Salovey Gets Thanksgiving ​“Gift” Basket From Calhoun Name-Change Activists

Shorty Salovey, puppet of Rick Levin and others richer than he is, will do NOTHING as usual. Money talks.....

I support these folks and their cause which got a kick in the ass from poor Cory M. I love Maya Angelou's work but I dont care what they rename the college. I want a total rebooting of Yale's Corporate behavior from atrocious to humane. Am I alone in this fantasy???

What takes courage is to refuse to change the name of the college because those attending and those looking in from the outside demand it be changed. There is no need to do so. Instead of a drawn out study time, Yale should just be tell these folks no and then ignore whatever protest by basket or acting out because they can't get their way.

As for Matos' threat to escalate the protest to a level that could include acts of disobedience, that is disappointing as I'm sure it will include taking over streets and impeding the rights and freedoms of others. If so, I hope they'll be arrested and prosecuted.

@ Noteworthy:
Why, in 2016, do we need to have a building in New Haven that was erected in the 1930s and dedicated to a leading proponent of slavery and white supremacy?
This is not Mississippi.
Even the confederate flag no longer flies at state capitols in the South. They are confined to museums.
There is a burning need to "Change the Name". The people of New Haven who work at Yale are in a hostile work environment. Racist images and shrines to a shameful past have an impact on people of color. And the Asian students at Yale feel the same way!
Clearly Noteworthy is a privileged white male who has no problem with discriminatory images or temples to terrorists.
Calhoun insured the suffering of innocent children, women and men by campaigning to keep and expand slavery.
Where are the images and names of the Black Calhouns, the descendants of John C's rape of an African women? Their son Moses was singled out for an education and work inside the mansion. He secretly taught his relatives to read and write, something that was punishable by death at the time. Thanks to Moses, a distinguished line of educated Africans became business leaders and professionals. Lena Horne was a Black Calhoun.
Maybe the college should be named after her.
Salovey has already opened the discussion as to how Yale is to deal with its tainted past (read Prof. Craig Wilder's "Ebony & Ivy") and has started a conversation that is ongoing.
The name of John C. is a reminder of the exploitation of a people, the destruction of family connections, the rape of the women, the children torn from their mothers, the theft of the value of their labor that enriched all the colonial colleges and the theft of their freedom.
Why would Yale NOT want to change the name?

Calhoun's name certainly should be dropped from the college; it should have happened years ago. I'd wager Salovey, after his earlier misstep, was preparing the way for this, providing a means to expand ownership of the decision, when he created the committee to establish principles on renaming. (One look at the faculty membership confirms it.) A tip of the hat is due the five activists for what they put in the basket — a nice combination of plain, feisty challenge and digging humor, without the self-righteous contempt that seems to animate Wendy1's post.

Patricia - There are many elements of this country's history which are distasteful especially in light of today's culture. That name has been on this college for decades with no problems, no pain and no acknowledgement of his history with regard to slavery. It was not put on that building because of his support for slavery. Then, all of a sudden, students and some faculty have an epiphany and like magic, the name Calhoun College births a hostile work environment. One would have to study the history in order to divine the worst of what Calhoun advocated. It certainly isn't widely known but because it suits the purposes of advocates, it's suddenly anathema. Indeed, even your newly minted patron saint of being offended, worked in the same dining hall for a decade without paying attention to or even having a clue about the art he broke without somebody pointing it out to him.

So what are we to do? Erase the names and history of everybody associated with slavery?

Change the name. Donald J. Trump College!

Noteworthy. You are getting more blatant in your hatred of all things nonwhite Trumpkkk must give you strength to enhance your verbal diarrhea towards all things nonwhite. You present as brighter than the students living at Calhoun Not so much. Your racist dog whistles are transparent Your comment about the cafeteria worker is class based as well. Getting much bolder lately in your hateful statements. You represent why some Americans are fearful. You hear that? Fearful in their own country.

Alphabravocharlie. In honor of your screen name, how about Ho Chi Ming College ?

