Jason WhitacreOn the morning of March 19, Santa Ana College President Annebelle Nery sent an email to students and faculty at SAC announcing the immediate covering of multiple large murals and plaques in the Cesar Chavez building. This followed allegations of sexual assault from prolific United Farmworkers of America activist Dolores Huerta against Chavez.
Both large pieces have been temporarily covered with brown butcher paper while decisions are made towards a measured response from the SAC Academic Senate, the Board of Trustees, and ideally their students.
With decades of experience in the SAC art department, Professor Darren Hostetter worked with muralist and alumnus Emigdio Vasquez in 1997 to construct the mural in the now controversially named building. Hostetter has since developed an ongoing relationship with Vasquez’s family and spoke at the Academic Senate meeting to bring their insight to the matter, claiming the family is ready to cover the depictions of Chavez in the mural, while maintaining the painting’s artistic, political and social integrity.
“As co-chair of the art department at SAC, I’m requesting a seat at the table,” Hostetter said, and Academic Senate President Claire Coyne agreed that his inclusion would be appropriate. While discussions about future action were the focus, the subject matter elicited passionate perspectives from those in attendance.
With surprising pushback, Library Faculty member Luis Pedroza spoke about erasing history while attempting to claim acknowledgment of the struggles faced by victims. Another person in attendance directly called out this commentary as tantamount to “victim blaming” and said that mural artistry is inherently impermanent and thus subject to alterations over time.
Added late to the agenda, per the timing of the Chavez revelations, item 8.6 was the last to be addressed in the board meeting. Originally intended to cover only the renaming of the Cesar Chavez building, concerns about the murals and plaques were brought into the conversation by Vice President Tina Arias Miller, and in a motion from Trustee Zeke Hernandez.
“I would move that we eliminate the name of Cesar Chavez on the building on campus, and anything related to Cesar Chavez….and to have the campus, or the Santa Ana College administration, work with the Emigdio Vazquez family to make any changes to the mural,” Hernandez said, a sentiment echoed the following day at an Academic Senate meeting at SAC by Art Professor Darren Hostetter.
Despite productive discussions, no actions will be taken on any projects right away. During the Board of Trustees meeting, Trustee David Crockett noted, “We should not move with haste. We should move in a fashion where we get it right the first time.”
SAC President Annebelle Nery noted that recommendations have been shared with the Facilities and Safety department, as well as school governance groups, which will go to the college council. Making it clear, “we want to follow the Senate recommendation for the murals.”
Throughout the Board of Trustees and Academic Senate meetings, the importance of students was brought up several times. However, SAC students’ thoughts on changes to the mural were never mentioned.
Civil Engineering major Melina said, “I don’t want the face of somebody with those accusations depicted at my school.” This sentiment has been echoed by many student groups, but it isn’t the exclusive feeling about the murals.
Across campus, diverse opinions reminiscent of comments made in the Academic Senate meeting were heard among students. Enrique, a graphic design major, feels the mural represents Mexican-American history and should be kept as is. “His image changes, and nothing changes. That image is not him, because he’s gone. [Dolores Huerta’s] words are against nobody, so it doesn’t make sense. You have to keep it, for the farmworkers.”
This discussion is just the beginning of an ongoing process, with important decisions to consider about victims, families, artistic presentation, historical education, and more topics that have yet to be presented. As these discussions move forward, the impact of these conversations on victims and the necessity of their stories being told and believed was raised across multiple agenda items. Importance and awareness are clearly being considered before any permanent decisions are made.
Trustee John Hanna went on record at the end of the meeting:
“When you have to put away the image of somebody who led the fight for social justice for so long, it aches my heart. This is life. You have people who have done great things in their community or their nation, but then they do some very terrible things…We, as leaders, have to set examples. Sometimes it’s not our enemies that we have to slap down, sometimes it’s our friends, or the memory of our friends.”
