After nearly two years of consideration on changing Cabrillo College’s name, college trustees are scheduled to make a decision Nov. 14.

Cabrillo College originally was supposed to represent a “neutral connection” says Sandy Lydon, retired History Cabrillo College professor. However, consciousness was raised of Cabrillo’s contribution to the colonization of Native Americans. This was done by a petition that went around by three teachers, along with the Chicano and Latino Affairs Council going to the board. 

A subcommittee of the board has been compiling a report that is already at 40 pages. The report is expected to be completed in time for the full board agenda by Nov. 10, says trustee Christian Cuevas, one of the three members of the Name Exploration Subcommittee. The others are trustee Adam Spickler and Matthew Wetstein, college president.

Cuevas said that the subcommittee looked into other colleges that explored name changes, including George Washington, Yale, Princeton, Duke, and Stanford. Cuevas said the subcommittee also looked into “all the names that have changed since the George Floyd incident” in 2020. 

The cost of changing the name could be as high as $400,000, said a posting on the college website. Any name change would be phased in, Cuevas said.

The idea of changing the name began with the Chicano and Latino Affairs Council and three teachers raising concerns about Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo. A petition went around that emphasized the historical connotation of Cabrillo’s past. Which sparked the College to start the Name Exploration Subcommittee, which researched the name change process along with the history and impact of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo. The subcommittee employed educational sessions, all of which sought to educate and listen to the public and student body. 

The subcommittee talked to students, faculty, and staff, and held community meetings. In one of those meetings Iris Engstrand, a former history professor at the University of San Diego, defended Cabrillo’s legacy. Her comments prompted a public apology from the subcommittee — “The views expressed by Dr. Engstrand do not reflect those of Cabrillo College’s leadership and board of Trustees.”