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After many protest and much backlash from not only students, but faculty, Yale University, an Ivy League school with some of the highest academics in the nation, has decided to drop the name of a residential college that was named after John C. Calhoun.
Calhoun was a 19th Century Politician who openly supported slavery. So after all the backlash, the school has decided to rename the college after “Grace Murray Hooper” College. Hooper was a computer scientist who made great strides in the work of Stem Cells.
From the Huffington Post: “quote – unquote”
The new name, which becomes official on July 1, will instead honor Grace Murray Hopper, a rear admiral of the Navy who earned her doctorate in mathematics at Yale in 1934 and was a pioneer during the early years of computer programming.
The switch comes after months of protests led by Yale students, employees and Connecticut residents who claimed that Calhoun and his beliefs about race and slavery stained the university’s reputation.
“The decision to change a college’s name is not one we take lightly,” Yale President Peter Salovey said in a press release. “But John C. Calhoun’s legacy as a white supremacist and a national leader who passionately supported slavery as a ‘positive good’ fundamentally conflicts with Yale’s mission and values.”
Although the name won’t officially be changed until July, students at Yale have been posting Hopper’s name throughout the residential college.
Great job Yale University!!!
