Ethnic Studies Programs Crash and Burn at Cal State University

Hey, it was good while it lasted, right?

At LAT, "Cal State's ethnic studies programs falter in changing times":

In the 1960s, California college campuses were hotbeds of civil rights and free speech activity, where student protests resulted in the nation's first ethnic studies programs at San Francisco State and UC Berkeley, among others.

Ethnic studies became a sought-after major and a safe setting in which to examine the influence of the state's diverse population of Latinos, African Americans, whites and Asians, among others.

In recent years, however, some of those programs have been cut back, particularly in the California State University system. Today, students — and faculty — are once again protesting: this time to save ethnic studies majors.

At such campuses as San Jose, Stanislaus, Bakersfield, Long Beach and elsewhere, professors aren't being replaced, classes are being reduced and majors could be eliminated or subsumed into other liberal arts programs. The moves have reignited old debates — and wounds —- about Cal State's commitment to social and cultural diversity.

Educators and others say that as campuses look to trim costs, ethnic studies programs are bearing the brunt and could be seen as irrelevant.

Administrators counter that many programs are not attracting enough students to fill classes.

The programs also face stiff competition as students of all ethnicities focus more on obtaining degrees with immediate job prospects.

"A discipline like ethnic studies lays itself wide open to the critiques of what the hell do you do with this, can you run a corporation or fly a plane with this?," said Ron Scapp, president of the National Assn. for Ethnic Studies, which is conducting a national survey on the status of such programs.

But Scapp and others said that debates over immigration, the election of the country's first black president and the aftermath of the shooting death of black teenager Trayvon Martin by a white man show the nation is still grappling with issues of race and cultural diversity. Ethnic studies programs, he said, offer a forum to tackle these topics.

The initial intent of the programs was to increase the numbers of students and professors of color and expand historical perspectives, including those of Native Americans, women, gays and lesbians.

But it was also divisive, with some critics arguing that the disciplines lacked academic rigor. In 2010, Arizona banned school districts from offering ethnic studies programs determined to be radical or fostering racial resentment.

A recent move to reduce the status of the Africana Studies Department at Cal State Long Beach led the state Assembly to adopt a resolution urging that it and other such programs be maintained. Cal State Chancellor Timothy White put the changes on hold until the campus finds a permanent replacement for former President F. King Alexander...

Oh the humanities!

Hey, speaking of the humanities, it's hard times all around. At the New York Times, "As Interest Fades in the Humanities, Colleges Worry."