ESAC Demonstrates For Ethnic Studies

Members of the Ethnic Studies Action Committee (ESAC) mobilized yesterday to advocate cultural diversity and the creation of an ethnic studies department at Harvard.

In their fourth consecutive demonstration during a Junior Parents Weekend, ESAC members tabled in front of the Science Center and passed out fliers on race and ethnic studies, a minority student center day diversity in the Core curriculum.

"We want the administration to express an official commitment to developing a coherent program in the ethnic studies," said Veronica S. Jung '97, a member of the Harvard Foundation's Academic Affairs Committee (AAC). "And Harvard is lagging behind."

The ESAC protesters cited the institution of ethnic studies at other universities. According to one of the fliers, Ivy League schools such as Columbia, Princeton and Brown have recently officially agreed to establish ethnic studies programs.

To encourage the creation of such a program at Harvard, the AAC sponsored a conference last November addressing the state of ethnic studies. The group also plans to organize panel discussions in April with members of the ad hoc Committee on Ethnic Studies.

Cho said that meetings of ESAC members with key administrators such as Jeremy R. Knowles, dean of the Faculty; Lawrence Buell, dean of undergraduate education and Jorge I. Dominguez, chair of the ad hoc Committee on Ethnic Studies, have yielded very few results. Knowles, Buell and Dominguez could not be reached for comment yesterday.

But one administrator said he supports some of the students' demands.

"I favor the inclusion of more courses that cover these topics, in part because no student can get a full understanding of this society without an understanding of the roles they play," said Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III.

This year's action was significantly more low-profile than that of previous years. Three years ago, undergraduates staged a protest during Junior Parents Weekend in which 50 students participated. The demonstration was a response both to the initial exclusion of Asian-Americans from discussion panels that weekend and to a statement of Kenan Professor of Government Harvey C. Mansfield '53, made earlier that winter, that linked college grade inflation to the presence of black students.

"This is just for publicity and to help cultivate support, but the actual work is done in meetings," said ESAC member Alex H. Cho '96, pointing to a table laden with an array of books on ethnic concerns and a petition asking for a more diverse curriculum. "This is just so people know we're still here and the issues are still here."

Cho said the lack of a formal ethnic studies program at Harvard is one such issue.

"[Those professors] are all visiting, and they're here for no more than a semester," Cho said. "There is zero stability as far as education in race and ethnic studies are concerned, aside from Afro-American studies."

For Monica T. Quock, an Asian studies graduate student handing out fliers at the protest, the dearth of an ethnic studies program could be particularly difficult. She said she might have to go to another university to get her Ph.D. due to Harvard's lack of ethnic studies courses.

"Harvard has a good program for studies of the different countries, but it's important to have courses on American minorities," she said

But one administrator said he supports some of the students' demands.

"I favor the inclusion of more courses that cover these topics, in part because no student can get a full understanding of this society without an understanding of the roles they play," said Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III.

This year's action was significantly more low-profile than that of previous years. Three years ago, undergraduates staged a protest during Junior Parents Weekend in which 50 students participated. The demonstration was a response both to the initial exclusion of Asian-Americans from discussion panels that weekend and to a statement of Kenan Professor of Government Harvey C. Mansfield '53, made earlier that winter, that linked college grade inflation to the presence of black students.

"This is just for publicity and to help cultivate support, but the actual work is done in meetings," said ESAC member Alex H. Cho '96, pointing to a table laden with an array of books on ethnic concerns and a petition asking for a more diverse curriculum. "This is just so people know we're still here and the issues are still here."

Cho said the lack of a formal ethnic studies program at Harvard is one such issue.

"[Those professors] are all visiting, and they're here for no more than a semester," Cho said. "There is zero stability as far as education in race and ethnic studies are concerned, aside from Afro-American studies."

For Monica T. Quock, an Asian studies graduate student handing out fliers at the protest, the dearth of an ethnic studies program could be particularly difficult. She said she might have to go to another university to get her Ph.D. due to Harvard's lack of ethnic studies courses.

"Harvard has a good program for studies of the different countries, but it's important to have courses on American minorities," she said