NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) – Four people were arrested at Yale University on Friday during a “Change the Name” rally.
The protest was held Friday afternoon to push the school to rename Calhoun College. The four who were arrested, two men and two women, sat down in the street and refused to move. Police say they were charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
There has been an ongoing push on campus to change the name because Calhoun College is named after U.S. Vice President John Calhoun, who was a supporter of slavery.
“For years, students have fought to change the name. Faculty have spoken. Workers have spoken. Last summer, after Corey Menafee’s unjust arrest and firing for removing a deeply racist image at Calhoun College, the broader New Haven community stepped up to join the efforts to change the name. Now two Yale appointed committees have voted to change the name”, said John Lugo, one of the leaders of the Change the Name Coalition. “Will the Yale Corporation listen? It is way past time for the university to step up and rename a college that is named after one of the nation’s biggest champions of slavery.”
The Change the Name Coalition is made up of 46 New Haven based organizations that have come together to support the efforts to change the name of Calhoun College.
Yale officials are meeting to discuss changing the name.
