The Daily OrangeBeyond the Hill | Written Up
Yale students chalk campus in protest of schools named after slave owners
By Durrie Bouscaren
Posted: 10/20/09, 4:13 AM EST Section: News
Yale University students woke up to an interesting sight Oct. 11. Eleven of the school's residential colleges had been "renamed" in chalk and signage.
The chalking protested the naming of University buildings after former slave owners and people known to advocate for the mistreatment of Native Americans.
Silliman College became Joseph Cinqué College, named after the leader of the 1839 Amistad slave uprising, John Edwards College was renamed after Edwards' slave (Titus X) and on the sidewalk of Cross Campus, large block letters spelled out "Emancipate Yale."
Yale junior Ben Stango, a political studies and humanities major, was initially confused to see the chalkings. It wasn't until an article published in the Yale Daily News, the school newspaper, that students understood what the chalkings were about.
An anonymous e-mail received by the Yale Daily News accused the University of honoring slave-owners by naming buildings after them. The writer proposed renaming the buildings after leaders of the abolitionist movement, according to the article in the paper.
"I think there's a general consensus that we should be talking about [these issues] and paying attention," Stango said.
For centuries, Yale (founded in 1701) has named buildings after university donors and famous figures. For much of its history, slavery was accepted as a common practice in America. As a result, many buildings bear the names of slave owners and supporters of slavery.
The people behind the chalkings remained anonymous until the administration announced there would be no consequences to their actions.
On Thursday, the Yale Daily News reported that the Undergraduate Organizing Committee was responsible for the chalking. The committee is a Yale student advocacy group that focuses on coordinating student protest campaigns as a part of the university's Social Justice Network, a coalition of organizations working for social justice and change within the university.
The chalking protested the naming of University buildings after former slave owners and people known to advocate for the mistreatment of Native Americans.
Silliman College became Joseph Cinqué College, named after the leader of the 1839 Amistad slave uprising, John Edwards College was renamed after Edwards' slave (Titus X) and on the sidewalk of Cross Campus, large block letters spelled out "Emancipate Yale."
Yale junior Ben Stango, a political studies and humanities major, was initially confused to see the chalkings. It wasn't until an article published in the Yale Daily News, the school newspaper, that students understood what the chalkings were about.
An anonymous e-mail received by the Yale Daily News accused the University of honoring slave-owners by naming buildings after them. The writer proposed renaming the buildings after leaders of the abolitionist movement, according to the article in the paper.
"I think there's a general consensus that we should be talking about [these issues] and paying attention," Stango said.
For centuries, Yale (founded in 1701) has named buildings after university donors and famous figures. For much of its history, slavery was accepted as a common practice in America. As a result, many buildings bear the names of slave owners and supporters of slavery.
The people behind the chalkings remained anonymous until the administration announced there would be no consequences to their actions.
On Thursday, the Yale Daily News reported that the Undergraduate Organizing Committee was responsible for the chalking. The committee is a Yale student advocacy group that focuses on coordinating student protest campaigns as a part of the university's Social Justice Network, a coalition of organizations working for social justice and change within the university.
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