The A.S. Council recently adopted a resolution calling for the establishment of a black studies program at UCSD on April 28. Thurgood Marshall College Student Council passed a similar resolution on April 29.
Outgoing Thurgood Marshall College Student Council Chair Travis Silva authored and submitted the resolution to the A.S. Council. Silva said that the resolution shows the amount of student support on campus for the program.
The legislation resolved that the A.S. Council calls on the UCSD administration, faculty and Academic Senate to establish a black studies program at UCSD “without any further delay.” The resolution also states that the program would promote recruitment and retention of students of color at UCSD.
The resolution states that the student body has been concerned with the establishment of a black studies program since 1968. According to Silva, the idea of the resolution came after the TMC Student Council looked into the history of Thurgood Marshall College and also found that there was a huge interest in starting the program.
“I thought, keeping history in mind, that it would be a great program,” Silva said. “It’s a shame that there is a great Latin American Studies program, but the university doesn’t extend the same intersection of cultures and politics on campus with a black studies program.”
During the council’s April 28 meeting, A.S. Student Affirmative Action Coalition representative Daniel Gonzales urged the council to table the resolution for one more week. Gonzales said that members of the Black Student Union would like to see the resolution first before it passes in council.
“I think that there’s a process that we go through when council takes up an effort to support a community,” Gonzales said. “I think that there’s a process that needs to be respected.”
According to Gonzales, the BSU has been working on establishing a black studies program, but that the group was not given the opportunity to provide input in the resolution.
“I’m disappointed that the council didn’t realize that there shouldn’t have been a written resolution without speaking to the community first,” Gonzales said. “It showed a lot of ego on [the council’s] part and made it about themselves, rather than making the resolution about the community and students.”
Silva said during the April 28 council meeting that he had talked to faculty and staff in regards to the resolution and tried to contact a BSU representative. Silva said that he was disappointed that there were objections to passing the resolution on April 28.
“That was a difficult debate, and we didn’t know whether to pass it or hold off on it,” Silva said. “It’s sad to see that something that was supposed to unify people divided them.”
Chris Sweeten, a BSU member, was also present during the council meeting and urged the council to table the legislation until members of the BSU could give input during its meeting on May 3.
“I feel that if you really want the resolution to pass, then you should look at the members of the community that it actually effects and not just staff members,” Sweeten said during the council’s April 28 meeting. “You need to look at the students because if this is passed, then there’s probably going to be a committee that will be brought to the floor and these students are the ones who are probably going to fill the spots in a committee.”
With the resolution passed, Silva said that the important next step is to have students work together on the issue to make sure that a program is established.
“What’s important is that students come together, whoever they are and whatever their academic pursuit is, and try to establish this program on campus,” Silva said.
According to Silva, another initial step in the process of establishing the program includes speaking to faculty members.
“[Marshall] student council is intending to talk to faculty members associated with the program and faculty who are pushing it forward,” Silva said. “Now that we’ve identified that there are students behind it, we need to identify what elements in the faculty would need to support it. We also need to reach out to other members of community, work with other groups representing black communities, and work with professors.”
According to outgoing A.S. Vice President of Academic Affairs Todd Tolin, creating a black studies minor is feasible and would need to be generated by faculty members who are willing to teach classes that are focused on this one topic.
“I believe that this has been in the works for 30 years and there are courses that would work in this program,” Tolin said. “They just need to find faculty that would commit to teaching those classes and put together a specific focus for the program.”
Once a department that is willing to house the minor is found, the next step would be to draft the main goal of the program and select the specific courses that students can take. The draft would need to be approved by the Academic Senate and by the UCSD administration.
“In my discussion with the administration, it seems everyone is behind [a black studies program],” Tolin said. “There’s just a resource problem — having faculty say ‘yes’ and draw a whole program is where I think they’ve hit a stalling point.”
Tolin said that the next step is for students to take the resolution, show faculty members that there is support for the program, and ask them for their commitment.
