The University of California (UC) Faculty Assembly last week rejected a proposal to implement a one-semester ethnic studies course required for freshman UC admission.
The April 23 meeting agenda highlighted concerns over the gap between the $50 million allocated and the $276 million annually needed to implement the proposal across the state.
“Resource-strapped school districts could struggle to comply, potentially leaving up to 5 percent of students—about 20,000 annually—unable to meet UC admissions criteria,” it said. “Ethnic studies as a graduation requirement, rather than an admissions requirement, would avoid unfairly penalizing these students.”
The proposal defined ethnic studies as a critical, interdisciplinary study of formations of race, ethnicity, indigeneity, and structures of power….