We, the undersigned faculty members of Clemson University, are writing to express our support for the students and alumni who are currently requesting the removal of John C. Calhoun’s name from Clemson’s Honors College.
John C. Calhoun was an influential statesman in many ways. But Calhoun’s greatest legacy to our time is his tireless defense of slavery as a “positive good” and the use of his extensive political power to protect it. His support for white supremacy was clear and uncompromising. Removing Calhoun from the name of the Honors College falls far short of erasing his presence on this campus. But let us remember that Calhoun died nearly fifty years before Clemson University came into existence, and that he had no role whatsoever in founding the University, let alone the honors college, which was founded in the 1960s.
More importantly, Calhoun’s legacy, as an advocate for slavery with ownership rights over dozens of enslaved people, is a painful daily reminder and a symbol of ongoing inequities to many of our students both past and present. We agree with these students that this legacy starkly contradicts the University’s mission of teaching “tolerance and respect for others.” This should have been clear in 1981, when the Honors College’s name was changed; it is more than clear now. Clemson needs to acknowledge its history, but we also must navigate through a changing present toward a better future.
How can we “aspire to create a diverse community” when we choose to honor Calhoun? What kind of community do we hope to build if we cannot recognize the callousness expressed in continuing to keep his name on our Honors program? Do we wish to commemorate and honor that kind of past, or do we wish to work together to build a diverse community? We, as faculty members, prefer the latter.
And, as a campus community, the choice is ours to make. The students and alumni who authored the petition explain correctly that the Honors College name does not fall under the protection of the South Carolina State Heritage Act. We cannot understand the reasoning of any administrators who may claim that they have no say in the matter. Removal or not, this is, as the students say, “an active decision,” for which we are all responsible. Today, we have the option to make the right choice.
We therefore join with the petition signatories in asking Clemson University and the Honors College to stop commemorating Calhoun’s legacy of white supremacy in the name of this important undergraduate institution. Doing so, we ask the University to honor its promise, made in its strategic plan, to create an inclusive environment. We are grateful for the students’ initiative, and we will continue to advocate on their behalf.
Faculty may continue to sign the petition here.
Petition Signers
Joseph Mai
Pauline de Tholozany
Christina Wells
Michael Sears
Maya Hislop
Michael Meng
Sean Sather-Wagstaff
Peter Laurence
Elizabeth Carney
Michelle Boettcher
Christopher Grau
Nic Brown
Walt Hunter
Victor J. Vitanza
Johannes Schmidt
Todd May
Jonathan Beecher Field
Andrew Whitehead
Elizabeth Jemison
Gabriel Hankins
Kim Manganelli
Brookes Brown
Angela Naimou
Claudio Cantalupo
Pamela Mack
Shannon Robert
Brian McGrath
Debi Switzer
Ben Stephens
Megan MacAlystre
Andrew H. Mannheimer
Patrick H. Raymark
Chelsea Clarey
Chris Pagano
James McCubbin
Cynthia Pury
Andrea Feeser
Lucian Ghita
Jillian Weise
Keri Crist-Wagner
Linda Li-Bleuel
Dominic Mastroianni
Meredith Teilhet Morris
Erin M. Goss
John M. Coggeshall
Steve Marks
Cody Gathers
Kevin Niehaus
Cindy Burke
Sarah M. Cooper
Susanna Ashton
Caroline Dunn
Becky Becker
Kathy Clark
Mikel W. Cole
Cynthia Haynes
Robert Sinclair
Julie P. Martin
Catherine Mobley
Linda Dzuris
Shanna Hirsch
Anderson Wrangle
Leo Gugerty
Eliza Gallagher
Matt Hooley
Jumah Taweh
Kendra Johnson
Lisa Rapaport
Michael LeMahieu
Raquel Anido
Kerrie Seymour
Keith Lee Morris
Daniel E. Wueste
Bart P. Knijnenburg
Danielle Herro
Richard Amesbury
Benjamin White
Edward J. Rock
Richard Tyrrell
Tiffany D. Creegan Miller
Gabriela Stoicea
Monica Massei
Jessica L. Serrao
Kelsey Sheaffer
Jessica Kohout-Tailor
Jenessa McElfresh
Megan Eatman
Aga Skrodzka
David Neyens
Rhondda Robinson Thomas
Elizabeth Rivlin
Megan Che
Lisa Robinson
David Antonini
David Coombs
Mandolin Bright
Timothy Green
Bobby Hollandsworth
Mickey Lauria
Allen Guest
Elizabeth Kaszynski Gilmore
Elena Dimitrova
Julia Brumaghim
Melissa Vogel
Amy N. Monaghan
Bonnie Holaday
Janice Lanham
J. Drew Lanham
Juan Carlos Melgar
Diane Perpich
Abigail Allen
Tony Cawthon
Rhonda Reigers Powell
April Pelt
Kathleen Nalley
Natasha Croom
Rachel Wagner
James Cross
Frederick Buskey
Casey Derieux
Bruce Ransom
Reginald Wilkerson
Matthew Brownlee
Wayne Freimund
Stephen Lewis
Francis McGuire
Brent Hawkins
Adam Omelianchuk
Lauren Duffy
Gretchen Matthews
Allen N Swords
Christina N. Hung
Pauline Matthey
