Yale Just Renamed Calhoun College Because Of Ties To Racism

After over a year of debate, Yale has just announced its decision to rename Calhoun College, named after Vice President John C. Calhoun, a vocal white supremacist and advocate of slavery. The college will now be named after Grace Murray Hopper, a Yale alumna who pioneered math and computer technology and fought fascism in the Navy, from which she retired as an admiral at age 79.

Calls to rename the college began after the Charleston shooting of 2015, in which nine African-American people were shot and killed in their church by white supremacist Dylann Roof. John C. Calhoun was also a white supremacist and not only defended slavery as a "positive good" but according to Yale president Peter Salovey, "died essentially criticizing the Declaration of Independence and its emphasis on all men being created equal."

Salovey was initially hesitant to rename the college, saying that he wanted to confront history so that Yale would not forget it and become complacent. However, the committee debating the name change unanimously voted to do so, and Salovey ultimately agreed that it was the right choice.

In selecting a new name to give the college, many supported Henry Roe Cloud, the first Native American man to graduate from the university. Others supported Roosevelt Thompson, an African American graduate who was known for outstanding academics and public service. Ultimately, though, the honor went to mathematician and computer pioneer Grace Murray Hopper, who graduated from Yale in 1934.

Salovey said of Hopper in the announcement:

But now, what we'd like to know is...

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