Junípero Serra statue removed from campus

Photo: Harrison Hamm

Junípero Serra statue removed from campus 

By Raven Yamamoto 

Following speculation on social media, the University has confirmed that the statue of Junípero Serra has been removed from campus.

Serra’s statue was noticed to appear missing after @lmuhistory posted a photo of where it once stood in front of the Charles Von Der Ahe building on Instagram last week.

 

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In fall 2018, students in Professor Drummond’s HIST 2910 public history class did a “free history lesson” where they talked to students about the history of Junípero Serra and the Spanish in California (photo 1). They did this next to the the statue of Serra outside the VDA building on campus (photo 2). That space now looks different (photo 3).

A post shared by LMU Department of History (@lmuhistory) on Jul 16, 2020 at 1:33pm PDT

The statue has been a long-time point of controversy amongst the community due to Serra’s role in colonialism. While the priest is often beheld as “California’s Founding Father” for establishing the state’s first Spanish missions, these missions were also said to have “enslaved” Indigenous populations by historians.

LMU Senior Director of Public and Media Relations Erin Bossen confirmed that the statue is no longer on display via an email statement to Agency.

“The university is exploring opportunities to contextualize Serra’s impact on California history and Catholicism,” said Bossen. “Students, faculty and staff will continue to be involved in that process in the coming year.”

It is unknown exactly when the statue was removed, just that it was "several weeks ago," according to the senior director. The University has yet to make a public announcement on the matter or the process detailed by Bossen.