The Hastings Saga Continues Friday, March 18, 2022
Serranus Clinton Hastings We have previously blogged about the name-change issue at the Hastings Law School, which is under the UC Regents.* Apparently, no decision has been reached on the name. From the NY Times: A New Name for California’s Oldest Law School? It’s Not Easy. The University of California, Hastings College of the Law has decided to dissociate itself from its founder for his role in massacres of Native Americans. By Thomas Fuller, March 17, 2022
When a New York Times article last year detailed the involvement of the founder of the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in state-sponsored massacres of Indigenous Californians, an outcry ensued. The law school’s board swiftly and unanimously agreed to change the school’s name. But in the months since, university administrators have learned that deleting a tainted name might be the easy part. Choosing a new one is proving to be a fraught and costly process. There is disagreement on what the new name should be, a debate that encapsulates an era in America in which we are reassessing our history, reanalyzing our heroes and trying to agree on who should be honored by institutions — and who should not. A small but vocal group of people at Hastings believe that the university should keep its name after all. “It seems like it would make more sense to use the money for things that would be more beneficial,” said Marsha N. Cohen, a professor at the law school who has also worked in the admissions office. (A spokeswoman for the law school, Liz Moore, says it will cost at least $2 million to $3 million to change the name on building signage, email and web addresses, stationery, brochures and more.) The law school’s board has proposed that the new name should be the University of California, College of the Law, San Francisco, according to David Faigman, the chancellor and dean. “San Francisco is a world-class city, well known for dynamism and innovation — qualities UCLA Faculty Association Blog: First Quarter 2022
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