The decision of the 11-member board of directors of the University of California Hastings College to rename the oldest public law school in California is pure virtue-signaling. The board and dean of Hastings both acknowledge that the school’s founder, Serramus Hastings, was culpable for acts of ethnic cleansing against the Native American population of California. However, they propose no change to the governing board’s structure, under which a representative of the Hastings family is guaranteed a seat in perpetuity.
The costs of renaming the school will be borne by the school’s alumni, who will likely have to explain to prospective employers the distinction between the renamed college and the unaccredited San Francisco Law School. The Hastings family will retain influence over the school despite their ancestor having committed acts of genocide. That hardly seems like an equitable resolution of the issue.
Colin Gallagher, San Francisco
No mass geese slaughter
As a former resident of Foster City, I am horrified about the vote to kill the geese “Foster City’s plan to kill more than 100 geese, potentially by spinal dislocation, is moving forward” (Bay Area, July 20). By taking this violent action, the mayor and city council are teaching the children of their community that it’s perfectly acceptable to kill animals for simply doing what comes naturally.
The geese are looking for safe homes and nest areas just like the humans who live and prosper there. Foster City naturally attracts wild birds with big wetlands all around. And, huge amounts of wetlands were destroyed to make way for this manmade city with its large grassy areas and canals.
Of course birds are attracted!
The city invites them in and then betrays them. This is the lesson? My dogs and I lived among the geese there for six years and enjoyed their beauty and personalities. Killing them mercilessly is not a solution — it is a heartless act. There is still time for the mayor and council to find their empathy and give the geese one last consideration. There are humane alternatives to mass slaughter.
Melissa Flower, San Rafael
No way to treat elderly
Regarding “S.F. supervisors plead with feds to end ‘human rights atrocity’ at Laguna Honda” (News, July 27): Before retiring, I was the chairperson of the Older Adults Department at City College. We offered art and music classes at Laguna Honda Hospital. Since then, I watched in horror as California and local politicians forced the almost total gutting of that department, denying thousands of S.F. seniors the life-sustaining educational opportunities they were using. Now it seems that, with the help of federal authorities, they are throwing older and more frail people out of the clean and safe home they had found at Laguna Honda, leaving some of them to die in the streets. I have to ask, what kind of society is this?
R. Wood Massi, San Francisco
A better idea on water
We know there is a severe drought, and Gov. Newsom wants us to reduce our water usage by 15%. Now he wants $16 billion to pump the water we don’t have to Southern California “As drought intensifies, Newsom plans California’s biggest water project in half a century” (Bay Area, July 27).
Let me know when this starts to make sense.
We do not need to relocate water, we need more of it. We have 840 miles of coastline; let’s MAKE water! Let’s invest that $16 billion on water desalination plants along the coast.
It is expensive to force water under pressure through filters, but we could use solar energy to boil away the water and condense it back: a sun-powered distillery. That is the natural process; we just need a better way to imitate nature. A large array of mirrors would focus energy. Once established, we have essentially free water. Sell the residue salt to the states that need it for their icy roads. Win-win!
Contact the governor!
Jim Cauble, Hayward
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July 31, 2022 at 06:03PM
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Letters: Hastings College name change is pure virtue-signaling - San Francisco Chronicle
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