Most campus employees who sent in comments last month favored the proposal to rename UC's spring administrative holiday in honor of Cesar Chavez - the late Latino labor leader who championed equal opportunity and access to health, education and employment.

Chavez is best known as a crusader for better pay and safer working conditions for migrant farm workers through boycotts, pickets and strikes in California.

The university proposed renaming the ad-ministrative holiday in honor of Chavez. Com-ments were sought from students and faculty and staff members, who had until Feb. 25 to offer opinions. Beverly Wilcox, policy coordinator for UC Davis Human Resources, said the Office of the President is reviewing comments and will make a decision on the proposal soon.

The Chavez holiday would be observed on the last Friday in March. Currently, the administrative holiday is observed on the last Monday in March. It is proposed that at Davis, the holiday would be renamed this year, and the date would change in 2003.

"The university strongly supports this holiday, and the majority of those responding favored changing the name of the holiday," Wilcox said.

She said that campus community members who suggested changes to the proposal mentioned a variety points. Some do not want to change the date of the holiday; others oppose Chavez's political views. Some believe a new holiday should be created; others believe that the holiday should occur on a day when classes are in session, instead of during spring break.

But the majority of employees are enthusiastic about naming a holiday after the Mexican-American activist.

"As a member of this campus community, I appreciate seeing the university looking to recognize an important person in our history by naming our spring holiday Cesar Chavez Day," said one employee offering comments about the proposal. "It gives more purpose and meaning to this day than just another day off."

Andrea Romero, chair of the Staff Affirma-tive Action and Diversity Advisory Committee, and Gilda Garcia, Chair of the Hispanic Staff Association, echoed that support.

"I look forward to the university recognizing the life of Cesar Chavez," Romero said. "Truly, he was one of the greatest Latino leaders in the 19th century. He was committed to helping the migrant farm workers and other less fortunate people in the state of California improve their lives. I believe that a holiday focused on the importance of helping less fortunate people in our community in honor of Cesar Chavez is a blessing for everyone, especially the university."

Kevin Johnson, professor for the Chicana/o studies program and associate law school dean, said the honor is just one more indication of the growing acceptance of inclusion of Latinos in the larger society. "Besides honoring a great leader who preached peaceful, nonviolent change in the status of the most oppressed among us, the holiday symbolically marks a recognition that Latino leaders, as well as those from other groups, warrant praise and honor."

University holidays differ from state holidays, Wilcox said. "State employees get both Washington's and Lincoln's birthday, while we get President's Day. State employees get Colum-bus Day. But they do not get our administrative holiday, Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve."

Eighteen months ago, Gov. Gray Davis signed into law a bill that created the Cesar Chavez Day of Service and Learning and declared March 31 - Chavez's birthday - a state holiday.

Under this law, grants can be made promoting service to communities with an emphasis on providing instruction and service opportunities for public K-12 students that highlight the life and contributions of Chavez. The bill also required that the State Board of Education adopt a curriculum guide to teach students about Chavez and public service.

"Slightly changing the date staff expects to take off between the winter and spring quarter seems like such an easy way for the university to honor this great man," said one of the employees who reviewed the proposal. "Colleges and universities have to be the leaders. Many young Latino men and women have become unfamiliar with his work, not to mention other citizens of this state."

A native of Arizona, Chavez and his family settled in a San Jose barrio called Sal Si Puedes or "Get Out if You Can." He and his family worked in the fields, where he experienced firsthand harsh, unhealthy working conditions. He formed the National Farm Workers Association, which became the United Farm Workers in 1962 and fasted for weeks at a time to draw attention to the plight of farm workers. Dolores Huerta joined him at the union's helm.

Chavez died at age 66 in his sleep on April 23, 1993, near Yuma, Ariz.

At a White House ceremony in 1994, Helen Chavez, Cesar's widow, accepted the Medal of Freedom for her late husband from President Clinton, who lauded Chavez for having "faced formidable, often violent opposition with dignity and nonviolence."

Lisa Cisneros, editor of UCSF Newsbreak, contributed to this story.