a system at fault
by cecilia tranA follow-up on the budget cut "resolutions"
Student protests have never been a foreign concept here at Berkeley. In fact, the constant bombardment of cause after cause can leave us so jaded that it takes something extraordinary to grab our attention. For many, that “something” came last May in the form of a protest to save Asian language courses, particularly those of the East Asian Language and Cultures (EALC) department, from predicted budget cuts. Since May, the administration has found that an increase in student fees and a predicted increase from California state funds will be sufficient to restore the EALC and other humanities departments’ budgets back to 2007-2008 levels. While this is great news, the budget is only secure for this year, meaning that the issue is likely to recur. With this in mind, it is crucial to look at the broader implications of last year’s proposed EALC budget cuts.
The uneven distribution of the budget cut has shown that the university does not prioritize education in languages and cultures, especially those of interest to Asian American students. Jeffrey Shieh, a double major in Chinese and Japanese and a minor in Korean, states, "That the university would consider such talented and indispensable lecturers as the most dispensable resources during hard times is draconian and foolish, and that is why I decided I had to take a stand."
Berkeley is constantly trying to hype the diversity with tactics such as flying banners depicting students who coincidentally reflect every ethnic minority. However, the fact of the matter is that roughly 45% of the student population is Asian Pacific American and the limited range of Asian language and area studies classes does not reflect the demographics. Even before the threat of budget cuts departments like Tagalog still did not have a minor while Korean studies only recently got a minor in 2004 even though the field was established in 1979.
Not only was the cut disproportionately harsh on Asian language and culture classes but the administration also failed to make public its decisions. Rather than releasing a document stating the cuts in every humanities department, Dean of Arts & Humanities Janet Broughton privately notified the department heads only of cuts allocated to their particular departments. This lack of transparency has caused many to question whether or not the budget cut information was timed to be leaked out during the chaos of finals to deter student mobilization. As Shieh, a leader in the student movement to protest the budget cuts, states, "The university seemed bent on ignoring students’ voices and so we had to find another outlet. It was because there was no response that we had to hold press conferences, contact the media, hold a rally, etc. It was a real eye-opener to see that the administration did not care much about students’ opinions and that they cared only about the university’s public image."
Ultimately, the biggest issue of all is that the restoration of funds is a sloppy patch up for a system that is failing to provide students with a stable, high quality education. Currently, the salaries of most humanities lecturers and graduate student instructors are funded with temporary money tied to the state budget. These staff members receive pay from the Temporary Academic Staff (TAS) fund, meaning that they are untenured and face the risk of unemployment whenever the budget is in crisis.
Andrew Leong, a doctoral candidate in Comparative Literature and a core member of the Committee to Save East Asian Languages and Korean Studies (CSEALKS), states, “While the department has gained a one-year reprieve, serious damage was already done. Some talented and experienced teachers left because they needed to find secure places of employment.”
Tenure is typically reserved for professors with PhD’s who often double as researchers. Their salaries come from a more stable and permanent fund known as the Full Time Equivalent (FTE). While there is nothing wrong with professors receiving tenure, it would only be fair for lecturers and graduate instructors, the people who most directly impact the quality of education, to benefit from a similar kind of employment security that professors receive.
Christine Hong, a postdoctoral fellow and another key leader in the ad hoc CSEALKS, asserts, “When Berkeley chooses to have a core part of its budget depend on and be tied to the California state budget, it’s demonstrating that that area that it’s funding from the state budget is of a lesser priority than that which it funds through its permanent budget.”
This raises the question of whether or not Berkeley prides itself as a research institution at the expense of its commitment to the educational needs of its students. Although a crucial aspect of this university is its world-class research projects, it is imperative that Berkeley remains first and foremost an institution dedicated to molding well-rounded, intelligent students who in turn will shape the future.
Considering the uncertainty that surrounds both the economy of the state and the nation, the question that should be on everyone’s mind is, “Will these academic departments be lucky enough to survive in round two?” Efforts are currently being made to ensure that this is not an issue that is ignored. CSEALKS has changed its name to API Languages and Education NOW! Members of this organization seek to establish their ad hoc committee along more permanent, ASUC-recognized lines in order to institutionalize their struggle. Their mission continues to be, as Hong states, “to disaggregate instructor and lecturer’s salaries from the TAS fund and to push for program development in underrepresented and under supported API fields." Hong along with fellow API Languages and Education NOW! leaders, Mary June Flores and Sarah Cho, have also drafted an issue brief on security of employment that has been officially endorsed as a part of the ASUC advocacy agenda for this year.
The Asian language and culture departments can and will survive future budget threats only if the students continue to express their commitment to a stronger API curriculum without letting the passion and fervor expressed in the spring die out. The protest and the committees created by the students last May caused this issue to be reported on by 35 ethnic and mainstream publications and news stations. The organization and dedication of students were extremely instrumental in pressuring the administration to restore funds to Asian language and culture departments. Let us look on these successes as a concrete fact that we do have a voice and that, if united, we will be heard.