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A UC Berkeley worker removes Cesar Chavez\u2019s name from the student center Thursday. Credit: Brandon S\u00e1nchez Mejia\/UC Berkeley<\/p>\nA UC Berkeley worker removes Cesar Chavez\u2019s name from the student center Thursday. Credit: Brandon S\u00e1nchez Mejia\/UC Berkeley<\/p>\n
Workers removed C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s name from a UC Berkeley student center on Thursday, according to the university, as the fallout continues from a New York Times investigation that revealed multiple women had accused the formerly-revered farmworker leader of sexually abusing them<\/a>, some while they were teenagers.<\/p>\n The unnaming came after a rapid but formal review by a campus committee<\/a>, including hundreds of public comments that campus officials said overwhelmingly supported removing Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s name from the center.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen these allegations came to light, we moved quickly to do the right thing,\u201d UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons said in a statement. \u201cThe committee\u2019s review was thorough, the community\u2019s voice was overwhelming and the conclusion was clear.\u201d<\/p>\n The center, which was built in 1960 and renamed for Ch\u00e1vez in 1997 after a student campaign, will be called simply the Student Center until a separate renaming process is complete. Ch\u00e1vez died in 1993.<\/p>\n Across California, where Ch\u00e1vez became famous for helping build the United Farm Workers union and leading a nationwide grape boycott to draw attention to farmworkers\u2019 struggles, communities have scrambled to respond to the allegations about his past. His name is being scrubbed from monuments, streets and other landmarks<\/a>, including the Berkeley waterfront park<\/a> that formerly bore it. State leaders rechristened the March 31 holiday in honor of his birthday as Farmworkers Day.<\/p>\n \u201cCredible allegations of sexual abuse, particularly involving women and minors, constitute a profound violation of the core values UC Berkeley upholds,\u201d a group of campus administrators and alumni wrote in their proposal<\/a> to remove Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s name from the student center. The group also suggested that the center ultimately be renamed for fellow farmworker movement icon Dolores Huerta, who built the union with Ch\u00e1vez and others, and is also among the women who have accused him of sexually assaulting them.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the first time UC Berkeley has removed an honoree\u2019s name from a building after reconsidering whether they were worthy of the honor. Historical figures whose names were wiped from university buildings after it was revealed they held racist views or owned slaves include Bernard Moses<\/a>, John and Joseph LeConte, David Prescott Barrows<\/a> and John Henry Boalt<\/a>.<\/p>\n