A statue of César Chávez used to stand on the steps leading to the central plaza at California State University, San Marcos (CSUSM), greeting students as they headed to class.
"The idea when it was put here, I think, to help motivate students,” CSUSM second-year student Hailey Soto said Friday.
She said the statue had been an integral part of campus life.
“People would rub his shoulder for good luck or leave little gifts for finals week,” she said.
The statue was removed overnight Thursday. Now, only discolored blotches of cement remain.
In a statement, the university said it removed the statue because it has become a "symbol of pain" for sexual assault survivors.
"Cal State San Marcos will always stand and support survivors of sexual assault and abuse," the statement read.
“I’m glad it’s gone,” Soto said, adding that she felt conflicted at how fast the university acted after the allegations came to light on Wednesday.
“Some people were thinking like, interesting how it's a person of color compared to like how Confederate statues took a long time, like years to take out,” she said.
Graduate student Jonathan Hamann said everyone he’s talked to agreed that the statue should be removed, but that the action of one man shouldn’t tarnish the farmworkers’ movement.
“I think the school's decision to divorce the ideas from the man, it's a good move to basically say that the movement that he started is bigger than him now,” he said.
At Southwestern College in the South Bay, Chávez' name was taken off the student services building and his name was covered up on the signs in front of the building.
And what couldn’t be removed is now covered up. Southwestern student Genesis Dominguez, had mixed feelings about that.
“I feel very complicated about it," she said. "Just because as a Puente student, we hear a lot about César Chávez and so many of them, great Mexican historical figures, Hispanic historical figures. So it being removed is a bit heartbreaking.”
The Puente Projects provide academic counseling and mentoring to disadvantaged students to help them transfer to a four-year university.
Southwestern College chief of staff Anita Encarnación said the decision to remove Chávez' name from the building was made after feedback from students and staff.
“We want our students to know that they're on a campus that, responds proactively, that they can come here and know that they are going to be safe," she said. "And that we're not waiting for them to tell us they need to be safe.”
The reaction on campus has been overwhelmingly positive, Encarnación said. As for whose name should replace Chavez, she said that decision will come later.
At CSUSM, the university said it will convene a campus group to determine what to replace the statue with.
"We will also continue to create opportunities for our campus community to come together — for support and reflection," the university said in an emailed statement.
Some students already have ideas.
“I would like to see a statue of a woman,” Soto said.
“I think they should, put up Dolores. She was the one of the cofounders,” Hamman said.
