4 arrested at Yale protest over Calhoun College, police say

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Four people have been arrested at a peaceful protest over a Yale University residential college named after a former U.S. vice president and ardent slavery supporter.

New Haven police say two men and two women were charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct at around 4 p.m. Friday after they sat in the middle of a street and blocked traffic. 

“We want them to understand that this is something the community wants,” Kica Matos, 50, a New Haven resident and director of immigrant rights and racial justice for the Center for Community Change, told the New Haven Register. “We want our voices heard,” she said.  Matos was one of the students arrested, the New Haven Register reported.

The department said the protest and arrest was pre-planned. It didn’t immediately release the protesters names. The street was reopened to traffic after about 15 minutes. 

The protest comes as Yale officials are expected to meet this weekend to again consider changing the name of Calhoun College, which is named after John C. Calhoun. 

The 1804 Yale graduate was a U.S. vice president and South Carolina senator. The school declined to change the name last year.