The University of California (UC) Faculty Assembly voted down a proposal to make a semester of ethnic studies an admissions requirement on April 23.
According to EdSource, a nonprofit journalism organization that covers education, the final vote count in the assembly was 29 against, 12 in favor and 12 abstentions. If passed, the proposal would have been presented to the UC Regents for approval.
The proposal, known as Area H, had garnered controversy; EdSource reported that Area H had been in the works for almost five years and would have promulgated “liberated ethnic studies” that was reflected in the initial ethnic studies model curriculum draft that the state government scrapped. AMCHA Initiative Executive Director Tammi Rossman-Benjamin wrote in an April 21 op-ed for The Journal that Area H promoted “a narrow ideological framework that casts Jews as “privileged” oppressors and portrays Zionism — a movement central to the identity of most Jews — as inherently evil.” Rossman-Benjamin also noted that “leading proponents of Area H have declared anti-Zionism a foundational principle of ethnic studies, condemned UC administrators for labeling Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre as terrorism, and demanded the retraction of statements mourning Israeli victims.”
“(The) leading proponents of Area H have declared anti-Zionism a foundational principle of ethnic studies, condemned UC administrators for labeling Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre as terrorism, and demanded the retraction of statements mourning Israeli victims.”- Tammi Rossman-Benjamin
Area H originated from an Oct. 2020 UC Berkeley student petition; the Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools (BOARS) initially approved it unanimously, only to reverse course in November 2023 following a years-long campaign from faculty proponents of liberated ethnic studies, according to Rossman-Benjamin. But the Academic Senate Chair moved forward with it anyway.
While state law requires high schools to provide ethnic studies courses in the fall of 2025 and make it a requirement for graduation in 2029-30, it has yet to receive state funding; an adviser to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) told EdSource that “it will not be a priority for 2025-26, amid uncertain revenues.”
EdSource described the Faculty Assembly meeting debating the matter, which lasted 45 minutes, as being “heated.”
Some celebrated the result. The AMCHA Initiative lauded the Faculty Assembly for reaffirming “its commitment to academic integrity, fairness, and inclusion” in an email that also urged people to sign a petition calling on the California Jewish Legislative Caucus to repeal AB 101, the state law mandating ethnic studies that has yet to be funded.
Judea Pearl, chancellor professor of computer science at UCLA, National Academy of Sciences member and president of the Daniel Pearl Foundation, thanked everyone that “who helped achieve this victory, and may our high school students remain protected from the poison of political indoctrination” in a post on X.
Happy to announce: The UC Ethnic Studies Admissions requirement proposal, known as Area H, was overwhelmingly defeated in today’s Faculty Assembly vote with 12 in favor, 29 opposed, and 12 abstentions. Thanks to all who helped achieve this victory, and may our high school… https://t.co/T1LCS1QzG7
— Judea Pearl (@yudapearl) April 24, 2025
“This initiative is sponsored by an extreme far-left faculty activist group, which would make their perverted version of ‘ethnic studies,’ which furthers the BDS agenda and targets and discriminates against Jews and vilifies Israel, a mandatory course for all high school students aspiring to attend UC,” S.A.F.E Campus, a nonprofit focusing on combating antisemitism on campuses, posted on X.
Today, The University of California (UC) Academic Senate voted whether to add Ethnic Studies as an undergraduate admissions requirement.
The measure, known as “Area H”, was thankfully DEFEATED in today’s Faculty Assembly vote with 12 in favor, 29 opposed, and 12 abstentions.…
— SAFE CAMPUS (@_SAFECAMPUS) April 24, 2025
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