THE HALLOWEEN THAT CHANGED YALE

To mark the ten-year anniversary of a pivotal campus moment, Yale Daily News reporters explored the people and ideas at the center of the 2015 firestorm over racial inclusivity and free expression at Yale.

SOFIA GAVIRIA PARTOW
Students made demands in 2015. Now, some aim to maintain Yale’s progress

A decade after campus groups demanded concrete steps to support students of color, students are once again joining across cultural groups for advocacy — this time facing the Trump administration’s attacks on diversity initiatives.

November 14, 2025

REETI MALHOTRA
Christakises’ defenders see freer discourse since Halloween dispute

In 2015, an email sent to the Silliman College community by the college’s Associate Master Erika Christakis sparked discourse on Yale’s climate of freedom of expression.

November 13, 2025

OLIVIA WOO & ADELE HAEG
Silliman costumes email raised an open question: What’s a master for?

The 2015 controversy stemming from an email about Halloween costumes led to debates about the role of masters, now heads of college. Nicholas and Erika Christakis brought free-speech advocacy to Silliman College.

November 12, 2025

JAEHA JANG
Student demands for major change in 2015 tested top administrators

President Peter Salovey and Yale College Dean Jonathan Holloway faced passionate calls to make Yale more inclusive for students of color. Some students and professors think they should have acted faster.

November 11, 2025

OLIVIA CYRUS
For some students, 2015 racial inclusion activism was life-altering

A decade after calls for racial inclusivity resounded on campus, former students who participated in the post-Halloween swell of activism say the experience changed the trajectories of their careers and lives.

November 10, 2025

SABRINA THALER
A decade ago, Halloween incidents sparked racial reckoning at Yale

An email and a Facebook post lit a fuse for protests and conversations about racism at Yale — a striking moment in the broader stories of Yale, student activism and American movements for racial justice.

November 7, 2025