After reading the piece on Hayakawa and the protests that took place at SFSU for the first ethnic studies program it is wild to think that in 2016 that this landmark program is in danger of being incapacitated. The source of this problem has to do with funding and budget cuts for the school and certain programs. The budget cuts that are causing the problem have been implemented over the last couple years. These cuts have apparently disproportionately affected students and faculty of color in particular the ethnic studies school. The cuts have been said to have an outsize impact on the ethnic studies program which already struggles to pay its basic debts.
Students and faculty are backed protesting once again in San Francisco but this time its to keep the college afloat. The protestors are demanding a return to a previous form of budget as well as requirements of taking an ethnic class for students to graduate (similar to Ithaca’s diversity credit requirement). These are all important factors for the continuing success of any ethnic studies program. The president of the school Les Wong has gone on record to say that they are in support of the ethnic studies program and have no goals to end it.
In my opinion this situation will most likely get worked out but I think there is a bigger problem that needs to be looked at. That problem is how committed to ethnic studies programs higher education institutions really are. Ignorance and a lack of education are some of the causes of insensitivity and racists acts and I think that as an education institution it is your responsibility to create a comfortable environment for all students and make sure students leave your institution with a diverse understanding of the world.
In conclusion I just think the fact that if the original ethnic studies program is having trouble staying upright then how important are these programs to the colleges anyway. In the light of the many on campus protests that have been visible across the country I would think that diversity credits and ethnic studies programs would be more supported. If the goal is to create a diverse college environment, then the stability of ethnic studies needs to be taken seriously.
Asian American Race Rebels 