Yale is an object lesson in why you should never, never, never ever make even the slightest concession to social justice crybullies. What began with "offensive Halloween costumes" escalated to eliminating "masters" and now a call for changing Calhoun College.
In the wake of Yale University’s recent decision to keep the name Calhoun College, hundreds of faculty have signed their names to a series of letters that denounce the decision and call for a reversal.
Even though Yale decided to keep Calhoun’s name for the residential college, earlier this year three portraits of the man were removed from the building’s interior to appease concerns that posting images of the seventh vice president of the United States of America creates an oppressive and offensive atmosphere. Calhoun was a slavery advocate.
But many faculty say that step doesn’t go far enough and have continued to lobby for a complete name removal.
Students opposing the decision dressed in black and lined up in front of the college calling for a new name of “the college formerly known as Calhoun.”
“These are our students’ homes; the places where they process the challenges and high expectations we hold them to, attend college seminars, discuss and debate issues with their peers, eat dinner and have fun…a student’s college affiliation goes with them when they leave Yale,” the letter states. “We are doing these students a disservice by forcing them to live unnecessarily under a brand so deeply associated with slavery.”
You know who else was deeply associated with slavery? Elihu Yale.
So if you have to change Calhoun College's name, you will also have to change Yale's name. Everyone involved in this little slapfight knows it. This is a preview of a bigger battle over renaming Yale.
But why don't I just jump the gun here and offer a suggestion that I'm sure the social justice crybullies will love. Rename the horrible place named for Elihu Yale to a progressive name like, the Patrice Lumumba University. It worked for the Soviet Union. If that doesn't work out, here are some other options.
The Che Guevara Facility for Higher Education and Murdering 12 Year Olds
The Assata Shakur University for Social Justice and Cop Killing
The Trigglypuff Seminar on Identity Politics Studies and a Little Bit of Leftover STEM