Fight for Black, Chicano Studies continues at CSULA

[ckaihatsu]

Fight for Black, Chicano Studies continues at CSULA

By David Cid

Los Angeles, CA - Over 100 students, community activists, faculty, staff and others jammed the Cal State University of Los Angeles (CSULA) faculty Academic Senate, Jan. 28, to demonstrate support for Ethnic Studies - Chicana/o Studies, Pan-African Studies and Asian American Studies - becoming part of the General Education program.

General Education (GE) courses contribute to a student’s bachelors graduation requirement. These courses are intended to introduce undergraduates to a broad knowledge base from a wide range of disciplines in the natural sciences, humanities and social sciences. General Education courses are important, for they help students develop basic problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

As it currently stands now at CSULA, Chicana/o Studies, Pan-African Studies and Asian American Studies are not fully supported within the GE course structure. They are primarily electives.

Dr. Melina Abdullah, professor and Chair of Pan-African Studies, proposed a remedy to the lack of institutional support of ‘Ethnic Studies’ by including language that essentially institutionalizes Chicana/o Studies, Pan-African Studies and Asian American Studies into the General Education structure. This means that all students planning to graduate from CSULA would have as part of their education an Ethnic Studies course requirement.

Dr. Abdullah's motion states: "At least one of the two diversity courses must be taken in one of the four Ethnic Studies/Area Studies Departments/Programs: Asian/Asian American Studies, Chicana/o Studies, Latin American Studies, or Pan African Studies."

Yet, as the Academic Senate debated, it was evident that there was strong opposition among CSULA faculty to explicitly require Ethnic Studies be part of the new General Education structure for Fall 2016.

In a most undemocratic manner, it was also made clear to all of us in attendance, that this was not a public forum, and that it would be up to the Academic Senate to vote on whether to allow public comment or not.

To add insult to injury, for the first-time ever the Academic Senate voted with clickers, ensuring that there'd be no accountability or transparency on this matter.

When Dr. Abdullah continued to press for faculty accountability and transparency by calling for a roll call vote, the Academic Senate refused and voted it down with their clickers.

As of now, we do not know which professors voted for or against Dr. Abdullah's proposal. Chicano Studies professors remained silent during the debate. However, the final tally to include the language that would make Chicana/o Studies, Pan-African Studies and Asian American Studies part of the GE was voted down 29 to 20.

Ethnic Studies evolved out of the militancy and radicalism of the 1960s and 1970s and since then have been under assault by right-wing elements of this country. The fight for Ethic Studies is part of the struggle of Blacks and Chicanos for equality and self-determination. The oldest Chicana/o Studies Department was founded at Cal State University L.A. in 1968 as a result of the Chicano power movement.

In recent years, Chicana/o Studies has been banned, Chicana/o books censored and educators fired in the Tucson Unified School District in Arizona.

The opportunity to strengthen Ethnic Studies at CSULA by incorporating it into the General Education course structure was an opportunity lost. Yet, it is clear that the very presence of hundreds of students and community activists at the meeting demonstrated that this battle is just beginning and the community is once again ready to mobilize to stop the attacks against Chicana/o Studies, Pan-African Studies and Asian American Studies at CSULA. This event created a new spirit of unity and action among the students, faculty and community to continue to fight to expand Ethnic Studies.

On Jan. 30 scores of students marched to the office of CSULA president to demand that Ethnic Studies be included in the General Education requirements. This issue is receiving more support from students in other colleges.

“We have an opportunity to bridge divides and stand as a model if we move in the right direction. The Senate meets every Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. in Golden Eagle Ballroom 3. There is always an opportunity to right the course,” stated Dr. Abdullah.

The students, faculty, staff and surrounding community of CSULA request your support to demand that CSULA require Ethnic Studies as part of the General Education (GE) course structure by calling or writing letters to the following offices:

CSULA Academic Senate Staff
Jean Lazo-Uy, Administrative Support Coordinator
5151 State University Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90032
Office: Administration 317
Tel: (323) 343-3750
FAX: (323) 343-6495

Chicana/o Studies Department
C/O Dr. Bianca Guzman, Chair
5151 State University Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90032
email: [email protected]
Tel: (323) 343-2190

Department of Pan-African Studies
C/O Dr. Melina Abdullah, Chair
5151 State University Dr. Los Angeles
King Hall C3095
Phone (323) 343-2290
Fax (323) 343-5485

Asian and Asian American Studies Program
C/O Ping Yao, Program Director
5151 State University Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90032
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (323) 343-5775

David Cid is a Los Angeles-based Chicano activist and educator. Cid is active in the anti-war and immigrant rights movements. He recently received his Masters in Chicano Studies at CSULA.

Read more News and Views from the Peoples Struggle at http://www.fightbacknews.org. You can write to us at [email protected]






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[ToxicAcidRed]

Bad idea. If they make a "Black Studies" or some kind of class dedicated to black people, or hispanic people, then it brings up the double standard "Why can't we make a white student group?" (which they have in one college now).

Besides, it's reactionary to want a study group dedicated to one ethnicity. Besides, we are all one race, the human race. Why divide ourselves with such petty reactionary ethnic chauvinism?

[ckaihatsu]

Bad idea. If they make a "Black Studies" or some kind of class dedicated to black people, or hispanic people, then it brings up the double standard "Why can't we make a white student group?" (which they have in one college now).


