A gathering of more than 150 people gave The Voice of Lupe a warm embrace during the Nov. 12 dedication ceremony for the ceramic mural sculpture.

Speakers celebrated this new Lupe as a strong representation of Latina women’s contributions to history and society, and as a symbol of diversity and inclusion.

AN ALUMNI CENTAR FOR ALL

With The Voice of Lupe’s installation, Rich Engel hopes all alumni can now find their way “home” to the Walter A. Buehler Alumni Center.

Engel ’90 and Ed. Cred, ’91, assistant vice chancellor of Alumni Relations, said the “Lupe” song led to a 40-year disconnect within the campus community, “and because of that disconnect we’ve lost a part of our alumni who don’t use the alumni center as their home.”

The Voice of Lupe is meant to help heal, Engel said, but does that mean we are erasing the past? “Never,” he said in his remarks at the sculpture’s dedication ceremony.

The sculpture, he said, is “a testament to the past and a commitment to our future,” and the Buehler center as a place where current students and all of the university’s 240,000-plus alumni “can come to reflect on their past associations with UC Davis, celebrate where we are today and stand hand in hand in guiding the campus to the future.”

Adam Wiegand, AGR president, agreed. After accompanying alumna Rosa Estremera into the AGR Room after the dedication ceremony, he said: “We are pleased to see Mrs. Estremera join us in the room. It has always been for everyone.”

“With the dedication of The Voice of Lupe, we are setting forth for the world to see that we are committed to building a community that honors and celebrates all of its members, that cherishes our differences, and that fosters a spirit of civility, equity and justice,” Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi said.

The Voice of Lupe “affirms that we all belong here, that we all deserve respect, that we can draw great strength from our community, and that we are committed to a brighter future for ourselves and for those that come after us. As we strive to live up to these principles, Lupe’s voice becomes our own.

“With Lupe we attest that progress is possible, hope is more powerful than hate, and it is never too late for reconciliation and restitution.”

The ‘Lupe’ song

The Voice of Lupe stands up to the injustice of the “Lupe” song that the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity had assigned its pledges to memorize in 1975. The racist and sexist lyrics surfaced publicly in the fall of that year — and the Chicano/Latino community and others marched in protest.

The fraternity apologized, but there was no undoing the pain — which flared up again in 1992 when the AGR Room opened as part of the new Buehler Alumni Center. Many people wanted nothing to do with the room.

Griselda Castro, addressing the dedication ceremony, described the long road to a reconciliation agreement — a process that she guided while serving as an assistant vice chancellor for Student Affairs.

“We knew that it couldn’t be a top-down decision, that it had to come from the community,” she said.

And it did, the result of extensive engagement. The two-part agreement called for the Lupe Social Justice Scholarships, established in 2007-08, given to first-generation university students from farmworker backgrounds; and a piece of public art.

Then came more community collaboration, under Castro's guidance, to settle on a design. And, although Castro officially retired in 2012, she supervised the project to completion and dedication, working out of the provost’s office.

The end result: The Voice of Lupe that sits in the Buehler Alumni Center’s courtyard, right outside the AGR Room.

Conversation and learning continue

“The AGR Room Reconciliation Agreement,” Castro said, “is a testament to what can happen when members of the campus community come together to have difficult conversations and resolve differences.”

“It is a testimony to the healing power of acknowledging history and committing to never letting something like this happen again at UC Davis.”

The Voice of Lupe’s installation, Castro said, “is not meant to be the end of the conversation, but rather, a beginning, a point of departure for further learning and dialogue about issues of race, class, gender and sexual violence on our campus and in society at large.”

Ralph J. Hexter, provost and executive vice chancellor, said The Voice of Lupe may have been inspired by injustice toward the Latino/Chicano community and women, but “it speaks for people from all backgrounds and affiliations who have suffered injustice, disrespect and marginalization in our society.”

The Voice of Lupe “emphasizes the value and dignity and potential of Chicana/Latina women — and, by extension, the value and dignity and potential of our society as a whole.”

Further, the sculpture reminds that “we must hear and remember the stories of a particular community, of each group and individual, in order to learn the lessons that they teach.”

Song does not represent today’s AGR

Michael Gardella ’82, AGR chapter adviser, said from the podium: “We acknowledge and apologize for the injury and harmful impact the 1975 song has had on the Latino and campus communities throughout the years.

“The original song recitation was indeed hurtful, and, regrettably, a part of the fraternity’s past, but it does not represent the values and principles of the current undergraduate members and alumni of the chapter. That said, we fully appreciate the role the current AGR plays in the healing process.”

He said the fraternity fully supports the idealism of The Voice of Lupe sculpture “that honors and celebrates the role of Latina women in our state’s history and society.”

“On behalf of the AGR organization, we look forward to continued communication and collaboration with all members of the university community while building mutual respect and understanding that everyone deserves.” 

AGR escorts alumna into room

Rosa Estremera gave her perspective as a student in 1975, when the “Lupe” lyrics leaked out, and as a former UC Davis employee who felt discomfort the three or four times she went inside the AGR Room.

Addressing Castro and Susan Shelton, who created The Voice of Lupe, Estremera said: “Susan, I want to tell you how healing this work has been for me, personally. I am so moved by the work that you and Griselda have put into this, by the students who had input into the design. It is an incredible piece, a beautiful tribute to Latina woman.”

Estremera welcomed AGR members’ participation in the ceremony and commended their courage in acknowledging the wrongs of past members, even though, she said, the present-day fraternity was not responsible for those wrongs.

“And at long last I can go into the AGR Room with you.”

And she did, after the ceremony. Two AGR undergraduates offered their arms, Estremera held on, and the group entered the room.

“I was happy to go in there with them,” Estremera said afterward. “They want to make a different legacy for themselves.”

Gardella, one of the AGR alumni who accompanied Estremera, said later: “It was and still is a very emotional moment for me to know that I was able to assist someone to come to peace with past injustices.”

Earlier coverage

“UC Davis gives voice to ‘Lupe’ — and she has a lot to say,” Dateline UC Davis (Nov. 10, 2015)

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