Undergraduate Research & Scholarships

Daisy Son

Renaming and Removal of Harmful Names and Monuments on CA Transportation Right of Way

Thank you so much for supporting the URAP summer fellowship program! I have been involved with URAP for more than two years now, and as a soon-to-be graduate, I am confident to say that it is one of the most valuable learning experiences I’ve gained at UC Berkeley. I am so excited to continue this project over the summer!

Message To Sponsor

This summer, I will be continuing my research with Professor Emerita Elizabeth Deakin on examining harmful place names and monuments with racist or derogatory past in the CalTrans (CA Department of Transportation) right of way. There has been increasing recognition nationwide of place names, facilities, or monuments celebrating individuals or organizations that promote discriminatory values and derogatory past. For instance, our own institution, UC Berkeley, have recently removed names of buildings (LeConte, Barrows, and Kroeber Hall) that were named after individuals who had racist and controversial pasts. We are currently surveying/interviewing wide range of individuals from the state department of transportation, local agencies, social justice organizations, educational institutions, etc to ultimately identify proactive policies and practices that can be used to identify such names and make recommendations for the Caltrans program.