Faculty debate, students campaign over fate of Russian

Lindsay Daniels '12 came to Macalester to study Russian.

"If Macalester didn't have Russian I wouldn't be here," Daniels said. "I planned on studying it initially, but got way more involved in it than I ever thought I would."

Daniels likely never imagined she would be involved quite as much as she is now, leading a group of students in a campaign to try to save the major.

On Feb. 4, the Educational Policy and Governance committee (EPAG) released a report stating that eight of its nine voting members had reached a consensus to recommend the discontinuance of Russian Studies at Macalester. Sonita Sarker, a Professor of English and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, was the only voting EPAG member to not concur with the recommendation.

Provost Kathleen Murray, who has the final word in many academic decisions, said she would accept the discontinuance recommendation if it came to her, citing the lack of projected growth for the college and the need to have flexibility.

"At a time of very constrained resources, we have to deploy those resources in the best way for the largest number of our students that we can," said Murray. "I don't think this is the best use of our resources."

"If we want to do anything new, or do a better job of some of the things we're doing well, it's going to have to be by redeploying resources, because we're not going to have the funding for additional resources," Murray added. "And I think the opportunities that those two lines could provide for us are really quite exciting."

But before the recommendation can reach the Provost's office for her approval, it must pass through the faculty. At last Tuesday's faculty meeting, a motion to reject the EPAG recommendation sent the issue to a faculty vote that will take place in March. Two-thirds of the faculty now must vote against the recommendation in order to preserve the Russian major, leaving just over a month for Russian Studies students like Daniels to campaign to save their major.

Student campaign

Ruxi Zhang '14 does not want to be a part of the last class of Russian Studies majors at Macalester.

She declared her major the week before the announcement of a discontinuance review, after being warned by a Russian Studies professor that she might not be allowed to declare for much longer. (If the major is discontinued, students who still wish to declare majors or minors in Russian Studies will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.)

Zhang said she was "shocked" when she heard the news that EPAG had recommended discontinuance of Russian Studies, and felt "offended" by the lack of communication from the committee, a sentiment echoed by other Russian Studies students.

"There's been a huge lack of communication by EPAG toward us," Daniels said. "We had that one town hall meeting, but it really wasn't the way we envisioned it. Instead of a forum for students to address our concerns, it's like EPAG giving a presentation on themselves."

Jeffrey Garcia '14, who has taken Russian language classes since his first semester at Macalester, said that he "would have liked to hear which departments they're talking about that are worth more of the investment" and "to see town halls held regularly, not just to tell us what was going to go down...I would have liked to see them [EPAG members] be out there and talking to students."

"The concept of EPAG itself - nine people making this decision - is not sound," he added.

Patrick Schmidt, the chair of EPAG, wrote in an email that EPAG members "dedicated time in our deliberations to identifying issues that were raised by the students. The issues they raised are reflected throughout the report and many of them are specifically addressed."

"I would love to know if anything, short of the opposite conclusion, could show how much I valued the student voices in the process," Schmidt wrote. "We listened carefully and engaged all that they offered, and in many ways I was touched by their testimonials to the value of the program. I read every letter closely and responded to each, and I asked the committee to read each of them as well."

EPAG's student representatives, Yeukai Mudzi '12 and Kate Hamilton '13, also said they read all of the student letters and carefully considered students' input throughout the process.

"I am sorry that students feel that their voices weren't heard. I am disappointed that they did not voice this dissatisfaction soon after the town hall and earlier in the process," Mudzi wrote in an email. "This was not an easy decision for me, and I think I can confidently say that it was not an easy decision for any other committee members...Each week I weighed arguments for and against discontinuance, and sometimes the volume of information was overwhelming."

Hamilton wrote in an email that the decision to sign on to the report was "one of the most difficult decisions I've partaken in," and that she knows it is a "difficult realization that Russian Studies may not exist in its current form at Macalester. It is important to know that we gave every piece of information and data we received incredible thought."