NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Fox News personality Geraldo Rivera says he resigned from a voluntary position at Yale University after the school decided to change the name of a residential college that honors a slavery supporter.
Rivera said Sunday on Twitter that he resigned as an associate fellow of Calhoun College. He said the position was an honor “but intolerant insistence on political correctness is lame.”
Calhoun College was named after 19th century alumnus and former Vice President John C. Calhoun, an ardent supporter of slavery.
“We have a strong presumption against renaming buildings on this campus,” Yale President Peter Salovey said in the announcement. “I have been concerned all along and remain concerned that we don’t do things that erase history. So renamings are going to be exceptional.”
Salovey then gave the reason for the change, saying, “John C. Calhoun. White supremacist. Ardent defender of slavery as a positive good. Someone whose views hardened over the course of his life, died essentially criticizing the Declaration of Independence and its emphasis on all men being created equal.”
After years of debate, Yale announced Saturday it is renaming the college after trailblazing computer scientist Grace Murray Hopper.
Yale said in a statement Sunday that it respected Rivera’s decision to resign, but said its choice to rename the college was based on principle, not political correctness.
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