FULLERTON : Calling for Honor to Be Set in Stone

Carrying the red flags of the United Farm Workers of America and a banner stating, “Viva Cesar Chavez,” more than 350 people marched through the Cal State Fullerton campus Tuesday, demanding that a 5-month-old building be named after the late labor leader.

Their voices thundered in the halls and walkways with shouts of “Si se puede!” (Yes it can be done!)

The two-hour demonstration was highlighted by a speech from a niece of Chavez, who remembered her uncle as a “humble hero and courageous warrior.”

“My tio (uncle) wasn’t able to go beyond the eighth grade” because his parents depended on his wages to survive, said Juanita Chavez, 23, a San Francisco State University student.

“But he was self-taught and well-read because he had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. So it is fitting that his legacy be continued at colleges and universities by students who have the opportunity that he never had,” said Chavez, whose university recently named its student center after her uncle.

Other colleges and universities throughout the country have named buildings in honor of the founder of the United Farm Workers union. Chavez, who died in April, 1993, was known for leading consumer boycotts of farm products and staging hunger strikes to publicize the working conditions of Central Valley farm workers.

In the late 1960s, Chavez launched a grape boycott that is still supported to press for stronger protections against pesticides and better working conditions for migrant workers.

“The work that Cesar Chavez did for the poor is respected all over the nation,” said Monica Hernandez, a 25-year-old Cal State Fullerton student and an organizer of the demonstration. “We want to honor him because he exemplifies public service with a commitment to community, youth and education.”

More than 25 campus groups including MEChA, the Sociology Student Assn., the African Student Alliance, the Filipino Student Assn. and the Chicano Poet Society organized the event in which they urged administrators to name the building for Chavez.

The Chicano Studies Department submitted the request to the Naming of the University Hall committee earlier this year.

“Cesar Chavez set a moral direction for all of us to follow and is seen as an individual who dedicated his life to helping others, and I think those values ought to be a part of our university,” said Isaac Cardenas, chairman of the Chicano Studies Department. “That’s why we should pay tribute to Cesar Chavez.”

Robert A. Emry, the committee’s chairman and head of the speech communication department, said members are considering four proposals.

He would not reveal the names under consideration, saying the information is confidential. But he said the committee will make a recommendation to the university’s president before December.

Emry said most university buildings are named after former presidents or people who have donated money to help construct them.