I’m a WASP
I can’t know what the holocaust means to someone Jewish.
I can’t know what living in Calhoun means to someone black
However, I’m going to believe whatever you tell me when you tell me what it means to you.
And its equally inconcievable to compare decisions made then to decisions made now. And surely you aren’t suggesting that they selected Calhoun for the same reasons some statues/monuments were erected in the South after the civil war.
I am a Jew. I have now lived in the south longer than I lived in the north. I have direct experience with Yale and schools with strong residential college systems. That said, I speak for myself, not for Jews, the North, the South or Residential college systems and decisions about them in their entirety. My thoughts on this topic have shifted a bit by some of the conversation shared here, and I will continue to watch the process and the decisions made by Yale. I will do my best to understand what this feels like to current and potential residents of Calhoun College. But in this day and age, how we vet people, how we view the past is based on our current experiences. We have to look at decisions, right or wrong, that were made then, and not try to re-view them with today’s filter. Even two Germans whose fathers were nazi war criminals differ on how their fathers should be remembered. This is an excellent film- viewing that history though today’s eyes by sons of war criminals. Very much worth a watch http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4668808/
@jym626, when the decision was made to honor Calhoun in the 1930ies, the man so honoured was depicted in a stained glass window at the college so named with a black man in shackles, kneeling at his feet. They knew exactly who the man they were honoring stood for, and it wasn’t general statecraft. Either the people choosing the man and the depiction had an agenda in their minds or they had extremely poor judgement - even then, in the 1930ies, it might have occurred to them who and what they were depicting to be honored, an evil that had been abolished generations ago, and why this might have been inappropriate.
When the black man in shackles, kneeling before Calhouns feet, was removed from the window - THAT was erasing of history. Even then, it might have occurred to someone that if that part of the depiction was so unacceptable as to need removing, it might mean that the man so depicted might be unacceptable, too.
If you have to erase what he stood for, and was considered to have stood for when the college was named, what’s left to honour? And why?
This is not for me to decide. I will watch and listen. But I do think that there are some very interesting comments posted after several of the articles in the Yale Daily news that are worth a read. This thread has also been an interesting read. Hopefully you will find the answer to your question in the many posts here, @Tigerle.
I also wasn’t able to read the first WSJ article…
But I have learned a lot through this thread- esp the part about wealthy Americans funding Eugenics during that time …I hadn’t been aware of that or that 1930’s was still a high point of powerful racism in northern elite universities.
One would think they would be leading the way against the KKK or Jim Crow laws… instead the fact they didn’t bat an eye to honor the supreme racist I think is very telling… perhaps its one of the reasons why institutional racism has thrived throughout these years… and it will continue to thrive UNTIL large institutions stop being complicit…
Thats the thing, there are still powerful systemic inequalities and institutional racism that is preventing black Americans from being treated equally. Eradicating these -even in name only as in Calhoun- is still a step in the right direction… it works on oppressed groups psychologically.
I would not want my gay son to live in a building honoring the Westboro Baptist church or (any of the many others that chose to limit his equal rights)… BC when you don’t have equality, powerful institutions honoring your oppressors really hurts…
As to the only 2 reasons I have heard for keeping the Calhoun name- I think the Hartford Courant sums it up:
http://www.courant.com/opinion/op-ed/hc-op-yale-slave-advocate-name-must-go-20150921-story.html
"Within the debate at Yale, opponents tend to fall into two camps. The first is made up of those concerned about preserving tradition. But arguments centered on tradition alone are tenuous. “Tradition” has been used to defend a litany of evils, including Yale’s own reluctance to admit women until 1969. Moreover, the historical record is replete with invocations of “tradition” that have been used to deprive blacks of opportunities to participate meaningfully in all aspects of society. Simply put, tradition alone cannot form the basis of a rational policy.
The second camp holds that removing Calhoun’s name will erase history and absolve the school of its complicity in a system that endorses and perpetuates white supremacy. But by ignoring the pleas of black students, who support changing the name at a significantly higher rate than do white students, Yale continues its complicity. It continues to foster an environment in which black voices are not treated equally. The naming of Calhoun College has no meaningful impact on white students — but it does affect whether or not students of color can truly call their school “home.” The name must change."
I find it telling that students had this to say about the Yale Corporation in the article in relation to the first decision:
http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2016/04/26/majority-of-students-say-change-calhoun/
"Many respondents said Corporation members are primarily focused on increasing the size of the endowment, not improving campus life, and are out of touch with the Yale community. One said the Corporation is “too white and secretive” for these types of issues, and another doubted that its members care about the best interests of students.
