Opinion
Don’t ignore ethnic studies credit
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Also by Chelsea Lawliss:
- Court ruling favors corporate interests (January 25, 2010)
- Wisconsin can't afford to slow Race to the Top funds process (January 22, 2010)
- Fearing of taboo creates teachable moment (December 9, 2009)
- Don't ignore ethnic studies credit (November 13, 2009)
- Time limitations hurt sex crime victims (October 27, 2009)
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The countdown begins now. Halloween is over, cold weather is on its way (trust me, Mother Nature’s hot flash won’t last long) and the season of good cheer, celebration and family feuds over turkey dinners is fast approaching. The falling of the leaves not only marks the transition to the holiday season, but also for college students around the country, ‘tis the season of registration.
For two weeks, we frantically search for classes to make a schedule that, if we’re lucky, doesn’t equate to academic death. It seems we go to extreme measures to find that perfect class, even going to the extent of bribing our friends who have earlier registration times to hold classes that are sure to fill up (Human Sexuality anyone?).
But while scanning your DARS report, making sure that “Clap for Credit” or that second yoga class hasn’t put you too far behind schedule, you stop and do a double take when you stumble across the ethnic studies requirement. You know what I’m talking about: It’s that three-credit requirement you’ve been avoiding since SOAR.
Why is it we avoid fulfilling these credits? Is it because most of the classes don’t seem to have any pertinence to most majors? Or perhaps it is because “American West from 1850” doesn’t sound nearly as exciting as “Atomic and Quantum Physics?” Well, if you ask me, neither sounds particularly enjoyable, but you get the point. I would venture to guess that perhaps the underlying cause of all of these excuses is a hesitation to learn about the “culture and contributions of persistently marginalized racial or ethnic groups in the United States and equip students to respond constructively to issues connected with our pluralistic society and the global community,” which is what UW’s undergraduate catalog specifies as the goal of this requirement.
The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents reported last year that 10.8 percent of the undergraduate population — or 4,554 students — was comprised of international students. Approximately an eighth of all the undergraduate students here are black, Asian-American, Hispanic or Native American. Our student body represents a diverse mix of cultures and backgrounds from all over the world.
One would think with a campus and country as diverse as ours, we would be a little more gung-ho about taking a class that would help us understand both the differences and similarities of all our cultures. But we’re not. A certain complacency has settled upon our generation. Why worry about things like racism and prejudice when there are no people marching in Washington D.C. for civil rights? Right?
Wrong. Just because students are not protesting mistreatment of minorities on State Street on a daily basis does not mean that we, as students at an increasingly diverse campus, shouldn’t make an effort to learn more about the racial injustices occurring throughout our society. The absence of radical movements does not mean that a problem does not exist.
The election of a black president does not erase a history of mistreatment of blacks in the U.S. The stereotypes that all Asians watch anime and all Americans are loud and obnoxious are still widely accepted. Ethnic studies courses are going to challenge our preconceived notions of the world and the people who inhabit it. The topics of race, religion, prejudice and inequality are touchy subjects, but the classroom is the best arena for students to learn about one another.
It’s not a secret that racism and prejudices still exist within the boundaries of our perfectly manicured lawns and throughout the stately halls of the oldest buildings on this campus. Biases and racism will never be completely abolished; however, it is within the power of this generation to better understand and accept the beauty and complexity of living in a country where different races and cultures live and thrive together.
As you’re signing up for next semester’s classes, take the initiative to register for one of the many courses that fall under the ethnic studies category. Don’t consider the ethnic studies requirement as an obligation. These classes may not seem relevant to your major and the topics might sound a little foreign, but you’ll soon recognize the value of what you learn from them will stay with you longer than any Shakespearian sonnet or mathematical theorem.
Chelsea Lawliss (lawliss@wisc.edu) is a sophomore intending to major in journalism.
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Not to be rude, but ethnic studies class is completely worthless. The only thing people get from this class is pissed off that they have to be in it in the first place.
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“Why worry about things like racism and prejudice when there are no people marching in Washington D.C. for civil rights?”
The biggest advocates of racism and prejudice are the ethnic studies courses themselves. And one of the biggest racial injustices is the elevating of race to the forefront and treating individuals as members of racial groups. The whole idea of “diversity” centers on treating people differently based on their race - this is racism.
To those who truly care about eliminating racism, prejudice and collectivism, it is not ethnicity that needs studying, it’s individualism. This - treating individuals as individuals instead of racial groups - is the actual meaning of the civil rights movement. It appears that many students understand this better than their professors.
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I wholeheartedly agree with this. Well put!
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Your argument might be the beginning of the cycle, but at this point its impossible to tell. As it is, there are a limited number of ethnic studies courses and a large amount of seniors that need those three credits to graduate. As they sign up first and pick over those of most interest, with the best professors, and at the best times, underclassmen are left to wait their turn until they have the credit-power to sign up for a halfway decent ethnic studies course. Also, underclassmen are often concerned with figuring out their major and taking general courses that allow them to take more enjoyable and useful upper level classes. Since ethnic studies is viewed as a one class requirement its not all that necessary to worry about until later on, regardless of one’s concerns with minorities and those of other cultures etc. Attributing this trend to racism and such seems much less realistic.
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Agree that it’s important. But the majority of classes offered SUCKKKK.
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Great article!
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Okay, for those who think the e requirement is great, point out a class next semester that would be good to take.
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I believe it makes sense to write off ethnic studies as unimportant if one believes that learning about other cultures than their own or the dominant cultures are unimportant. If one believes these other cultures to be unimportant, nonexistant or both. For people of color coming here, international students coming here, like it or not, many of us have to learn white American culture. It’s not a single-credit class, it’s a daily experience. And so to have to, for one part of your four or more year career here, study and learn about another culture seems a bit small to me in comparison.
The idea that we can just be individuals and ignore each other’s cultures and backgrounds is A CRUCIAL PART of white American culture. Colorblindness supports white supremacy through omission and negligence. A way to cut through this supremacist agenda is to educate oneself about other people, to be conscious that others are different, but still deserve their dignity and the respect you give to fellow white people, fellow men, fellow straight people. To say you don’t want to do this but also don’t want to recognize others’ struggles to learn and live in your predominant culture is inherently discriminatory and in a harmful way.
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“Colorblindness supports white supremacy”
Colorblindness means NOT regarding individuals as supreme or inferior based on their race. It is the opposite of white supremacy.
If only “ethnic studies” courses were simply about studying other cultures they might be legitimate classes. But, they are not.
Instead these courses teach that the West has a “supremacist agenda” and that every culture deserves “dignity and respect” regardless of how depraved the culture is. And they teach students to think in terms of “fellow white people,” “fellow men,” and “fellow straight people” - i.e., in collectivist terms - rather than in terms of individuals and their ideas.
The disastrous result is that students can no longer distinguish between racism and individualism and between colorblindness and white supremacy.