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L.A. Now Live: Discuss ethnic studies in California universities

Kyla Artigo, 20, center, speaks during an Asian American studies class at Cal State Long Beach.
(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
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Join Times staff writer Carla Rivera at 9 a.m. for an online discussion about the future of ethnic studies programs in California universities, particularly in the California State University system.

In Rivera’s latest article, she writes:

In the 1960s, California college campuses were hotbeds of civil rights and free speech activity, where student protests resulted in the nation’s first ethnic studies programs at San Francisco State and UC Berkeley, among others.

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Ethnic studies became a sought-after major and a safe setting in which to examine the influence of the state’s diverse population of Latinos, African Americans, whites, Asians and others.

In recent years, however, some of those programs have been cut back, particularly in the Cal State system. Today, students — along with faculty members — are once again protesting, this time to save ethnic studies majors.

Rivera has followed the issue closely, and at 9 a.m. readers can send in their questions. Just log on to www.latimes.com and join the discussion.

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