Photo by RD Smith
(Campus Roundup is a semi-regular feature on AsAmNews. Let us know what’s happening on your campus by emailing info at asamnews.com or using the #AsAmNewsCampus)
In a bit of irony, the nation’s first Ethnic Studies program in the country is facing significant budget cuts while a long sought Asian American Studies program has finally been approved.
North by Northwestern reports that more than 15 years after a student hunger strike for Asian American Studies at Northwestern University, the campus has finally approved a major.
“It’s amazing to me that the legacy of the work of student and faculty has paved the way to this day and I’ve able to be here on this campus when it happens,” said student organizer Kevin Luong. “But it’s also a time to call for university and administration support, because the major is going to require more classes and a different approach to these classes.”
The major won formal approval during a vote of the faculty at the g College Arts and Science Wednesday afternoon.
At San Francisco State University, a meeting is scheduled today with University President Les Wong and disgruntled student and faculty over significant cuts in the College of Ethnic Studies, the only such college in the country, reports SF Gate
A discretionary fund that has been used to cover budget overruns has now been depleted and new budget guidelines are being adapted that could mean eliminating dozens of lecturers and jobs and cutting the school in half.
“We in (Ethnic Studies) anticipate that we are not the only unit facing inequitable treatment,” Kenneth Monteiro, Ethnic Studies dean, said. “We do hope our speaking out empowers others to speak out on their own behalf, and we will support them in their call for fairness.”
