To the Editor:

The failure of the California State University at Northridge administration to respect the area of study and other department rights has caused tensions among ethnic-studies professors, who accuse the administration of trying to silence Chicana/o Studies. For months now the Chicana/o Studies department has been trying to tell its side of the argument over the university’s new partnership with the National Autonomous University of Mexico—a partnership the university established without ever consulting Chicana/o Studies—only to be shut out of the student newspaper and faculty forums.

Instead of having a civil dialogue, President Dianne Harrison has redbaited her critics, accusing them of bullying. Ms. Harrison, in her welcome-back speech, announced a campaign against bullying. She said the university “must nurture an environment where all faculty and staff are supportive of intellectual exchange and differing perspectives to advance the university, within a framework of civility and respect for all individuals regardless of position or title.”

This statement comes on the heels of the nine-month controversy with Chicana/o Studies—the sixth-largest department in the university—over high student costs, violations of the department’s governance rights, and the lack of racial diversity among tenured faculty.

Instead of sitting down and talking to Chicana/o Studies, Ms. Harrison is promoting a bogus civility campaign: “I hope you agree that this cannot be negotiable.” It makes the presumption that bullying or abusive is in fact occurring.

We all agree that ground rules are necessary for collegial communication. That is why an effective faculty governance mechanism is essential. We do not think it proper, however, to resort to redbaiting and infer that bullying is a fact.

Like questions of racism and sexism, campus civility must be analyzed in the context of power relations. For the past 20 years, there has been an erosion of the faculty governance. This has diminished access to administrators.

As in the case of the encounter sessions of the 1970s, these forums contribute little. If the lack of civility is a systemic problem, the administration should use the proper remedy, which is to charge the transgressor with unprofessional conduct.

Rodolfo F. Acuña
Professor Emeritus
Chicana/o Studies Department
California State University at Northridge
Northridge, Calif.