crap photo too. like cell phone photos man

You’re creating a program that’s basically laser-focused on the criticism of one culture: Western culture. The ‘ethnic’ point of view is simply another cycle in the ongoing Western dialectic. Yet that standpoint is no more ‘ethnic’ than it is ‘multi-cultural.’Instead I would suggest a back to the future program that is focused on immersion in learning about the history, language, and literature of a non-Western culture. Of course, that’s asking a lot, conceptually, since that would require that the community at UCSC actually take a genuine cultural leap to a place where Western criticisism and self-criticism is on the periphery, rather than at the very center of  the discussion. 

To build on your point, however — which while expressed bluntly I suspect has some real substance — perhaps UC Santa Cruz should focus on one or two narrow areas covered by the broader ‘ethnic studies,’ rubric where it can build a program that is unique. 

Perhaps a program focused on the languages and histories of the ethnic groups inhabiting the Congo basin? That covers a huge number of people with a broad array of cultures and languages that are little understood in this country — yet intersect with American history and the African-American people in a number of powerful ways — and whose demographic profile suggests will play an increasingly important role in the global economy. 

This is a mistake. A ‘me too’ ethnic studies program will lose the best and brightest students interested in such programs to schools with larger, better established programs. Better to focus on areas where UCSC does well.