After the June 2015 Charleston church shooting , radio commentators Colin McEnroe and Ray Hardman questioned whether the preservation of the college 's name was an inappropriate legacy of white supremacy . The events , which instigated student protests and alumni petitions in the same year , caused administrators to consider renaming the college . In their petition students argued that — while Calhoun was respected in the 19th century as an " extraordinary American statesman " — he was " one of the most prolific defenders of slavery and white supremacy " in the history of the United States . In August 2015 Yale President Peter Salovey addressed the Freshman Class of 2019 in which he responded to the racial tensions but explained why the college would not be renamed . He described Calhoun as a " a notable political theorist , a vice president to two different U.S. presidents , a secretary of war and of state , and a congressman and senator representing South Carolina . " He acknowledged that Calhoun also " believed that the highest forms of civilization depend on involuntary servitude . Not only that , but he also believed that the races he thought to be inferior , black people in particular , ought to be subjected to it for the sake of their own best interests . " In April 2016 Salovey announced that " despite decades of vigorous alumni and student protests , " Calhoun 's name would remain on the Yale residential college . Salovey argued that it was preferable for Yale students to live in Calhoun 's " shadow " so they will be " better prepared to rise to the challenges of the present and the future . " He claimed that if they removed Calhoun 's name , it would " obscure " his " legacy of slavery rather than addressing it . " " Yale is part of that history " and " We can not erase American history , but we can confront it , teach it and learn from it . " At the same time , Salovey announced that the title of “ master ” would be changed to “ head of college ” because of the title 's freighted use by American slaveowners
Charleston church shooting
Charleston church shooting
Grace Hopper College