At tonight’s undergraduate student government meeting, councilmembers will vote to endorse a student-drafted petition to save the international development studies major after its recent suspension by the Undergraduate Council of the UCLA Academic Senate.
A vote of approval from the Undergraduate Students Association Council is an important step toward building a strong case, said Amanda Jessen, a fourth-year international development studies student.
In late April, the UCLA Undergraduate Council announced that the suspension of the major would last a year while the department reforms its curriculum, according to Daily Bruin archives.
Michael Goldstein, the chair of the Academic Senate, was unavailable for comment on Friday and during Memorial Day weekend.
In a previous interview with the Daily Bruin, Goldstein said the main change that needed to be made was the level of involvement from the faculty. He said that because the major is interdisciplinary, there are no professors who work solely in the international development studies department.
Jessen is one of many international development studies students who have been working to save the major since its suspension, effective June 1, was announced. Jessen drafted the petition last week, and other concerned students rallied behind her.
The students collected more than 200 signatures from international development studies students and students outside the program.
“While most of us agree that maintenance needs to be done, suspension of admissions is a rather drastic, unnecessary means to achieve that end,” Jessen said.
Michael Lofchie, the chair of the international development studies program, said he is preparing to finalize a set of proposed reforms on Thursday that will address the concerns of the Undergraduate Council.
Lofchie said he plans to present the list to the council in the fall in hopes that they will agree that the Academic Senate’s concerns were met.
“The IDS major appeals to idealized students who want to make the world a better place to live in, and for this reason, I believe (the set of reforms) is crucial to save this major,” Lofchie said.
The advocates of the major said they are still collecting signatures and will be rallying and demonstrating on Bruin Walk today in hopes of making more students aware of their petition.
The petition’s Facebook group ““ titled “Act Quickly to Save IDS at UCLA!” ““ states that those in the program are “a dedicated, passionate and erudite group of students that care deeply about resolving global inequality through the elimination of poverty.”
The students decided to post the petition online and create a support group on Facebook to make as many students as possible aware of the petition as well as to keep members current with important events and dates.
The petition addresses the Academic Senate’s reasons as to why the major was suspended and lists the students’ counter-arguments. It includes evidence for each reason, explaining why advocates of the major believe the suspension was a poor decision and how the situation can be remedied.
Some of the issues include securing committed faculty members for teaching core international development studies classes and improving and restructuring the Faculty Advisory Committee to strengthen transparency, administrative effectiveness and dialogue, Jessen said.
Advocates for the major feel that the decision to suspend the major was made too quickly and without much thought and hope they can address the Undergraduate Council’s concerns without suspending admissions.
International development studies professors and students fear that suspension of admissions will damage the major’s reputation and credibility.
USAC president Cinthia Flores said the petition warrants discussion by USAC because it affects a large number of students.
The student petition will be voted on by USAC councilmembers tonight at their weekly meeting.