Could California State’s Ethnic Studies program be slowly fading away amidst changing times and constant budget cuts?
That’s the fear many programs across California have right now, reports the Los Angeles Times.
It’s truly tragic considering the state’s history of launching an ethnic studies movement in the 60’s with the first programs at San Francisco State University and UC Berkeley.
But such programs at San Jose, Stanislaus, Bakersfield, and Long Beach report that professors are not being replaced, classes are being eliminated and the programs face the threat of being gobbled up by larger liberal arts programs.
A meeting between concerned ethnic studies faculty and Cal State Chancellor Timothy White is scheduled for next week.
“We have dedicated our lives and passion to ethnic studies,”Professor Lilia DeKatzew of Cal State, Turlock said. “But we’ve found the administration has not been supportive and appreciative of the importance of the program. They’ve taken the mentality of a corporate business, chipping away at the program little by little.”
You can read more about the concerns and what’s being done about it in the Los Angeles Times.
