NEW HAVEN — Yale University has decided to keep the name of a residential college named for 19th-century alumnus John C. Calhoun, who was an ardent supporter of slavery.
The New Haven Ivy League university announced the decision Wednesday via Twitter. The tweet says it’s keeping John C. Calhoun’s name to “teach and confront the history of slavery in the U.S.”
The Yale Corporation is the university’s governing body. It had been gathering input from students on names it might consider for Calhoun College and two new residential colleges it’s planning.
Calhoun was a U.S. vice president and senator from South Carolina. Three portraits of Calhoun were recently taken down from the walls of the residential college.
Debate over the name began last summer after nine black worshippers were slain in a Charleston, South Carolina, church.