That purported anxiety over curriculum programming is hardly enough of a reason to self-censor a broader choice of study available to students.

History has *traditionally* been about the European experience and narrative, so there's no 'double standard', aside from the one that currently exists in the treatment of *non*-European historical experiences.





Besides, it's reactionary to want a study group dedicated to one ethnicity.


No, it's not, because *most* ethnicities have been under-covered and under-represented in society.





Besides, we are all one race, the human race. Why divide ourselves with such petty reactionary ethnic chauvinism?


It's not petty, it's not reactionary, and it's not chauvinism -- the legacy of historical treatments of various populations is with us today.

[Remus Bleys]

Bad idea. If they make a "Black Studies" or some kind of class dedicated to black people, or hispanic people, then it brings up the double standard "Why can't we make a white student group?" (which they have in one college now).

Besides, it's reactionary to want a study group dedicated to one ethnicity. Besides, we are all one race, the human race. Why divide ourselves with such petty reactionary ethnic chauvinism?

The wild Bolshevik sickle, a species distinct as it knows neither subtlety nor can one learn.

[Sea]

The wild Bolshevik sickle, a species distinct as it knows neither subtlety nor can one learn.I have no idea what this means but it's totally my new signature.

[ckaihatsu]

Fight for Black, Chicano Studies builds at CSULA

By David Cid

Los Angeles, CA - Several hundred students and community members held a protest march and rally on the campus of Cal State University of Los Angeles (CSULA), Feb. 4. The protest was in response to the Academic Senate voting down, by 20 to 29, a proposal made the previous week by the Pan-African Studies Department to incorporate ‘Ethnic Studies’ as part of the General Education requirements, starting in Fall 2016.

After being silenced and shut out last week by the undemocratic actions of the CSULA Academic Senate, students and community supporters agreed that the racist university status quo that sees Ethnic Studies as an unequal academic discipline had to be challenged.

Students, along with community supporters, began a rally at the steps of the university bookstore, then began marching through the campus and onto the Martin Luther King, Jr. Hall building chanting in one collective voice: "The students united, will never be divided" "What do we want? Ethnic Studies! When do we want it? Now!"

Eventually, the students and community supporters made their way to the Golden Eagle Ballroom where the weekly Academic Senate was to be held. In a show of unity, students and community supporters were able to shut down the meeting and instead the students held their own meeting outside the doors of the Golden Eagle Ballroom.

As the Academic Senate began arriving for their scheduled meeting, the entrance to the Golden Eagle Ballroom was blocked by students and community supporters who locked arms. When Kevin Baaske, chair of the CSULA Academic Senate, arrived, students began chanting "No clickers," reminding him of the secret vote the week before that stopped, for now, the proposal to make Ethnic Studies a General Education requirement.

Upon encountering several hundred students locked in arms, Baaske, in a condescending tone, attempted to negotiate with students by stating that he would grant 30 minutes of speaking time to the students. Well-organized and disciplined, the students refused Baaske's terms and instead told him that the meeting would be held on students' terms.

Ironically, at the previous meeting, Baaske somehow found himself powerless to offer speaking time to students and instead pushed parliamentary procedural rules to block student and community input. Yet this week, he decided he had the power to allow 30 minutes of speaking time.

As more and more Academic Senators arrived, they had no choice but to listen to dozens of students and community supporters speaking about why they needed to do the right thing and reintroduce a vote in favor of making Ethnic Studies a part of the General Education requirements.

Speaker after speaker emphasized the urgent need to make Ethnic Studies part of the General Education requirements. For some, it was one positive step towards addressing a legacy of institutional racism, which acknowledges that this country was built on slavery and genocide.

For others, Ethnic Studies was important because it is a tool of community empowerment and for creating a positive identity. The struggle for Ethnic Studies is part of the struggle for equality for Blacks and Chicanos.

Towards the end of the student protest meeting, a couple of professors spoke in favor of the proposal, which states in part: “At least one of the two diversity courses must be taken in one of the four Ethnic Studies/Area Studies Departments/Programs: Asian/Asian American Studies, Chicana/o Studies, Latin American Studies, or Pan African Studies.”

Unfortunately, the Chicana/o Studies Department has refused to support the proposal.

Other Academic Senators, however, weren't even paying attention to the students and were making their opposition to requiring Ethnic Studies at CSULA conspicuously obvious. Sadly, Baaske several times laughed off students' comments.

Keep in mind, moreover, that what is being proposed by the multi-national coalition of student, faculty and community is that out of the 40 classes a student must take in order to graduate from CSULA that one class be in Ethnic Studies.

On Feb. 11, the Ethnic Studies Coalition held a press conference to inform the public on the proposal to expand and improve Ethnic Studies. After the press conference, the over 100 students and supporters marched to the CSULA Academic Senate meeting. During the meeting the students gave moving and inspirational talks to the body regarding the benefits of Ethnic Studies and the experiences of racism they face in Los Angeles. No new vote was taken and the students and supporters will return to the CSULA Academic Senate meeting on Feb. 18 to continue pressing for the GE requirement from Ethnic Studies.

David Cid is a Los Angeles-based Chicano activist and educator. Cid is active in the anti-war and immigrant rights movements. He recently received his Masters in Chicano Studies at CSULA.

Read more News and Views from the Peoples Struggle at http://www.fightbacknews.org. You can write to us at [email protected]






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