Department Statement

Department Statement – Name Removal

March 19, 2026

This statement is issued by the faculty of the Department of Chicana/o and Central American Studies at University of California, Los Angeles and reflects the unanimous position of the department members who participated in the vote. This statement does not represent the position of UCLA, or the University of California as a whole. Individual faculty members retain their own views, and this statement should not be attributed to the University, the campus, or any other university unit.

Message from CCAS Faculty 

The Department of Chicana/o and Central American Studies denounces the acts of sexual and gender-based violence committed by César E. Chávez against women and girls, those who have spoken out and those who may still carry their silence. We honor and believe the survivors. After meeting as faculty and with graduate and undergraduate students, we are taking actions to permanently remove the César E. Chávez name from our department knowing this is just one step of many to come. While the name was adopted in 1994 as part of the Hunger Strike agreement to honor the struggles of students, community members, and farmworkers in the creation of Chicana/o studies at UCLA, this name has ceased to represent the politics, philosophies, and praxis of social justice we are committed to as a Chicana/o and Central American Studies department. In an emergency meeting, the faculty voted immediately and unanimously to remove the name. The department’s recommendation to remove the name will be addressed through established university processes.

Many of us have been heartbroken to read the testimonies of Ana Murguia, Debra Rojas, and Dolores Huerta. Their courage in naming the violence committed against them by César E. Chávez is critical to creating more space for survivors to continue coming forward and demanding accountability from perpetrators. We are grateful to them for that courage.

This news has also been triggering for many of us who know that the violence of misogyny and heteropatriarchy manifests not only in social movements, but in our institutions of education and justice. Healing will be a long process but as a department we reaffirm our support for the ongoing student, farmworking, and labor organizing that uplifts marginalized voices. True to our mission we will move forward without invoking the name of an individual who used his power to harm women and children.

Matthew Alejandro Barreto

Alicia Gaspar de Alba

Leisy Abrego

Chris Zepeda Millan

Laura Chávez-Moreno

Jason De León

Genevieve Carpio

Veronica Terriquez

Raul Hinojosa

Kency Cornejo

Yessica Garcia Hernandez

Floridalma Boj Lopez

Robert Chao Romero

Maylei Blackwell

Hector Calderon

Karina Alma