“I do not know all of the individuals on the Yale Corporation, but I do know that not one of them is a student, most graduated from college at least 30 years ago and only a couple are people of color,” said one black female respondent. “I am not sure they understand as a group the value of envisioning a Yale that is not centered on white and male interests and experiences.”
Millennials will not stand idly by.
Lets hope the new committee (and subsequent committees) do better to listen…
@runswimyoga said
I think it’s safe to say no building will ever be named for WBC, thank goodness. But you will need to come to terms with the fact that whichever college one’s gay son attends will have dozens of buildings named for people who abhorred homosexuality. Society, IMO, has only become enlightened on gay issues in the past few decades, and only really tolerant in the past few years. Still a ways to go there and with race.
Taken to its logical extreme…must we rename everything to “College A, Dormitory 12?” That’s the only purely safe naming system that won’t offend someone. Would be a pity.
FWIW, I’m a white Yale alum who leans toward renaming Calhoun (if a suitable replacement namesake is identified), but no further renaming.
@pickpocket Funny my son is at Penn… dropped him off today (literally so he can go early and fight systemic racism 
) BUT I can’t find any buildings named for people who abhorred Blacks or homosexuality … at least to the extent where they advocated to change public policy to restrict their rights…
My son did however have to choose a college very carefully to make sure it was one in a state or at least a city that had ordinances in place to protect his civil rights (heres looking at you NC) and turned down money and recruiting from colleges in places that didn’t protect him…
Please enlighten me on the honored oppressors at Penn…
Sincerest congratulations to your son @runswimyoga Penn is a fantastic school.
But how do you reconcile that Franklin was a slave owner?
@runswimyoga does Sam Houston (as in Houston Hall), a slave owner and opponent of abolition, count?
@usualhopeful Houston Hall is named after Henry Houston not Sam Houston
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Hall_(University_of_Pennsylvania)
“The Hall was named as a memorial for the son of its principal benefactors, Henry Howard Houston, Jr., (University of Pennsylvania class of 1878) who died in Rome within a year of his graduation. The cornerstone of the building was laid on January 22, 1894, and Houston Hall was dedicated January 2, 1896.”
" To finance the project, Harrison secured a donation of $100,000 from the Trustee Henry Howard Houston and his wife Sallie S. Houston. The Hall was named as a memorial for the son of its principal benefactors, Henry Howard Houston, Jr., (University of Pennsylvania class of 1878) who died in Rome within a year of his graduation. The cornerstone of the building was laid on January 22, 1894, and Houston Hall was dedicated January 2, 1896."
@pickpocket Yes, Franklin was a slave owner as were many in his time… BUT he became a staunch abolitionist
(and I don’t recall him ever lobbying any legislature to restrict any rights… before he became an abolitionist)
The Calhoun College website (calhoun.yalecollege.yale.edu) provides this list of links to a diverse selection of views, some internal to Yale, others from outside, on the subject of renaming the college: MODERATOR’S NOTE: Deleted link - not allowed.
I don’t intend to get into a discussion about any of them; I’m only sharing this to demonstrate that there are many possible solutions with thoughtful advocates.
That link’s broken (guess it violates CC rules?) @DeepBlue86
I guess so, sorry - but if you go to the Calhoun College site (calhoun.yalecollege.yale.edu), you’ll find the link on the homepage.
They should rename Calhoun after this guy.
http://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/demarr-calhoun.html
The alumni can keep the name, and Demarr is not a slave-owner. That should make everyone happy.
Well, I thought the newly-built Benjamin Franklin College should simply have been named “Franklin College”, so that it could be claimed that it was honoring two Yale honorary degree holders named Franklin: Benjamin (he got his in 1753) and Aretha (hers was awarded in 2010). That might have made the other discussions easier…
This is the committee’s website. There is a list of the members of the committee.
I wonder how many, if anybody, on the committee signed a petition to rename the residence.
I see one member is writing a biography of Frederick Douglass.
True, and then they could use Aretha’s “Love is the Key” as the College’s song :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es95G72oMLE
You don’t have to wonder - you can look it up:
MODERATOR’S NOTE: Deleted link - not allowed.
(answer: 3 of the 6 faculty on the committee, Blight, Gage and Oster, signed the letter). This was a quick perusal. Feel free to double-check.
MODERATOR’S NOTE: Deleted link - not allowed.