Transformation spotlight on Yale’s Calhoun College
A DEBATE about slavery and affiliated symbols is in full swing at Yale University as tension over the transformation of universities goes global.
The spotlight is now on the US institution, where students, alumni and broader community have questioned its position on Calhoun College, named after an ardent defender of slavery, John C Calhoun.
“The time has come for us to have a thoughtful and public discussion of what we ought to do. Everyone connected to Yale will have something to contribute to the discussion, and whether one initially sees the issue as central or peripheral to the way we understand ourselves as a community,” said Yale University president Peter Salovey.
Calhoun associate master Hans van Dijk said: “To some of us, the naming of the college in 1933 is an abomination. It was a scandalous mistake, and it’s time to correct it.”
The removal of a statue of colonialist Cecil John Rhodes at UCT earlier this year has seen transformation issues come to the fore at institutions of higher learning locally and abroad.
Inspired by the Rhodes Must Fall (RMF) movement, a group of students in the UK gathered recently to demand that a Rhodes statue be removed from Oxford University.
After the murders of nine black people in Charleston prompted the South Carolina legislature to remove the Confederate flag from the state house, other Confederate monuments were also targeted.
UCT recently renamed its Humanities Building to the Neville Alexander Building, and its Arts Block to the AC Jordan Building. RMF has requested that UCT rename Jameson Hall, Jan Smuts Building and the Beattie Building.
“The UCT council has established a task team which will commence its work soon. The requests from RMF will form part of this process,” said UCT spokesperson Azwi Mufamadi.
Alex Hotz, of RMF, said: “Part of decolonising is reimagining the committees tasked with renaming buildings and changing symbolism. They need to reflect the politics of decolonisation.” carlo.petersen@inl.co.za
@carlo_petersen