University of Texas-El Paso Refuses to Honor Cesar Chavez Day as a Holiday
Cesar Chavez, who pioneered labor rights for immigrant farm workers in the south west, is a revered figure among all who champion civil and worker rights. He provided a voice for thousands of people who toil in one of the most important, but least protected, occupations in our country. And the union he founded, United Farm Workers, continues to champion diverse immigrant rights causes to this day. For many of us, Chavez’s life work serves as inspirational and instructional.
But in Texas, there is a risk that future generations won’t learn about Chavez’s legacy. First, the state’s conservative school board scrubbed textbooks clean of any mention, ensuring elementary, and middle school students will have to learn about him elsewhere. And now the University of Texas-El Paso, a diverse school where 76% of the students are Latino, has removed Cesar Chavez Day from its calendar. Without any input from the students, the school made its decision behind closed doors.
But students didn’t take the news sitting down. They formed a Students for Cesar Chavez coalition and immediately contacted the United Farm Workers Union, which is behind the action to reinstate Cesar Chavez Day at UTEP. “The removal of Cesar Chavez Holiday from the list of days dedicated to mark important events is not merely administrative, but an act with deep consequences. [In light of the school board actions,] this makes UTEP’s leading role even more important,” Adrian Rivera, one of the student organizers, told UFW.
University donors have also taken action. During a gathering of about 150 student leaders and community activists that was “reminiscent of the 1970s Chicano movement” according to the Houston Chronicle, the former CEO of a medical center, Peter Duarte, announced he was withdrawing future financial support to the university. He was previously given a Golden Nugget Award from UTEP for his large financial contributions.
UFW also reports that the university “receives much of its federal and private grant funds” because of its diverse population, so it’s not inconceivable that the decision not to remove Cesar Chavez Day will have further economic consequences.
It’s time for the university to listen to students who want to honor the contributions of a central figure in our collective history. Demand that the University of Texas-El Paso president reinstate Cesar Chavez Day.
Photo Credit: Cliff 1066
Cesar Chavez, who pioneered labor rights for immigrant farm workers in the south west, is a revered figure among all who champion civil and worker rights. He provided a voice for thousands of people who toil in one of the most important, but least protected, occupations in our country. And the union he founded, United Farm Workers, continues to champion diverse immigrant rights causes to this day. For many of us, Chavez’s life work serves as inspirational and instructional.
But in Texas, there is a risk that future generations won’t learn about Chavez’s legacy. First, the state’s conservative school board scrubbed textbooks clean of any mention, ensuring elementary, and middle school students will have to learn about him elsewhere. And now the University of Texas-El Paso, a diverse school where 76% of the students are Latino, has removed Cesar Chavez Day from its calendar. Without any input from the students, the school made its decision behind closed doors.
But students didn’t take the news sitting down. They formed a Students for Cesar Chavez coalition and immediately contacted the United Farm Workers Union, which is behind the action to reinstate Cesar Chavez Day at UTEP. “The removal of Cesar Chavez Holiday from the list of days dedicated to mark important events is not merely administrative, but an act with deep consequences. [In light of the school board actions,] this makes UTEP’s leading role even more important,” Adrian Rivera, one of the student organizers, told UFW.
University donors have also taken action. During a gathering of about 150 student leaders and community activists that was “reminiscent of the 1970s Chicano movement” according to the Houston Chronicle, the former CEO of a medical center, Peter Duarte, announced he was withdrawing future financial support to the university. He was previously given a Golden Nugget Award from UTEP for his large financial contributions.
UFW also reports that the university “receives much of its federal and private grant funds” because of its diverse population, so it’s not inconceivable that the decision not to remove Cesar Chavez Day will have further economic consequences.
It’s time for the university to listen to students who want to honor the contributions of a central figure in our collective history. Demand that the University of Texas-El Paso president reinstate Cesar Chavez Day.
Photo Credit: Cliff 1066
Gabriela Garcia is a freelance writer who has written for Latina, the Miami New Times, National Geographic Traveler blog, and Matador Network blogs, amongst other publications.