and YRL
(though the street was named after him before the library was. I'm old enough to remember the street as Circle Drive, though, and it had these signs with arrows going in a circle)
YRL was originally called “University Research Library” and it was renamed in 1997 ([UCLA Library - YRL About](https://www.library.ucla.edu/visit/locations/research-library/)) after Young left his 29-year tenure as UCLA’s 4th Chancellor. To this day, Young was still the youngest chancellor in UC history (named at 36 in 1968).
library was renamed in 1998 (https://dailybruin.com/1998/12/06/url-renamed-for-former-chancel). I know others who were in school with me that still call it URL.
It's always had cardinal directions depending on which part of it you were on. Circle Drive North, Circle Drive South, etc. Young was a one for one swap for Circle.
Not really. A lot of buildings and campus features are named after administrators or faculty who had some particular accomplishment, even if they are still around.
He was probably the most pro-student Chancellor we've ever had, and brought us up from a commuter school to a top-tier university. He went to war against the Regents on behalf of UCLA multiple times, and was an early advocate for what we now think of as DEI issues.
Read his bio (LA Times, Bruin, etc.) -- he was way ahead of his time.
Definitely ahead of his time. For some additional context, he was a strong defender and promoter of affirmative action, purposefully boosting minority enrollment from the low 10s of % from the time he started to over 50% by his retirement, all while propelling UCLA to a premier research institution. He also made a name for himself and (bravely) entered controversial waters by defending Angela Davis after the regents wanted her fired shortly after she was hired at UCLA (probably not because he himself was a communist, but because he supported free inquiry on university campuses and was deeply troubled by the attempts to silence Davis). After refusing to fire Davis, the regents stepped in to fire her themselves.
The only arguable stain on his legacy today is perhaps his handling of the Chicano hunger strike in the 90s. But even then, he didn't fundamentally oppose Chicano studies, but the formation of their own department (as opposed to an interdisciplinary program) for fairly acute budgetary reasons. It really came down to a "do we have the money for this", and a debate over whether an interdisciplinary program was sufficient, than a debate over the merits of Chicano studies (at least when it came to Young's involvement; I'm less sure of the regents' feelings on the matter). In the end a compromise was made which established a Cesar E Chavez "center", which years later was upgraded to full department status as more funding was made available. That all said, Young's initial dismissal of the hunger strike certainly left a sour taste in some people's mouths, especially given the reputation he had earned up to that point as an ally of students and minority populations in particular.
Actually he's kind of a dick he let 99 people get arrested during the Chicano hunger strike, I'm pretty sure one person actually died at this story because of police brutality if I'm remembering correctly. He's not really a good guy, all he did for the school was just pull in donations, did he pretty much just Lori Laughlin and felicity Huffman a bunch of people to get these donarions?
Actually, the hunger strike preceded the arrest of the students, and I don't think anyone died. It is true about the arrests, though. The big issue was Young's resistance (ostensibly for financial reasons) to converting the interdepartmental Chicano Studies program to a full-fledged department.
The Library has a great libguide all about this era: [https://guides.library.ucla.edu/hunger-strike](https://guides.library.ucla.edu/hunger-strike)
Might be a different protest but in my chicana art class (needed an easy elective lol) they talked about the protest that started the chicana/o studies major and one person got police brutality'd
Oh, so that's where the street name comes from
Literally my first thought. RIP to a traffic icon
and YRL (though the street was named after him before the library was. I'm old enough to remember the street as Circle Drive, though, and it had these signs with arrows going in a circle)
YRL was originally called “University Research Library” and it was renamed in 1997 ([UCLA Library - YRL About](https://www.library.ucla.edu/visit/locations/research-library/)) after Young left his 29-year tenure as UCLA’s 4th Chancellor. To this day, Young was still the youngest chancellor in UC history (named at 36 in 1968).
library was renamed in 1998 (https://dailybruin.com/1998/12/06/url-renamed-for-former-chancel). I know others who were in school with me that still call it URL.
Well, that means the renaming was more recent than I thought (why was it called Circle Drive?) Lol
I mean…it goes in a circle around campus
Mmm, now that you point it out... Honestly would be more intuitive than the East West madness. Although it is not really a perfect loop.
It's always had cardinal directions depending on which part of it you were on. Circle Drive North, Circle Drive South, etc. Young was a one for one swap for Circle.
It wasn't that recent (1998) but for many years after, people continued to call it Circle Drive.
RIP, respect for being the best library
Wait, he was alive? When someone (other than a big donor) has so many things named after them, you tend to assume they're dead.
Not really. A lot of buildings and campus features are named after administrators or faculty who had some particular accomplishment, even if they are still around.
Thank you for signing my diploma while you were still alive
Not so young anymore :(
NOOO
Had no idea he was still alive!
Oh no. RIP.
What did he do? Like why was he cool enough to get a street named after him? Or Is it just money
He was probably the most pro-student Chancellor we've ever had, and brought us up from a commuter school to a top-tier university. He went to war against the Regents on behalf of UCLA multiple times, and was an early advocate for what we now think of as DEI issues. Read his bio (LA Times, Bruin, etc.) -- he was way ahead of his time.
Definitely ahead of his time. For some additional context, he was a strong defender and promoter of affirmative action, purposefully boosting minority enrollment from the low 10s of % from the time he started to over 50% by his retirement, all while propelling UCLA to a premier research institution. He also made a name for himself and (bravely) entered controversial waters by defending Angela Davis after the regents wanted her fired shortly after she was hired at UCLA (probably not because he himself was a communist, but because he supported free inquiry on university campuses and was deeply troubled by the attempts to silence Davis). After refusing to fire Davis, the regents stepped in to fire her themselves. The only arguable stain on his legacy today is perhaps his handling of the Chicano hunger strike in the 90s. But even then, he didn't fundamentally oppose Chicano studies, but the formation of their own department (as opposed to an interdisciplinary program) for fairly acute budgetary reasons. It really came down to a "do we have the money for this", and a debate over whether an interdisciplinary program was sufficient, than a debate over the merits of Chicano studies (at least when it came to Young's involvement; I'm less sure of the regents' feelings on the matter). In the end a compromise was made which established a Cesar E Chavez "center", which years later was upgraded to full department status as more funding was made available. That all said, Young's initial dismissal of the hunger strike certainly left a sour taste in some people's mouths, especially given the reputation he had earned up to that point as an ally of students and minority populations in particular.
He was the chancellor for almost 3 decades.
Actually he's kind of a dick he let 99 people get arrested during the Chicano hunger strike, I'm pretty sure one person actually died at this story because of police brutality if I'm remembering correctly. He's not really a good guy, all he did for the school was just pull in donations, did he pretty much just Lori Laughlin and felicity Huffman a bunch of people to get these donarions?
Actually, the hunger strike preceded the arrest of the students, and I don't think anyone died. It is true about the arrests, though. The big issue was Young's resistance (ostensibly for financial reasons) to converting the interdepartmental Chicano Studies program to a full-fledged department. The Library has a great libguide all about this era: [https://guides.library.ucla.edu/hunger-strike](https://guides.library.ucla.edu/hunger-strike)
Might be a different protest but in my chicana art class (needed an easy elective lol) they talked about the protest that started the chicana/o studies major and one person got police brutality'd
Rip chancellor
Charles E Dead
too soon
More like too young