"The Moves Have Reignited Old Debates—and Wounds—about Cal State's Commitment to Social and Cultural Diversity"

"Officials at San Jose State are proposing to reduce African American studies from a department with its own administrative functions and fold it into the sociology and social sciences department. They argue that the program as it currently stands—with one full-time faculty member and about 12 student majors—can't sustain itself. The move would provide students with a wider variety of courses and they would still be able to major or minor in African American Studies, spokeswoman Pat Lopes Harris said.
"But department chair Ruth Wilson said the low numbers reflect a lack of investment. She argued that her department and other ethnic studies programs are in a Catch-22: budget cuts that resulted in fewer faculty, courses and student enrollment are now being used to justify further cuts."

Carla Rivera in the Los Angeles Times explores the problems ethnic studies faces in the California State University system.