FULLERTON : Ethnic Studies May Be Offered as Major

An academic committee has recommended that ethnic studies be offered as a major at Fullerton College.

The proposal is scheduled to be voted on next month by North Orange County Community College District trustees.

If trustees approve the plan, students could graduate with an associate in arts degree in ethnic studies. Such studies currently are taught at the community college, but a student cannot receive a degree in that field.

On Sept. 16, about 300 college and high school students demonstrated at Fullerton College, urging more attention to ethnic studies and more hiring of Latino teachers. Fullerton College President Philip W. Borst said Tuesday that the September demonstration had a small role in the college’s move toward elevating ethnic studies into a major.

The demonstration “heightened people’s awareness, but I don’t think it caused this,” Borst said.

Gerald Padilla, a Fullerton College professor who has taught ethnic studies since 1972, similarly downplayed the students’ demonstration.

Padilla said that approval of ethnic studies as a major would be symbolically important. “We’ve been teaching ethnic studies here at Fullerton College for more than two decades, but having it as a major would give it more academic legitimacy and credibility,” said Padilla.

Another Fullerton College ethnic studies instructor, Ernest Bridges, said Tuesday that he was “very elated” that ethnic studies is on the verge of becoming a major.

“As companies become more diverse, they are more and more asking (prospective employees), ‘What other kinds of cultures have you studied?’ ” said Bridges, who teaches African American history.