Fox News commentator Geraldo Rivera said on Sunday that he resigned from his position at Yale University after the school announced it would be removing the name of a pro-slavery politician from one of its colleges.
Students and activists at Yale have been pushing for the name of Calhoun College to be changed for some time now. The college is named after former Vice President and Yale attendee John C. Calhoun, a former senator from South Carolina and supporter of slavery, the Hill reported.
The school decided over the weekend to remove Calhoun's name. Rivera subsequently resigned, citing his anger with political correctness.
"Resigned yesterday as Associate Fellow of Calhoun College at Yale. Been an honor but intolerant insistence on political correctness is lame," Rivera wrote on Twitter.
Resigned yeterday as Associate Fellow of #CalhounCollege at #Yale. Been an honor but intolerant insistence on political correctness is lame.
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) February 12, 2017
Slavery was abhorrent sin.Will #Yale students now petition to change name of #USA capital? #Washington was a slave holder as was #Jefferson
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) February 13, 2017
To judge a 200 yr old early 19th century historic figure by standards of the 21st century as #Yale is doing is more Orwellian than inspired
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) February 13, 2017
His ideas are repugnant but #CalhounCollege name change would shock #JFK who named John C Calhoun 1 of 5 "greatest"all-time senators in 1957
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) February 13, 2017
Yale President Peter Salovey argued last year that the name should not be changed, according to Mediaite.
"Removing Calhoun's name obscures the legacy of slavery rather than addressing it," Salovey said.
He went on to say in a message to the university:
"Ours is a nation that continues to refuse to face its own history of slavery and racism. Yale is part of this history, as exemplified by the decision to recognize an ardent defender of slavery by naming a college for him. Erasing Calhoun's name from a much-beloved residential college risks masking this past, downplaying the lasting effects of slavery, and substituting a false and misleading narrative, albeit one that might allow us to feel complacent or, even, self-congratulatory. Retaining the name forces us to learn anew and confront one of the most disturbing aspects of Yale's and our nation's past. I believe this is our obligation as an educational institution."
After significant debate, the school decided that the name would be changed after all. Salovey explained why in a message to the Yale community over the weekend.
"Today I write to announce that the name of Calhoun College will be changed, and that we will honor one of Yale's most distinguished graduates, Grace Murray Hopper '30 M.A., '34 Ph.D., by renaming the college for her. The university's board of trustees—the Yale Corporation—and I made this decision at our most recent meeting. The decision to change a college's name is not one we take lightly, but John C. Calhoun's legacy as a white supremacist and a national leader who passionately promoted slavery as a "positive good" fundamentally conflicts with Yale's mission and values. I have asked Jonathan Holloway, dean of Yale College, and Julia Adams, the head of Calhoun College, to determine when this change best can be put into effect."