Cabrillo College has spent the last few months exploring what seems like a simple question: Should Cabrillo College be named after Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, leader of the first European expedition to what is now the West Coast of the United States?
In the past, the answer seemed obvious: Cabrillo was a hero to be honored, part of American history. More recently, however, concerns over Cabrillo’s actions, including his complicity in the genocide of indigenous peoples, have led the college to explore renaming.
Cabrillo Communication Studies Chair Skye Gentile along with students Justice Landes, Braulio Salgado Rodriguez, and Gabriel Kryst join host Suki Wessling to share the exploration process, what they have learned from this process, and their reasons for supporting or not supporting a potential name change.
- To learn more about the history of Cabrillo and the college named after him, visit the website for the Name Exploration Subcommittee. There you will be able to read details and watch videos of historical presentations.
- To hear the full conversation that students had about the name change, watch this video of the debate.
- Click here to listen to a previous KSQD Talk of the Bay conversation with Cabrillo President Matthew Wetstein and trustees.
