But he also talked about Colegio, confessing that, if someone had told him five years earlier that Mexican Americans would have established their own college in Oregon, he ‘would have thought they were crazy.’ ‘Who knows?’ he added.

‘Maybe tomorrow there will be mariachi music in the White House.’[5] Colegio Cesar Chavez evolved from various other collegial institutions that had existed in Mount Angel, Oregon for nearly a century.

Angel College was facing financial problems for which it received two federal loans which it used to expand the campus.

Angel College found itself burdened by a one million dollar debt and low student enrollment.

Sonny Montes, Ernesto Lopez, and four others decided to attempt to salvage the college by redirecting its focus.

Colegio aimed to create a four-year college completely under the control of a staff chiefly of Mexican American, or Chicano, descent.

César Chávez's name was chosen because he was one of the key figures in the Chicano movement, often organizing boycotts and protests for farm workers in California and eventually throughout the entire Pacific Northwest.

The majority of Mexican Americans in the Pacific Northwest had migrated to the region during the World War II era in search of work as farm laborers.

This format allowed for the inclusion of a wide range of age groups, encouraged the participation and collaboration of students, staff, and administrators in creating and implementing the curriculum.

It was during the joint Montes-Romero administration that Colegio Cesar Chavez received accreditation candidacy on June 18, 1975, from the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges.

As with so many of the murals, the sun is a significant component; here, it plays just beyond the horizon, with the overall warmth and seductiveness of the image suggesting the promise of an imminent sunrise rather than a sunset.

The scene is viewed through a golden portal set on a patio in the foreground and may represent, as PSU's (Tony) Cabello suggests, the opportunity that is possible for the immigrant to el norte.

The walls of Huelga Hall were covered with large Mexican-themed murals, some in the style of Diego Rivera, others being transcriptions of ancient Aztec artwork.

The Art Building lay vacant and unused for most of Colegio's existence until when in 1980 it was occupied by the family of Arthur Omar Olivo.

It would be difficult to make the case that Colegio Cesar Chavez played a significant role in the history of U.S. higher education.... As a symbol, however, it was very important.

For five years, the Colegio's struggle for survival was a recurring front-page news story in the Pacific Northwest, and its leaders became well known to the public....

Eventually, a private benefactor purchased the former Colegio grounds and facilities and donated it back to its pre-Colegio owners, the Benedictine Sisters of Mt.

"[7] Maldonado claims that Colegio's staff was small and relatively inexperienced and therefore unprepared for the challenges of starting a new college.

Maldonado also claims that it was difficult to foster an on-campus sense of community among staff and students because Colegio was a college-without-walls program.

Colegio was founded during a period of growing political conservatism marked by less federal support for cultural programs.

Lastly, Colegio was named in honor of a man many local farm owners found controversial.

[7] On its website the Oregon Historical Society writes, "Structured as a 'college-without-walls,' more than 100 students took classes in Chicano Studies, early childhood development, and adult education.

Instead, the main union for farm workers in the state of Oregon is Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste.

[18] The article centers on the controversial public debate at the time regarding whether a Portland street should be named in honor of Cesar Chavez.

Those opposed to honoring Chavez with a Portland street had occasionally argued that the activist had no presence in the state.

The article contains an interview with a man who assisted Chavez during a public address he made at the state Capitol in Salem, Oregon.

When I see that the buildings are being used and that there are farm workers living in the dorms, and that there are training programs going on and that there's shelter there, I feel it wasn't a lost cause.Oregon State University maintains and displays the Colegio Cesar Chavez Collection.

Later, the family would move to San Jose, California where Mr. Olivo would work for an organization called Center for Employment Training, a job training program whose students are mostly Latino and which was funded in part by the Cesar Chavez's United Farm Workers union.

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Mr. Olivo was involved with Colegio Cesar Chavez as both a student and as facilities manager, and he and his family also lived on the college grounds in Mount Angel, Oregon.

Items from the Colegio Cesar Chavez collection are available for individual research and are occasionally on display at OSU events regarding the Multicultural Archives.