Students want new classes to accompany new name
Lee Hernandez - May 1st, 2008In 1939, the son of a poor immigrant miner graduated from what was then called the Arizona State Teachers College in Flagstaff (NAU).
Waiting tables and backbreaking labor paid for an education that would ultimately put Raul H. Castro into the highest office in the state of Arizona.
Castro served as governor of Arizona from 1975 to 1977 before becoming the United States Ambassador to Argentina. Castro’s determination and hard work gave him the opportunity to become a lawyer, foreign diplomat and governor.
Now, Arizona’s one and only Latino governor has a monument to his success as an NAU alumnus.
A ceremony in honor of the former governor on Feb. 15 made Castro’s name a permanent part of the NAU landscape.
The Social and Behavioral Sciences Building is now the Raul H. Castro Social and Behavioral Sciences Building.
Michael Stevenson, dean of the SBS, said even though Castro attended NAU before the SBS was built, his success is a model for a lot of the programs that exist now.
“The desire to honor Gov. Castro was probably made in part because of the classes that this building houses in particular, “ Stevenson said.
Stevenson said renaming the school could have certainly been done a long time ago, but cannot attest to why it took so long.
“At least as its (SBS) current dean, I thought the naming of the building was perfectly appropriate and a coup for us to have someone of Gov. Castro’s stature be one of the people that we honor,” Stevenson said. “Could we have done it earlier? Probably.”
Castro’s great success as a politician and foreign dignitary provides inspiration for students in SBS programs, Stevenson said. Someone came up from modest means to rise to the position of governor.
“He is exactly the kind of role model that I hope our current students look up to,” Stevenson said.
Future plans for the nearly 40-year-old SBS Building have not been decided, but Stevenson said he hopes Castro’s name will permanently be associated with the SBS.
“At this point I do not know if the name will stick,” Stevenson said. “I am hopeful that in the not-too-distant future the SBS will have a new building to inhabit. I would be very surprised if the name did not carry over even if they (NAU) decided to rebuild the SBS.”
Stevenson said he hopes naming the SBS after a prominent Latino figure speaks to the Latino and Latina population at NAU even if the decision was not made intentionally for that purpose.
“I hope the Latino students see the renaming as an indication that we value the contributions that Latino culture has made to Flagstaff and NAU,” Stevenson said.
Some Latino students think it is a good thing to see Latino’s honored as an important part of the university, but said at the same time it may be a little superficial.
“It is good to see his name up there,” said Eduardo Mendoza, a junior criminal justice major. “But what would be nicer is to see more diverse classes, or a Chicano studies major would be amazing.”
Mendoza said after visiting U of A two years ago and seeing the Cesar E. Chavez building accompanied by a hugely diverse Latino studies program, he wanted something similar at NAU.
“I was in awe when I saw the building and classes there,” Mendoza said. “It was a very positive thing for me. We need that here (NAU).”
Diversity is huge on Mendoza’s agenda and he said the building rededication is a start, but the school can do more to back up what they boast.
“If I were coming here for the first time and saw his (Castro’s) name on the sign, I would think this is a school that is really into Latino studies and diversity,” Mendoza said. “But going here I know it is not, and that is a letdown. NAU is not as diverse as they think they are.”
Mendoza said aside from diversity issues, picking Castro as the namesake for the SBS was an excellent choice.
“Putting his name on that building shows the power and positive influence the Latino people, especially migrants, can have in this country, so if they were going to name it after a Latino then they made a great choice,” Mendoza said.
Ruth Ayon, a junior criminal justice major, said she feels a sense of pride for the Latino people when seeing Castro’s name on the building, but it is still a bittersweet feeling.
“Well I am happy to see a name like Castro on the building, but at the same time it makes me sad because we cannot fix the structural problems with the SBS,” Ayon said.
Ayon is speaking about what she calls ever-present reminders of the SBS’s aging façade.
“I think it is a nice thought but we pay tons of money to come here,” Ayon said. “If they really want to honor someone then they should make it beautiful.”