Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Here Are Systemic Actions CSU Plans in Promoting Social Justice and Addressing Racial Injustices
gvw_calmatters
By CalMatters
Published 5 years ago on
June 21, 2020

Share

In the wake of the heartless killing of George Floyd, and as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to exact a devastating and disproportionate toll on communities of color, never before have I sensed a feeling of helplessness so profound, held by so many.

Outrage is justified and protest imperative, but nothing less than bold, systemic change can begin to correct the racial injustice that has for so long plagued our nation.

Timothy P. White

Special to CalMatters 

Systemic.

As chancellor of the California State University, I have always bristled at the word “system” as a coldly inaccurate way to describe the CSU’s vibrant and varied 23 institutions of higher learning. But system it is.

Indeed, I am privileged to lead what is the largest and most diverse four-year university system in the country – 481,000 students. Twenty-three CSU campuses grace our state, from Humboldt State in the north to San Diego State in the south. With more than 3.8 million CSU alumni serving in every imaginable capacity throughout California and beyond, the CSU is a powerful economic engine – through times of prosperity, adversity and recovery.

I am equally proud to say that the CSU has long been a catalyst for creating a more equitable society and is a standard bearer for inclusive excellence. Our flagship student-success program, Graduation Initiative 2025, seeks to eliminate equity gaps and to help more students from all walks of life achieve the lifelong benefits of a high-quality college degree.

But I acknowledge that we must do more. Now is the time for deeper, systemic action to promote social justice in its full breadth and to re-evaluate the structures that constrain us from becoming the full embodiment of our core values.

Here are our next actions.

Ethnic Studies Courses on CSU Campuses Statewide Have Helped Our Students

First, the CSU unconditionally supports Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5. Authored by Assemblymember Shirley Weber, a Democrat from San Diego, ACA 5 allows voters to repeal provisions of Proposition 209 that have blocked proven strategies to improve educational equity and degree completion for students of color, including scholarships and recruitment and retention programs – for both students and faculty – based on race/ethnicity. ACA 5 will eliminate these barriers and allow the CSU to consider race as one of many factors when developing programs.

And just last week, the police chiefs of our 23 campus police departments – with my full support and that of all CSU campus presidents – pledged their commitment to adopt the recommendations of President Barack Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, and to disavow the carotid chokehold, which has no place in our society, on campus or off.

And on July 21, after much consultation with faculty, students and other stakeholders, the CSU will advance to its board of trustees a proposal requiring every CSU student to complete a course in ethnic studies and social justice as a component of their CSU degree.

More than 50 years ago, and born out of protest, the nation’s first ethnic studies college was founded at San Francisco State. Since then, ethnic studies courses on CSU campuses statewide have helped our students appreciate the rich variety of personal experiences, histories, barriers and world views that exist among us, while giving students from diverse backgrounds a rightful sense of pride and belonging on our campuses.

Courses Will Be Designed Locally by Faculty on Each Campus

The first significant addition to the CSU’s general education requirements in 40 years, the proposal builds on this long-standing history, while answering the demand for systemic change.

For the first time, all CSU students – roughly 125,000 each year – would choose from an array of courses that explore ethnic studies, as well as the broader scope of social justice. And that is consequential.

Our students will learn to identify and critically analyze repressive structures within our society, as well as how those structures relate to all forms of oppression. We want to inspire in our students a lifetime of engagement toward a more just society.

These courses will be designed locally by faculty on each campus, reflecting the unique communities we serve, as well as the varied experiences of our diverse students.

It is our aim that, with eyes wide open, all CSU graduates in every major will be equipped to see, question and dismantle the racial and social injustices that stain our nation – and take action to advance true systemic change.

About the Author 

Timothy P. White is chancellor of the California State University, csu-chancellor@calstate.edu. He wrote this commentary for CalMatters. 

