BSU surveyed campus on renaming Cesar Chavez Lane. The top pick didn’t make the cut

When Boise State University asked its campus community what to rename a road, nearly 2,500 people responded. Records obtained through a public records request show that the favored answer didn’t make the university’s final list of options.

Early this month, the university announced it will submit three options to Ada County following a campus-wide survey on renaming West Cesar Chavez Lane, the roadway running along the north side of campus between the university and Boise River Greenbelt. The three names moving forward are Friendship Lane, Peregrine Lane and Campus Lane, a nod to the road’s original name before it was changed to West Cesar Chavez Lane in 2006.

The name change comes as a wave of roadways, monuments and holidays are being renamed throughout the country following a New York Times investigation the university says “raised serious allegations” of sexual abuse by prominent labor rights leader Cesar Chavez.

The survey showed broad support for the rename itself, with roughly 89% of faculty, 80% of staff and 72% of students indicating they agree or strongly agree a change should be made.

When it came to soliciting what the new name should be, the university put forward 10 ideas and included a write-in box for additional suggestions. The campus community was invited to rank each of the proposed names across five categories: strongly dislike it, dislike it, neutral, like it and love it.

Of the university’s proposed suggestions, Huerta Lane, a reference to Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers alongside Chavez, ranked first among both faculty and staff. The name received mean scores of 3.53 and 3.33 respectively on a five-point scale. Among students, Huerta Lane ranked third behind Huckleberry Lane and Bluebird Lane with a mean of 3.19. Huckleberry Lane ranked first among students.

Campus Lane and Peregrine Lane, two of the three names moving forward, ranked in the middle of the pack across all groups. Other names on the list included Morrison Lane (a reference to philanthropist Velma Morrison), Blue Turf Lane, Centennial Lane, Innovation Lane and Front Porch Lane.

Friendship Lane was not among the 10 options presented in the survey, surfacing seven times in the write-in response section.

The university said the three finalists were chosen based on specific criteria:

• Aligns with university mission and values.
• Limited conflict with existing road names in Boise.
• Isn’t easily confused with another campus building, landmark or campus name.
• Aligns with use as an address for academic buildings, residence halls, concert venues and athletic buildings located along the roadway.
• A name that is more general, rather than associated with any one person.

The criteria effectively excluded Huerta Lane and Morrison Lane from consideration, regardless of survey performance.

When asked about the distinction of proposing two suggestions associated with specific people and then creating criteria that no longer supports those proposals, university spokesperson Stephany Galbreaith wrote in an email to the Idaho Statesman: “Boise State received a variety of public input during the survey process, including suggested names associated with individuals. The survey gathered campus community feedback and potential ideas for consideration. As the naming committee came together they built criteria and that criteria helped guide the final recommendation process.”

Ashton Jeanty, the former Broncos running back who finished as a Heisman Trophy finalist, was the most frequently nominated name with 74 write-ins.

Labor and farmworker-themed suggestions appeared across all groups, reflecting a hope for the road to remain connected to the labor rights movement, even under a new name. These included variations of Farm Workers Lane and Itliong Lane — a reference to Filipino American union organizer and civil rights activist Larry Itliong — as well as two write-in submissions for UFW Lane.

River and Greenbelt-adjacent names, including variations of Riverfront and Greenbelt Lane, also appeared consistently across all groups. Others went the school spirit route, with Bronco-themed submissions like Blitz Lane and Bronco Boulevard receiving notable interest.

The university wrote in an email to the campus community that Friendship Lane was selected as a finalist because it “was a write-in suggestion proposed by students, faculty and staff” and aligns with the stated criteria.

The renaming process now moves to Ada County for vetting before going to the City of Boise, a process the university expects to take four to six weeks. Once a name is approved, Boise State says it will announce the new name and begin taking steps to update the signage.