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Apr 9, 2009 8:23 am US/Eastern
Brown Changes Columbus Day To 'Fall Weekend'
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
Hey Christopher Columbus, what can Brown do for you?
Well, they can take your name off a holiday.
The faculty of Brown University voted to no longer call their traditional fall celebration "Columbus Day" after Native American students on campus complained.
But some Italian American groups are crying foul, saying Columbus deserves to be treated as a hero.
The group "
Native Americans at Brown" were surprised the faculty supported their idea to change the name of Columbus Day to "Fall Weekend" starting in October.
Those students had maintained Columbus should not be celebrated for his violent mistreatment of Native Americans.
The faculty has authority over the academic calendar and Brown officials say they will not intervene.
Several members of Providence area Italian American groups slammed the decision telling
The Providence Journal history books tell us Columbus was friendly to Native Americans and he should still be recognized as the man who discovered America.
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