The Red and Black

Issue date: 3/25/08 Section: Opinions

CONNOR McCARTHY

NICKI BATELLI

As you hopefully are aware by now, the University Curriculum Committee voted to deactivate the Spanish minor last Friday despite heavy resistance from Student Government Association, several faculty members and Vice President of Instruction Jere Morehead.

Prior to the meeting, we collected letters from students enrolled in the minor, parents of students enrolled, alumni of the program and parents of prospective students intending to minor in Spanish, all of which indicated a strong desire to maintain the minor and a sincere concern that our University would consider its discontinuation.

With the growing importance and prevalence of the Spanish language, we are concerned this will cripple our students, faculty and the world at large. Spanish as a language has become essential in our community and internationally, and the minor has given the opportunity for our graduates to succeed on a global level.

The Committee failed to recognize the continued growing importance of Spanish, in spite of a recent funding increase by the Office of the Vice President of Instruction geared toward increasing instructors, which clearly recognized the importance of the language.

There are 577 enrolled Spanish minors, and the program is growing, a sign of its increasing importance and success. The proposal focuses on removing students from studying Spanish. However, the growth and success of the program indicates, if anything, a need for continued education.

According to the 2006 Georgia census, there were 696,146 residents of Spanish or Latino descent, and it is one of 13 states housing at least 500,000 Hispanic residents. Deactivation of this minor will prevent countless numbers of students and state of Georgia citizens from becoming proficient in Spanish.

This proposal is in complete contradiction with the Mission Statement of the University in overlooking "a commitment to excellence in a teaching/learning environment dedicated to serve a diverse and well-prepared student body, to promote high levels of student achievement and to provide appropriate academic support services" and "a commitment to excellence in public service, economic development, and technical assistance activities designed to address the strategic needs of the state of Georgia along with a comprehensive offering of continuing education designed to meet the needs of Georgia's citizens in life-long learning and professional education."

The passing of this proposal not only will compromise the national standing of our University, but also will inherently contradict the University's Task Force on General Education and Student Learning.

A selection of our peer and aspirational institutions, as deemed by the Board of Regents, all offer a Spanish minor to their students. Through not meeting these standards of higher education, we would be irreparably damaging the reputation of the University. In so doing, this proposal will act as a deterrent for potential students looking to minor in Spanish.

We, the Student Government Association in representing the student body of the University, formally declare our strong opposition to this proposal and its consequences, both intended and unintended. Further, we fully intend to pursue discontinuation of this proposal by all means.

- Connor McCarthy and Nicki Batelli are the president and vice president of the Student Government Association.

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