Wrong Charlie but that might be more appropriate considering the political leanings within those walls.

Mr. Noteworthy,

You state with great certainty that, "That name has been on this college for decades with no problems, no pain and no acknowledgement of his history with regard to slavery."

As an undergraduate at Yale from 1992-1996, and as someone with continuing ties to the university, I can report with the certainty afforded by my personal experience, that your assertion is incorrect. It was back then, and remains today, a constant reminder to students of color that the painful legacy of slavery and discrimination in America is simply not important enough to a large enough number of people to bother to address it. The word minority is manifold in its definition, and in this case, the lack of action after decades underscores the validity of the fear that so many are feeling given the election of Donald Trump. People who want to diminish the evils of slavery and other forms of oppression have rarely experienced crippling - even deadly - discrimination firsthand.

To be sure, life is hard, and the world is a cold hard place (reference various comments on this and other NHI stories), and young people today would be well-served to remain as committed to attaining their goals as they are to protesting unjust obstacles to those goals. However, continuing to pretend that symbols of oppression, such as the name on Calhoun College, are inconsequential, is just lulling yourself into the self-righteous rest of the oppressing class. Neither the extreme of protesting as a vocation nor of denying oppression where it exists does anything to move us forward.

Fearless:

You ignore the strength of my comment in favor of calling names and using nasty labels to silence, denigrate and marginalize my comments and views. I'll not have any of it. Name one "racist dog whistle." Identify the statement that compares myself with a Yale student. Point out the comment that was class based re: Corey Menafee. Likewise, point out the hateful statement.

What makes people afraid in America today, is group think, mass hysteria, and the promotion of that hysteria as a political weapon. An opinion by somebody is not a reason to be afraid. That's just BS.

It seems that there are those in this city who will only make an effort for others if there is a camera pointed their way.

How does the Independent learn about these stunts and why must it show up for each one?

Notes. "Doesn't have a clue about the art ". What's that exactly? "Study history to determine the worst of what Calhoun advocated". "No need to change the name? According to you. So the students at Calhoun don't know their history? You can't change what you have consistently written in many articles on this post which denegrates nonwhite. Look it up if you have conveniently forgotten. You have become even more hateful towards nonwhites with your snide comments about food stamps drug dealing as if only nonwhites partake. You use language that you would not have the guts to say to people of color directly. I think it's your boy trumpkkk. You are very comfortable in your own skin denegrating due to skin color Period. This is who you are and folks are afraid of you and your ilk So you complain when I and others call you out on your racist diatribes. Too bad. One thing you will never control is speech- mine

Notes. You can't tell folks what to fear. There goes your arrogance loud and clear. Read what Making Light has to say

Making Light:

Are you suggesting that as an undergrad in 1992 - the name Calhoun College caused you pain because John C Calhoun who was born in Abbeville, SC in 1782 and died in 1850, 15 years before the Civil War, supported slavery among other viewpoints common at his time? When did you become aware of this history? I wonder how many students actually know let alone care about anybody's history with a name on a building - or has this just become the latest point of outrage that seems so common today?

Noteworthy. Read your own posts here and elsewhere on this website. Your language speaks for itself. Don't need your permission or approval to disagree Jack Nicholson told Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men. "You can't handle the truth". You can't control thought and are not the arbiter of what people think and feel

Noteworthy: re your comment 11/22 to Light:

Change the Name is NOT just about students. People of color, residents of New Haven, work at Calhoun College and throughout Yale University. Corey Menafee is a college educated American of color who worked in Calhoun and found the racist images intolerable. And he knows American history.

I can tell that the racist shrine doesn't trouble you, but it does trouble others and that's why they continue to demonstrate every Friday at noon outside the college and why 32 local organizations signed on in support of the last big demonstration on the Green.

I am glad you write in defense of the status quo because it gives us a chance to have a conversation. I believe that over time we can process information and have new opinions. Feel free to join us at any time.