One of Boise State’s most utilized roadways may soon carry a new name.
The school announced in an email sent to faculty, staff and students that the university is considering renaming Cesar Chavez Lane in light of recent findings.
A recent New York Times report brought allegations of sexual assault and rape against former labor rights activist Cesar Chavez.
Chavez who is among the most venerated figures in the Latino civil rights movement, founded the United Farm Workers of America, the largest farmworkers union in the United States.
According to the report from the Times, Ana Murguia and Debra Rojas said they were sexually abused by Chavez repeatedly between 1972 and 1977. Both women were minors at the time.
The findings quickly sparked an outcry as entities nationwide have moved to scrub Chavez’s name from notable infrastructure. In Los Angeles, two schools bearing Chavez’s name are already in the process of being renamed. Additionally, the state of California renamed Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworkers Day, ahead of the March 31 holiday.
Back home, Boise State officials are evaluating a potential name change of the school’s Cesar Chavez Lane.
“In response to these allegations, university leadership will seek input from the campus community regarding a potential name change for this campus road,” the university said in a press release.
Cesar Chavez Lane was formerly called Campus Lane until a student-led campaign in 2006 pushed for its renaming after Chavez.
This campaign was partially born out of the 2004 renaming of The Pavilion to Taco Bell Arena (now Extra Mile Arena). At the time, Taco Bell faced scrutiny over its lack of response to a tomato worker’s strike in Florida.
As previously reported by The Arbiter on March 6, 2006, Boise State applied for Campus Lane to rename Cesar Chavez Lane. That same day, Laurence Blake, BSU’s planning director at the time, sent an email to the City of Boise requesting the name change to be approved.
While other entities across the country have moved quickly to rename roads and schools, Boise State said the name change could take some time.
“If a name change is pursued, the university will follow Ada County and the City of Boise’s formal process, which could take a few months,” the university said in a press release.
The university said further information and updates will be shared in the coming weeks as feedback is collected from faculty, staff and student government via a survey.