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Madera County Wildfire Prompts Evacuation Warnings, Road Closures

DON'T MISS

Sanger Police Seek Public’s Help to Find Missing Teen

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Everyone Should Immediately Evacuate Tehran

DON'T MISS

Inside Trump’s Extraordinary Turnaround on Immigration Raids

DON'T MISS

Trump Approval Steady at 42%, Support Weakens for His Immigration Policy, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

DON'T MISS

Person Rescued from Fresno Canal, Third Incident in Recent Days

DON'T MISS

Arias Dodges Questions About His False Fresno ICE Raid Claim

DON'T MISS

Iranian State TV Halts Live Broadcast After Israeli Strike

DON'T MISS

Global Markets Recover on Iran Ceasefire Reports, Central Banks in Focus

DON'T MISS

Madera Man Sentenced to Over 21 Years for Fentanyl, Meth Trafficking

UP NEXT

Millions of Americans Like Trump Better in Theory Than in Practice

UP NEXT

Newsom Wanted To Fast-Track the Delta Tunnel Project. The Legislature Slowed the Flow

UP NEXT

Israel Had the Courage to Do What Needed to Be Done

UP NEXT

California’s Battle Against Homelessness Needs a ‘Combined Arms’ Approach

UP NEXT

An Anti-War Movement Is Stirring in Israel

UP NEXT

This Israeli Government Is a Danger to Jews Everywhere

UP NEXT

Water Scarcity Is Forcing Tough Decisions. This Legislation Can Keep Our Family Farm Afloat

UP NEXT

The Democrats’ Problems Are Bigger Than You Think

UP NEXT

Health Care Is a Lifeline. The Central Valley Deserves Better.

UP NEXT

California’s Stubborn Problems Keep Thwarting Its Ballooning Budget

Fresno Approves $2.4 Billion Budget. What’s In, What’s Out?

3 hours ago

The S&P 500 Is Nearing a Record. Really.

4 hours ago

Only Nonviolence Will Beat Trump

4 hours ago

Kaweah Health CEO Says He’s Ready to Retire After 34 Years at Hospital

4 hours ago

Obama Steps Back Into Public Eye at a Stormy Political Moment

4 hours ago

Remains of 796 Babies Feared Buried at Former Irish Catholic Home

4 hours ago

Newsom Gave Political Rival a $380K Job. See the Special Interests Who Paid for It

4 hours ago

Brad Lander Is Arrested by ICE Agents at Immigration Courthouse

4 hours ago

Trump Says US Won’t Kill Iranian Leader ‘for Now’ as Israel-Iran Air War Rages On

4 hours ago

Liquor Licenses Abound in the Valley. How Many Is Too Many?

5 hours ago

How Trump Shifted on Iran Under Pressure From Israel

By the end of last month, American spy agencies monitoring Israel’s military activities and discussions among the country’s political leader...

1 hour ago

President Donald Trump speaks during an Invest America Roundtable in the State Dining room, at the White House, in Washington, U.S., June 9, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
1 hour ago

How Trump Shifted on Iran Under Pressure From Israel

A firefighter works to extinguish a fire on a bus following a missile attack from Iran, in Herzliya, Israel, June 17, 2025. (Reuters/Ronen Zvulun)
2 hours ago

Trump Calls for Iran’s ‘Unconditional Surrender’ as Israel-Iran Air War Rages On

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks to the 2025 Supreme Court Fellows Program, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. (Reuters File)
3 hours ago

US Supreme Court Justices Disclose Income From Book Deals and Teaching

3 hours ago

Fresno Approves $2.4 Billion Budget. What’s In, What’s Out?

4 hours ago

The S&P 500 Is Nearing a Record. Really.

4 hours ago

Only Nonviolence Will Beat Trump

4 hours ago

Kaweah Health CEO Says He’s Ready to Retire After 34 Years at Hospital

4 hours ago

Obama Steps Back Into Public Eye at a Stormy Political Moment

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend