University of Maryland Students and Asian American Studies

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Guest Column: Excluded from the plan

By: Lee Fang and Scottie Siu
Posted: 4/22/08

As Asian-American students at this university, we are deeply concerned about the proposed version of the Strategic Plan. The current draft does not clearly outline the current state of diversity, nor does it recommend any specific plans on how to improve or expand minority recruitment and retention to create a more representative student body. Though the Strategic Plan vaguely mentions diversity as a "value" and "strength" of the university, we believe diversity must be further emphasized as an integral component to build a truly inclusive curriculum and educational environment.

The 2000 Strategic Plan directly addressed the status of minority students and faculty, while proactively recommending many specific steps to ensure people of color are embraced by the university community. Many benchmarks outlined eight years ago have been met, but much remains to be done. If the Strategic Plan being debated now fails to even set a criterion for improvement, then how can we expect positive change?

The purpose of the Strategic Plan is to provide a framework for helping our university become more competitive with our peer institutions, and we share that goal. But our school cannot rise in academic excellence unless the curriculum includes strong programs and departments dedicated to the study of race, gender, sexual orientation and other issues of diversity and identity. Diversity is not limited to the demographic composition of the student body; it extends beyond mere physical representation. To cultivate a diverse student body on the campus, it is essential to encourage a dialogue through lectures and coursework, encompassing a wide array of ideologies and perspectives. These classes challenge students to grapple with the complexities of race and other social justice issues and contribute to a more lively and intellectual discussion on our campus.

The current draft largely ignores these research topics and completely disregards Asian-American studies, thus leading us to believe the future of such programs remains dubious. Michigan, Berkeley and many other top public universities have established well respected Asian-American studies programs and view them as critical elements that help to develop diversity of opinion. If we are to emulate the success of these institutions, we cannot exclude Asian-American studies from our future development. The existing Asian-American studies program is highly popular, and classes are chronically oversubscribed. In addition to a broader commitment to building our emergent ethnic studies programs, we would like to see a proposal in the Strategic Plan to expand Asian-American studies into an academic major.

Asian Americans comprise nearly 14 percent of the undergraduate student body, and Asian-American alumni have donated more than $20 million in the past five years. Despite these contributions and our sustained presence, the current draft dedicates nothing to the distinct cultural needs of Asian-American students. At a minimum, the university should provide a reserved space for cultural activities and conduct more assessment surveys to improve counseling services.

Now, more than ever, the Strategic Plan matters. If our university's budget is cut, fledging ethnic studies programs are highly vulnerable to being eliminated or de-funded if they are not priorities within the Strategic Plan. Furthermore, ethnic studies programs such as Asian-American studies do not bring in massive grants from corporations and the government. So, from a pragmatic point of view, the science and engineering departments hold a privileged position when the university must make tough budget decisions.

We urge every student, faculty member and alumnus to contact Provost Nariman Farvardin to ask him to change the Strategic Plan and ensure diversity is included in the language as more than simply rhetoric. The current draft will be finalized this week, so the future of the university will depend on the input you make in the next few days.

Lee Fang is a senior government and politics major. Scottie Siu is a senior business major and is president of Pi Delta Psi. They can be reached at lhfang@gmail.com and scottie.k.siu@gmail.com.