By the end of this century, Latinos, Asian Americans, and African Americans will compose over half of the population of the United States. These groups have had vastly different experiences than the Caucasian majority has had, and how they act and interact will have a fundamental impact on the direction this nation takes. Therefore the study of Latino and Asian American cultures takes on an enormous academic importance. If Princeton is to maintain its role as a leader in undergraduate education, it must fully accept these developments and incorporate them into the curriculum.

Additionally, the establishment of Asian American and Latino Studies will improve the situation of minority stuents at Princeton, who drop out of school at an alarming rate. Although student organizations do their best to provide a comfortable atmosphere, the academic establishment barely recognizes the identity and adjustment issues that minority students face when arriving on campus. Without this dialogue and debate that Ethnic Studies would provide, the Princeton experience, which should be fundamentally an academic one, becomes hollow for many.

The Latino Studies Effort

In the 1986-1987 school year, Latino students met with President Goheen to discuss the absence of ethnic Latino faculty. President Goheen stated that it was neither fair nor reasonable to expect students to continue this initiative without active administrative involvement. The result was the appointment of a faculty committee to create three professorships, currently held by David Carrasco, Miguel Centeno, and until 1994, Jorge Klor de Alva.

Without further student pressure, the effort died out until the year 1991. Carlos Sifuentes and a group of other undergraduates started meeting university officials about the possibility of a Latino Studies program. Despite the considerable investment of energy and time spent on the issue, no measurable progress has been made.

Why this junction

We have come to realize that students cannot forever do the administration's job. Every four years a group graduates, destroying the community and group memory necessary to continue the effort. Additionally, students do not have the academic connections or financial resources to be credible outside the immediate community. There must be action by the administration, not reaction. It is in this spirit we come.

Our Demands

A viable Latino Studies presence requires permanent faculty to teach courses and an appropriately staffed Ethnic Studies Center.

Faculty
We recognize the progress that the university has made on this area. Professor Arcadio Diaz committee to replace Jorge Klor de Alva has met and worked in an efficient fashion, and is considering several candidates. We request that the university grant tenure and senior faculty status to at least two of them.

The Asian American Studies movement, after years of hard work and research, has no achieved any degree of progress. In solidarity with them, we demand that Princeton create two chairs for specialists in the field.

Center
As we have discussed, the primary obtacle to progress has been the reactive rather than proactive nature of administrative response. The solution lies in the creation of a Center for Ethnic Studies to make sure that Asian American and Latino Studies mature into viable programs. This would require office space, mechanical resources, a permanent secretary, and two junior faculty to serve as interim directors.

Conclusion

It is the university's responsibility to figure out the means by which to achieve these results. We stand ready to work in cooperation for even more years, but only after commitment has been made and we know the effort is not in vain.