The Anti-Racism major at KSC is facing several “unanticipated obstacles.”
That is according to Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Dr. Denise Burchsted. She said the program was placed on administrative hold following a loss of faculty during Keene State’s faculty buyouts last summer.
Because the new major is on hold, Burchsted said the school is unable to promote the major to current and prospective students. Right now, the Anti-Racist Studies program is awaiting the curriculum process.
Provost Dr. James Beeby said that during the process, the school looks at the program of study and puts together a sample syllabus: a collection of courses provided and outlines outcomes and goals for the program. He mentioned that the program is first reviewed and approved by other faculty members, then it is approved by Keene State and sent to the college senate to be voted on. After it is approved by the senate, it is sent to Beeby’s office before it is included in the academic catalog.
Dr. Burchsted added that the program is expected to undergo this process by the end of the month.
Although students cannot yet enroll in the major, Associate Vice President for Institutional Diversity and Equity Dr. Dottie Morris said many of the courses in the department are courses already taught at Keene State that are included in other majors at the college. She added that the school may only need to add three to four unique classes to Anti-Racist Studies.
“For the most part, students are already taking a lot of these courses that would be a part of the major,” Morris said. “If a student takes a certain suite of courses, why not think of a way for them to have an additional credential?”
Beeby said he thinks the program will be a successful effort by the school.
“We don’t add programs for the sake of adding them,” Beeby said. “We add programs that we believe we have the expertise to put in them.”
Students are expected to be able to enroll in the program next fall, although students at Keene State might not be aware the program will be offered. The Equinox surveyed a random pool of 10 students about the new major being offered at the school. Only one student, sophomore Sarah Gobieo, said she was aware of the program. The others did not.
“I figured we were against racism, but I didn’t know, if this is a new initiative, that it was happening,” said junior Aran Testa.
Although only 10% knew about the major, 60% of those surveyed said they would be interested in at least taking courses from the Anti-Racist Studies program.
“We have some diversity, but not a lot, and I do have friends of color who do feel secluded from some stuff, so I feel it’s important that they address the issues,” said sophomore Alex Groff.
“The further we can educate people on different backgrounds and stuff they might not have learned in their hometowns especially, I think the more involvement and education we can get to them is really important,” said Gobieo.
Women and Gender Studies (WGS) major Chantel Salas said she didn’t see the point in the addition of the program, because it sounds very similar to her major, which was cut by the school last summer. The college plans to incorporate courses from the WGS department into the Anti-Racist Studies major.
“It feels very performative to me,” Salas said. “I am a student of color on campus, I know that there are issues that happen on campus that aren’t addressed and I think this program is almost like a blanket for it.”
Hunter Oberst can be contacted at
hoberst@kscequinox.com
