This post was updated March 19 at 10:45 a.m.
UCLA’s Chicana/o studies department unanimously voted Wednesday afternoon to remove César E. Chávez from its name following sexual abuse allegations against the labor leader.
Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda, the chair of the department of Chicana/o studies, said in an emailed statement that the department made the decision at an emergency meeting Wednesday. However, only Chancellor Julio Frenk and UC President James Milliken have the authority to rename UCLA properties and programs, according to University policy.
The Chicana/o studies department removed César E. Chávez from its name on its website as of Wednesday evening. However, Chávez remains on the website’s URL. The department also removed his name from its Instagram and plans to take it off any other online domains and places it has control over, Hinojosa-Ojeda said in an interview.
The move came after the New York Times published an investigation Wednesday morning revealing that Chávez, a leader in the Latino civil rights movement, sexually abused minors and fellow labor and civil rights leader Dolores Huerta, who was a UC Regent, in the 1960s and 1970s.
Chávez, who died in 1993, co-founded the National Farmworkers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers, alongside Huerta in 1962. UFW – the country’s longest enduring union representing farmworkers – organized national boycotts and protests calling for higher wages and improved working conditions for agricultural employees throughout the 1960s.
A UCLA spokesperson said in an emailed statement that departmental renaming requests are addressed through university processes.
“UCLA is aware of the serious allegations that have been reported and is deeply troubled by them,” the spokesperson said in the statement. “We stand with survivors of sexual assault.”
UCLA administrators were supportive of the name change and have expressed gratitude and cooperation with the department so far, Hinojosa-Ojeda said. He added that he hopes administrators approve the name change as quickly as possible.
“The sentiment of the faculty and the students is very much on prioritizing the victims and celebrating their courage at this moment, including Dolores Huerta and the two other members that came forward,” he said. “It was also a strong unanimous sentiment that this type of violence must cease and must be identified and called out and attacked whenever it occurs, and we’re leading by example of our principles.”
Hinojosa-Ojeda also said in the emailed statement that the Chicana/o department held a follow-up meeting with undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty, to discuss the department’s decision and how to maintain its mission in the future. He added in the interview that about 60 students attended and that the response to the removal of Chávez’s name was wholly positive.
“We take this vote and we make these statements as painful as they may be because we have exhibiting zero tolerance for any type of abuse of women and children and other groups,” he said. “We mean what we say, and we hold it up in this swift manner as an example, not only in the university but frankly on the national, international scale, given that these types of issues and revelations are occurring all over the world at the current time.”
Hinojosa-Ojeda said that though the department does not have any classes that specifically teach about Chávez, professors will address the ramifications of Chávez’s abuse in their classes. He added that the department did not previously have plans to honor César Chávez Day and will not hold any events.
Hinojosa-Ojeda said the department is currently discussing honoring Huerta in its name, adding that she was an integral part of the department’s founding and frequented it often.
“The recognition that a lot of people are making is that it (recognizing Huerta) would be a very obvious and strong statement of the continuity of principles and values, … addressing the nature of the current trauma and healing process,” he said.
The department may hold forums and events to spark conversation about the issue with the greater UCLA community, Hinojosa-Ojeda said.
The Chicana/o studies department was not the only academic program to rebuke Chávez’s actions Wednesday.
The Latino Policy and Politics Institute, which is housed in the Luskin School of Public Affairs, said in a Wednesday LinkedIn statement that it acknowledges the pain that allegations against Chávez have caused. LPPI added in the statement that it supports the victims who survived sexual violence.
“We strongly believe that the legacy of the farmworker movement has never belonged to any one person,” LPPI said in the statement. “It was built through the sacrifice, leadership, and persistence of thousands of farmworkers and their families and communities who fought for safer working conditions, fair treatment, and basic human dignity.”
Veronica Terriquez, the director of the Chicano Studies Research Center, said in a Wednesday statement that she believes that the testimonies represent the historical overlooking of violence against women, adding that she commends the courage of the victims in sharing their stories.
“We must be unequivocal: the allegations of sexual violence against César Chávez are deeply disturbing and profoundly troubling and have caused great pain to everyone impacted,” Terriquez said in the statement. “As in the case of Jeffrey Epstein and his network, we must confront abuse without regard for power, status, or reputation.”
Diego Bollo, the president of the Undergraduate Students Association Council, condemned Chávez’s actions in a Wednesday afternoon statement and pledged solidarity with victims of sexual abuse.
“I am committed to ensuring USAC prioritizes working with students, faculty, staff, and alumni to call on Chancellor Julio Frenk and UC President James Milliken to address this injustice and ensure that he is not honored through official departmental and university recognition,” Bollo said in the statement.
He added in the statement that the council is pushing for UCLA’s Committee on Honorific Namings to recommend the renaming of the Student Activities Center to Dolores Huerta Hall, honoring Huerta for her work for farmers and as a former member of the UC Board of Regents. The committee was created to evaluate how campus spaces can better reflect UCLA’s diversity and values, according to the UCLA administrative vice chancellor’s website.
“We must honor all leaders within social movements while standing firmly with those who have struggled and continue to fight for dignity and justice,” Bollo said in the statement. “A movement is always about people, not a singular person. No one’s legacy is above law and accountability.”
Six other USAC officers also released a letter in a joint social media post Wednesday evening calling upon UCLA administrators and Hinojosa-Ojeda to rename the department of Chicana/o studies in honor of Huerta.
“The names our institution chooses to elevate are not merely symbolic, but declarations of our values, our priorities, and our commitments to the communities we serve,” the officers said in the statement. “To honor Dolores Huerta is to recognize both her historic contributions and the broader reality of women whose labor has sustained movements while their voices were diminished.”
