Juan González:
We are here today to celebrate the unveiling of the César Chávez
statue.
César would be humbled to be acknowledged in this way. He never sought
recognition; what he sought was justice for all. Justicia para todos.
We stand here at UT with an acknowledgement that we are creating leaders, Hispanic
leaders for our nation and our state. It is true that we minorities, particularly
Latinos/Hispanics/Chicanos, have achieved a great deal. César Chávez
always aggressively encouraged young people to aim high and let nothing stand
in the way of achievement—in the classrooms, courtrooms and boardrooms.
It is true that we have made progress and that the ranks of successful minorities
are growing. Today we make significant contributions across many fields.
Colegas y estudiantes, reconozcan siempre lo importante que son ustedes y tenga
orgullo del hecho.
If I may speak to my Latino/Hispanic colleagues and students here today: remember
always how important you are to our community and rejoice that you are present.
Pero reconozcan también la verdadera responsabilidad que esto conlleva.
But also remember the important responsibility we each share of continuing to
educate and prepare our future generations. Me refiero, sí, a la obligación
que cada uno de ustedes tiene. I refer to our obligation to respond to the challenge
we all face by working hard to educate and prepare more and more youth to join
our ranks. Y jamás, una más importante obligación.
Me refiero a que todos los Latinos aquí, tenemos que insistir con nuestros
hijos y nuestros alumnos el recordar y honrar—el nunca olvidar la deuda
que debemos a todos aquellos abuelos, tíos, compadres, a nuestro César
Chávez, que ellos pelearon y lucharon por nosotros en años y
siglos pasados para cementar estas lindas oportunidades que hoy podemos brindar
a nuestros
alumnos.
I refer to our noble obligation, the obligation that all of us share, to never
forget to honor the debt we owe to all those grandparents, uncles, friends,
people like César Chávez, who labored and fought to pave the way to ensure
the opportunities we are able to share with each of our students today. This
statue will forever help us to be proud of our rich historical traditions, our
language and our desire to inspire our students. De ser fieles y ser orgullosos
de la riqueza de nuestra cultura, la belleza de nuestro idioma, y de nuestro
deseo de compartir con nuestros alumnos. Our César Chávez statue
will always remind us of our shared responsibility to help and guide the next
generation towards greatness.
I submit César has given us this noble obligation to serve our deserving
students. As César would say: Si Dios quiere, vamos a vencer—God
willing, we shall overcome.
When considering the life of César Chávez, I am reminded of one
of my favorite quotes by César: “The end of all education should
surely be service to others.” This is one of my favorite quotes by César
and I see it on several t-shirts here today.
In service to others, César discovered one of his core values: the importance
of helping others towards empowerment, self-help, determination and self-sufficiency
vs. charity. To serve in this way is one of the noblest endeavors anyone can
accomplish.
This belief is very close to the mission of our university—to transform
lives for the benefit of society—making this project and this dedication
all the more appropriate and moving. It is my honor to introduce someone who
also lives a life of great service—to our students, to our great institution
and to our great state.
Please join me in welcoming President William Powers.