Six UC campuses have it. UCSD does not. What is it?

A black studies program.

UCSD boasts of being ranked at the top of the UC system for its academic strengths, on par with UC Berkeley and UCLA. However, a black studies program is sorely lacking and long overdue. This can’t be chalked up to a lack of student interest; the Black Student Union has long been working on starting such a program at UCSD, and the A.S. Council and Thurgood Marshall College Student Council passed resolutions in support of a black studies program. These resolutions can be used to achieve a realistic goal.

While budget cuts may make departments reluctant to launch such a program at this time, the fact is that many current courses could be incorporated into a black studies minor. The only snags are in drafting the program and pushing it through the bureaucracy. But with the zeal of supportive students, the support of interested professors and swiftness on the part of the Academic Senate, a black studies minor is not only possible, but a probability. Some day, it could even evolve into a major, as it has at most other UCs.

While a black studies minor would provide UCSD undergraduates with a great academic opportunity, the program would also help attract black students to UCSD. Our campus currently enrolls the lowest percentage of black students of all UC campuses — just 1 percent. Students rallied against low black enrollment in March, and made various demands of the administration to help boost these numbers. Out of all their demands, a black studies program is the most likely to be implemented.

But this is about more than offering more majors or increasing the enrollment of one ethnicity. It’s about recognizing the accomplishments of the black community and its role in American history and culture. UCSD must close gaps in knowledge, and encourage all involved in this process — students, staff and faculty alike — to work together to implement this important program.