Following Yale University, Georgetown University, and the trend of politically correct college campuses, Vanderbilt University Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos announced on Monday that Confederate Memorial Hall would be renamed to simply Memorial Hall.

The university will have to return a donation from the Tennessee Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy to remove the word 'Confederate' from the name. Vanderbilt will pay $1.2 million in present day value for the $50,000 the group contributed in 1933.

In his announcement, Zeppos said that "the residence hall bearing the inscription Confederate Memorial Hall has been a symbol of exclusion, and a divisive contradiction of our hopes and dreams of being a truly great and inclusive university."

He claims the name not only "spoke to a past of racial segregation, slavery, and the terrible conflict over the unrealized high ideals of our nation and our university, and looms over a present that continues to struggle to end the tragic effects of racial segregation and strife," but is inconsistent with the mission of Vanderbilt.

According to Zeppos, the school cannot "continue to strive for that diverse and inclusive community where we educate the leaders that our communities, nation, and world so desperately need" unless the hall's name is changed.

Vanderbilt Student Government president Ariana Fowler commended the decision.

"This action demonstrates the administration’s attentiveness to student needs and concerns, as well as sets a great precedent for advocating on behalf of those who may feel marginalized on our campus. This is an excellent next step in the direction of becoming an institution that not only admits diverse students, but ensures their care and support—one that is eager to eliminate any barriers that may stand in the way of such a goal," she said.

As schools are prone to do when faced with a troubling history, Vanderbilt put together a committee to study the issue and make recommendations. Similarly, Zeppos also spoke of "establish[ing] a major annual conference on race, reconciliation, and reunion."

"In removing this pediment, we are not seeking to rewrite history or to avoid the questions that should be asked of Vanderbilt and of our nation. We are realizing the truth—that we have the privilege every day to teach, to learn, and, indeed, to make history," he said.

Unlike Zeppos, the administration from Princeton and alumni from Amherst College have recognized the ramifications of attempting to re-write history.