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Ester Riveria, a student at the College of Continuing Education’s Cesar E. Chavez Campus, expressed her frustration with the San Diego Community College District Board of Trustees’ decision to possibly change the name of the campus.
The consideration came the labor organizer, who died in 1993 at the age of 66, was accused of sexually abusing young girls and women dating back to the 1960s, according to a New York Times investigation published March 18.
“I am proud to have studied at this school,” Rivera said in Spanish. “It is very important to me to have been at this school that bears the name of the social activist who, at this very moment, has been executed without having had a trial first.”
Riveria was one of 10 speakers making public comments at the SDCCD Board of Trustees meeting on April 6, when trustees heard from the community and district on the possible name change of the campus.
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The Cesar E. Chavez Campus, which is located in Barrio Logan and serves students in the SDCCD’s College of Continuing Education, has carried the name since it opened in 2015.
Members of the community, including district professors and students, delivered 20 minutes of public comments before the Board of Trustees discussed the issue.
The board also received written comments from individuals unable to attend the meeting, all in support of the name change.
After a motion to temporarily change the name to Harbor View Campus of Continuing Education by Chancellor Greg Smith and Board President Geysil Arroyo, the Board unanimously voted on the change.
A day later, Smith shared the news with the district in an email, and the campus’s website reflected the change as well.
“Consistent with our individual and District values, the Board unanimously elected to remove Chavez’s name from the campus effectively immediately,” he wrote.
Before deciding on the name change, SDCCD community members offered competing visions of how to move forward.
“Dolores Huerta often came to my family’s house for dinner in the 80s,” Olivia Flores, a former professor at the Cesar E. Chavez Campus, said in a public comment. “I got to know her as a young teen. I stand in support of changing the name of this campus to reflect the legacy of the labor movement, Chicano, Latino (and) Filipino workers, and the farmers of today.”
Flores grounded her support in personal experience, shifting focus from one figure to the broader farmworker efforts.
Some proposed renaming the campus “Sí se puede” to honor the movement’s slogan, coined by Huerta.
The majority of attendees insisted on renaming it not to reflect the name of a person, but rather the movement or the Barrio Logan community.
“We can’t idealize those in the movement,” said Shakerra Carter, vice president of student affairs at Cesar E. Chavez Campus, during public comment. “Everyone is human, and everyone is going to make some sort of mistake, and we can’t glorify anyone.”
Arroyo acknowledged the tension, emphasizing that Chavez’s individual actions do not define the Latine community.
“As a Mexicana, I want to be clear that removing his name does not remove us from who we are and what we represent in this country,” Arroyo said.
To ensure as many voices in the community have the opportunity to be heard, the district plans to take time during the fall 2026 semester to gather input, according to Smith in his email to the SDCCD community.
The decision will also include the review of visual elements on campus associated with Chavez and establish a process to define a permanent name before the end of the fall 2026 semester.
The board’s decision follows a larger statewide reaction to these allegations.
In late March, California legislators urgently passed a bill renaming Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworkers Day last month, shifting toward honoring farmworkers and activists collectively.
Editor’s note: City Times Media has updated its style guide to standardize the use of the word Chicane and/or Latine when referring to people together who identify as a person from, or whose ancestors were from, a Latin American land or culture. The Associated Press Stylebook recommends using the word Chicano/Latino.
This story was edited by Nadia Lavin and Tresean Osgood.
