CSUN Pressured to Expand Armenian Language Study

Assemblyman Mike Roos (D-Los Angeles) has threatened to try to change the budget for the California State University system to force administrators at its Northridge campus to hire an Armenian language instructor if the university has not found the money to hire one by May 1.

Armenian has been taught at Cal State Northridge for five years, but is not part of the school’s budget. It was first offered as an extension course and then for credit with a volunteer instructor who was to be paid an honorarium by the CSUN Armenian Students Assn.

Roos said that, by May 1, he either wants the university to have identified the money needed to hire a language instructor or he and state Sen. William Campbell (R-Hacienda Heights) will add a line item to the CSU budget to compel CSUN to hire one without adding extra funds.

The political maneuver is necessary, Roos said, because CSUN has been slow in its response to Armenian students.

Roos learned of the lack of university funding for a language teacher through a Times article sent to him by former Democratic Assemblyman Walter Karabian. Karabian said he believes that a state university serving an area with the largest concentration of Armenians outside of Soviet Armenia has a responsibility to have a faculty member who can teach that language.

There are about 200,000 Armenians living in the Los Angeles area and about 750 students of Armenian descent among the 21,000 full-time CSUN students, according to Armenian student leaders.

In a letter to Karabian, Roos said he finds the situation “intolerable” and said it “seems to be discriminatory against one of the largest and finest ethnic communities in the San Fernando Valley.”

CSUN officials said that Roos’ ultimatum comes at a bad time. They are in the middle of discussions with two Armenian businessmen who may donate enough money for the establishment of an Armenian Studies program, which would include language courses as well as courses in Armenian history and culture. University officials are concerned that the delicate negotiations could break down if the businessmen misinterpret Roos’ action as providing the money for an Armenian Studies program.

The ultimatum has also angered some Northridge officials who say it comes dangerously close to legislative interference in curriculum.

Moreover, CSUN administrators said they were never informed of any deadline for finding the money. But Roos and a top aide for Campbell insist that they informed school officials.

“May 1 was chosen because it falls during the height of the legislative budget season,” said Jerry Haleva, Campbell’s chief of staff. During this period, the two politicians could use their memberships on influential finance committees to change CSUN’s budget, he added.

Campbell is chairman of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, and Roos is a member of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee.

Student demand led to the creation of the CSUN Armenian class in 1983. At that time, it was offered through the university’s extension program and was paid for with student fees.

But the students became unhappy with the situation, complaining that lack of publicity about extension classes kept down enrollment, and asked that the university hire a professor and add the class to the regular curriculum.

CSUN officials said they were hesitant to do this because demand for Armenian was too low to justify hiring a teacher.

Last year for the first time, Armenian was offered for credit on an experimental basis through the foreign languages and literature department, and was listed in the general CSUN course catalogue.

Enrollment increased to 37 students, more than three times the previous semester’s enrollment.

A volunteer instructor was found to whom the CSUN Armenian Students Assn. pledged an $800 to $1,200 honorarium. But, by the middle of the semester, club members had not raised enough money to pay the salary. The students again asked that the university foot the bill for the class and hire a permanent Armenian language instructor.

Alvin Ford, chairman of the foreign languages department, said that, although he would like to hire an Armenian instructor, no money is available. What’s more, he said, Northridge administrators are reluctant to hire a permanent instructor because Armenian is not part of an academic program that leads to a degree.

If successful, the Roos and Campbell budget amendment would force CSUN officials to reduce the budget of another university department in order to finance a language instructor’s salary. Part-time assistant professors in the California State University system generally earn about $14,000 a year.

‘Rob One to Fund Another’

“Which program would they like us to reduce?” asked Dorena Knepper, CSUN’s director of governmental and administrative affairs. “We would have to rob one to fund another.”

Bob Suzuki, CSUN vice president for academic affairs, said curriculum matters should be decided on campus by departments that know the needs of the university.

“We would hate to have the Legislature dictate curriculum,” Suzuki said.

As a general rule, CSU officials oppose any state or federal legislation that orders the system to offer a particular course, according to Lee Kerschner, vice chancellor of academic affairs for the 19 CSU campuses.

“Curriculum is the prerogative of the faculty,” Kerschner said.

Kerschner, however, declined to comment on the Roos-Campbell proposal because he said he has not had time to review it. He also refused to predict what position the system might take if Roos and Campbell try to amend the state budget and force CSUN to hire a language teacher.

The educators’ arguments against changing the budget have not dissuaded Roos and Campbell.

“They routinely come to us with funding requests for their priorities and their needs,” said Haleva, Campbell’s chief of staff. “Now Campbell and Roos are coming to them with their priorities.”

Added Roos: “They don’t mind when we fund specific buildings. They shouldn’t mind when we want to fund a specific program.”