APIA students at Hunter College ask for support
I was recently contacted by Zabrina Collazo who is a member of the Coalition for the Revitalization of Asian American Studies at Hunter (CRAASH), a student group created towards the effort of rejuvenating the Asian American Studies Program (AASP) at Hunter College. The students are frustrated in their efforts to make the administration there understand the importance of preserving and investing in the college's Asian American Studies Program. Below is an excerpt from Zabrina's email. Please contact Zabrina and offer support if you can.
From Zabrina Collazo:
"This year marks the 40th Anniversary of the 1968 San Francisco Strikes, the longest student strike in American history, which led the way for ethnic studies. It is disappointing that four decades later, there is still so much progress to be made.
While other colleges have full-fledged departments and offer both a minor and major, Hunter College has a small, pitiful program. CRAASH's ultimate goal is for the administrations of Hunter College and the greater CUNY system to actively support the Asian American Studies Program (AASP) at Hunter through: 1) increasing funding for the program; 2) allocating full-time professors to the program; 3) and allowing more of the courses enlisted under the program to be offered. Funding for the program was so poor at one point that the AASP professors used a storage closet as an office. Though students can minor in Asian American Studies, only the same few classes are offered. Even the minor was put on hold in Fall 2006 because of a lack of funding.
In spite of our communication with the Hunter administration, changes have yet to be made. Administrators have given us evasive answers and empty promises, and are taking credit for the efforts made independently by the program's director - without help from them. They are not concerned with providing the AASP with the resources it deserves as an academic program.
This issue is a huge problem that negatively impacts the academic community of Hunter College and New York City. For more information, please visit our Myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/huntercraash or join our Facebook group by searching for CRASH with one A.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this email. CRAASH is grateful for any help that you can give us. The more attention and support we have on these issues, the better.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Zabrina Collazo
Associate Director
(646) 258-1644
huntercraash@yahoo.com"
Peace and Blessings,
Michelle
From Zabrina Collazo:
"This year marks the 40th Anniversary of the 1968 San Francisco Strikes, the longest student strike in American history, which led the way for ethnic studies. It is disappointing that four decades later, there is still so much progress to be made.
While other colleges have full-fledged departments and offer both a minor and major, Hunter College has a small, pitiful program. CRAASH's ultimate goal is for the administrations of Hunter College and the greater CUNY system to actively support the Asian American Studies Program (AASP) at Hunter through: 1) increasing funding for the program; 2) allocating full-time professors to the program; 3) and allowing more of the courses enlisted under the program to be offered. Funding for the program was so poor at one point that the AASP professors used a storage closet as an office. Though students can minor in Asian American Studies, only the same few classes are offered. Even the minor was put on hold in Fall 2006 because of a lack of funding.
In spite of our communication with the Hunter administration, changes have yet to be made. Administrators have given us evasive answers and empty promises, and are taking credit for the efforts made independently by the program's director - without help from them. They are not concerned with providing the AASP with the resources it deserves as an academic program.
This issue is a huge problem that negatively impacts the academic community of Hunter College and New York City. For more information, please visit our Myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/huntercraash or join our Facebook group by searching for CRASH with one A.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this email. CRAASH is grateful for any help that you can give us. The more attention and support we have on these issues, the better.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Zabrina Collazo
Associate Director
(646) 258-1644
huntercraash@yahoo.com"
Peace and Blessings,
Michelle
posted by Yellow Rage at
3/12/2008 09:24:00 AM
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