Written by Julianne Foster
As in many situations involving conflict between the government and local authorities, a system put in place to the best of the knowledge of local authorities is being challenged by the control the government holds over the state. The California State University Board recently voted in favor of adding a three unit class requirement of ethnic studies or social justice. This new mandate conflicts with AB 1460, a bill passed by the State Legislature which is similar to CSU’s decision, but more restrictive.
As the CSU Board looks to offer courses covering even anti-Semitism and LGBTQ topics as part of the ethnic studies curriculum, the State Legislature would like to only allow those courses to focus on “four historically defined racialized core groups: Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latina and Latino Americans.”
Temporarily putting aside any opinions on the importance of highlighting the history of certain races over others, officials in select CSU schools are in favor of the system’s choices simply because they do not want the Legislature to be making decisions for them. “While similar to AB 1460, the new CSU policy avoids setting a precedent for future curriculum decisions to be determined by the legislature,” said CSU San Marcos Spokesman Brian Hiro.
With the eruption of social unrest around the nation, there has been a constant exchange of shaming between those who stand with Black Lives Matter and those who make the rebuttal that “all lives matter.” However, in terms of the education of young Americans, which can impact the rest of their lives, they should be able to have a wide range of options. There is vast diversity in CSU schools and those students deserve their freedom of choice between the subjects they choose to study.
“We feel that our proposal is more inclusive, and more expansive than AB 1460,” added Michael Uhlenkamp, a spokesman for the CSU chancellor’s office.
In the name of progressiveness and the correct form of it, the Legislature has allowed for their system to be racially biased. They find the history of some minority races to be more important and worthy of study than others. According to Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, who authored AB 1460, these “core groups” are most important for students to study. CSU and each individual campus in their system is listed as an opponent of AB 1460, as they stand for their rights to decide what courses are offered and counted for credit.
