Descendants Of Serranus Hastings Sue To Keep Name Of Genocider On Law School

Some people don't see the necessity of changing the law school's name.

onOctober 5, 2022 at 1:10 PMOctober 5, 2022 at 1:10 PM

A Message from Chancellor and Dean David Faigman

Dear UC Hastings Community,

I am following up on my last message to you, in which I announced that the Governor had signed Assembly Bill 1936 into law, allowing us to move forward with our name change in 2023. We continue to consider the best moment to switch to our new name, so that changes to our website, buildings, and more can go public at the same time. Until then, we will continue to use the name UC Hastings.

Today, we learned that a group of plaintiffs, representing some of Serranus Hastings’ descendants and a small group of alumni of the College, have filed a lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court against the State of California and College leadership in opposition to the legislation and specifically to our name change. We plan to follow the proper legal channels to respond as appropriate, but I wanted the campus community to be aware of this news.

We are disappointed that this group of individuals wants to interfere with our progress. As you all know, the legislation that allowed us to move forward with the name change was the result of thoughtful research, conversations, and reflective meetings. I stand behind that important work, and do so with the pride of knowing that our entire community was able to participate.

I remain committed to moving forward with the name change, and to continuing our restorative justice efforts with the support of the campus community. We will continue to monitor the lawsuit and keep the campus community informed along the way.

The latest information regarding the name change will remain on our website here.

I know that there is a lot of anticipation and excitement about switching to UC Law SF. Indeed, I remain excited as well. We look forward to moving together into our next chapter

Best Regards,

David

David L. Faigman

Chancellor and Dean

John F. Digardi Distinguished Professor of Law

University of California Hastings College of the Law

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