The conversation is not over

I was disappointed by Wednesday’s page one story, “Students tire of Calhoun debate,” (Oct. 7).  The article attempts to suggest that “the debate has not significantly affected most students’ lives” but also claims that “many students have become weary of a debate they say is growing tiresome and repetitive,” and quotes a Calhoun freshman: “When you introduce yourself, people are like, ‘So what do you think about the name?’… You have to have that conversation so many times.” But this is exactly what having a conversation looks like. This is why President Peter Salovey’s address urging conversation about the naming of Calhoun College was meaningful. That everyone is talking about it means that Yale is, importantly, internalizing it and questioning it, regardless of how quickly we can come up with a reasonable resolution.

Moreover, the News didn’t directly cover the well-attended, thought-provoking panel “Charleston and its Aftermath” on Sept. 21 with Edward Ball, Jelani Cobb, Glenda Gilmore, Jonathan Holloway and Vesla Weaver, moderated by David Blight. Instead of prompting students to think about low student turnout in the rain on a Saturday (and during midterms), why not refocus on where the conversation is happening, and actively?

Zelda Roland

The writer is a 2008 Yale College graduate and a current student in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.