Colegio Cesar Chavez - Legacy

Legacy

"We were establishing a Chicano college in a community that had been hostile to Cesar Chavez and what the name and the movement meant, a community that viewed Spanish-speakers more as farm workers and not as college students, a community that liked to drive by at night and shoot bullet holes in our signs. But we made it, and we gave the community – not just the one in the Willamette Valley but throughout the state – something to rally about. I recently made a trip to Mt. Angel and discovered that in a way it is still alive. The murals are still there and the campus is in good shape. The sisters have reopened it as a residence for farm workers. When I see that the buildings are being used and that there are farm workers living in the dorms, and that there are training programs going on and that there’s shelter there, I feel it wasn’t a lost cause." – Jose Romero, co-founder of Colegio Cesar Chavez

After the closure of Colegio Cesar Chavez, the facilities and grounds were left unused and abandoned for several years. Eventually, a private benefactor purchased the former Colegio grounds and facilities and donated it back to its pre-Colegio owners, the Benedictine Sisters of Mt. Angel. Today, the former Colegio grounds and facilities are used as St. Joseph Shelter. Shortly after reclaiming ownership of the former Colegio building, the Benedictine Sisters had all but one Colegio-era mural painted over. The one remaining mural is titled "College Without Walls" and was created by Daniel Desiga. The mural depicts an arch entry overlooking a vast strawberry field. The arch has been interpreted as representing the college without walls program of Colegio, and the vast strawberry field in the background is likely a reference to the field workers and the fact that many Colegio teachers and students had either worked in the fields or were from families who had survived by means of field work. The mural is found on the wall near the entrance to the former Colegio building, just outside of the receptionist's office.

In his book Colegio Cesar Chavez, 1973-1983: A Chicano Struggle for Educational Self-Determination, to date the only full-length book about Colegio, author Carlos Maldonado writes that Colegio was often referred to as "the longest running death in history", and that study of Colegio Cesar Chavez will "help promoters of new ethnic institutions to raise questions of feasibility, anticipate problems, and provide direction in the establishment of new and more sophisticated institutions." Maldonado claims that Colegio's staff was small and relatively inexperienced and therefore unprepared for the challenges of starting a new college. Eventually the staff succumbed to infighting. Maldonado also claims that it was difficult to foster an on-campus sense of community among staff and students because Colegio was a college-without-walls program. The author notes that Colegio was founded during a time of downturn in activism in the Chicano Movement. Colegio was founded during a period of growing political conservatism marked by less federal support for cultural programs. Colegio was founded in a small rural town whose population largely disliked Colegio's predecessor of Mount Angel College and therefore saw Colegio as an extension of Mount Angel College. The surrounding community was relatively prejudiced against Mexican Americans. Lastly, Colegio was named in honor of a man many local farm owners found controversial.

"One of the larger paintings at the colegio depicts a seemingly endless abundantly fertile field. As with so many of the murals, the sun is a significant component; here, it plays just beyond the horizon, with the overall warmth and seductiveness of the image suggesting the promise of an imminent sunrise rather than a sunset. The scene is viewed through a golden portal set on a patio in the foreground and may represent, as PSU’s (Tony) Cabello suggests, the opportunity that is possible for the immigrant to el norte. The painting abuts another portal – the main entrance to the colegio building – providing an ironic contrast to the short-lived promise of opportunity embodied in the colegio’s operation."

On its website the Oregon Historical Society writes, "Structured as a 'college-without-walls,' more than 100 students took classes in Chicano Studies, early childhood development, and adult education. Significant financial and administrative problems caused Colegio to close in 1983. Its history represents the success of a grassroots movement." In an interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting, Joseph Gallegos, an early faculty member of Colegio Cesar Chavez, claims that during the 1970s and 1980s "the Colegio was a critical symbol of our presence, the Latino presence here in the state, and also I think trying to bring attention to the problem the Colegio was trying to address, that Latinos were not getting through the four-year institutions." Cesar Chavez's United Farmworkers union is not present in the state of Oregon. Instead, the main union for farm workers in the state of Oregon is Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste. The meetings which led to the formation of PCUN were held at Colegio Cesar Chavez. PCUN's founder, the late Cipriano Ferrel, attended Colegio Cesar Chavez.

" It would be difficult to make the case that Colegio Cesar Chavez played a significant role in the history of U.S. higher education.... As a symbol, however, it was very important. For five years, the Colegio's struggle for survival was a recurring front-page news story in the Pacific Northwest, and its leaders became well known to the public.... While there was more to the Chicano movement in the Pacific Northwest in the mid-1970s than the struggle of the Colegio, no other component of that movement attracted as much public attention." -- May, Glenn Anthony. "Sonny Montes and Mexican American Activism in Oregon." Oregon State University Press. 2011. Page 164. ISBN 978-0-87071-600-3.

In an article titled "The USS Non-Violence: Truly honoring Cesar Chavez", Victor Paredes writes that Cesar Chavez cared deeply about education. Paredes concludes, "Thus the greatest honor he may have received during his lifetime was the opening of the Colegio Cesar Chavez in Oregon."