fact that our university -- which is, in all other regards, a great university, especially in what they do for Indigenous students ... so it just felt like this was the one area there was a black spot on Monash's history. So, it's good to have it changed, and, in a sense, it's a great success for Indigenous students on campus."
Students at Monash got the idea to change the name after the University of Melbourne changed the name of their Richard Berry Building for the same reason.
Professor Berry was chairman of the anatomy department at that university in the early 1900s and was also a major player in the eugenics movement.
For decades, students and academics campaigned to change the name of the building, and, in December last year, the university agreed.
Dr Stephen Hagan, an Indigenous-rights activist who was involved in a similar campaign in Toowoomba, says renaming sites is a sign of Australia maturing.
"It's a reflection of us growing up and maturing as a nation that we take advice from people who take great offence at the offensiveness of signs. And if people change it, well, I think that's a wonderful thing."
Others argue, though, there is a risk of hiding uncomfortable, but important, parts of Australian history.
Dr Jones, the historian, says he sees that risk with the Richard Berry Building.
"To rename the building and not have some acknowledgement on it that it's been renamed, and some acknowledgement of Berry's part in that history, is to really wipe out part of the story, I think. And, in 50 years, people .. apart from a few historians, people won't remember that that building, the Berry Building, was named after someone who was an important university figure who was also, you know, an important eugenicist. So my feeling is that there should be ... rename the building, but there should be a plaque on the building telling the story."
The university has not put up a plaque yet but says Richard Berry is remembered by a portrait that hangs in the building.
A number of other buildings at the university carry the names of people involved in the eugenics movement, but the university says there are no plans to rename any other buildings.
But a university spokesman has acknowledged in a statement the need to review the names of buildings on the campus.
"The university's Reconciliation Action Plan has clearly defined targets for recognising the value and contribution of Indigenous culture across the lifetime of the institution. One of these targets includes a revision of the university policy for the naming of buildings and rooms to ensure this contribution is appropriately recognised. There are no other buildings currently being considered for renaming. However, the university acknowledges there is a need for a broader review of building and place names across our campuses."
Dr Hagan says that is a trend across Australia and he thinks the nation still has a long way to go.
"If you look at history, Australia's a very racist country. Look at history. I mean, every monument in every city, there's some old general or someone who's riding a big horse, and how many blackfellas do you think they shot to have those badges on their uniforms on those old statues? So, it's everywhere. Australia ... Australia loves celebrating its racist past."
