SGA argues for Spanish minor

By: JULIA SEVY

Posted: 3/28/08

Students and faculty continue to react to the possible deactivation of the Spanish minor for a two-year trial period, which was passed in by the University Council curriculum committee March 21.

Connor McCarthy and Nicki Batelli, Student Government Association president and vice president, wrote a letter to University President Michael Adams expressing their opposition.

In the letter, the student leaders said deactivating the Spanish minor contradicts the University's Mission Statement to "serve a diverse and well-prepared student body" and "to address
the strategic needs of the state of Georgia along with a comprehensive offering of continuing education designed to meet the needs of Georgia's citizens," citing 426,115 Georgia residents who speak Spanish as a primary language.

Deactivating the minor would "irreparably [damage] the reputation of the University of Georgia," and "act as a deterrent for potential students looking to minor in Spanish," they wrote in the letter.

If the executive committee passes the proposal April 10, the general body of the University Council will vote on it April 22.

Some officials within the Spanish department agree with the University Council proposal.

With 975 Spanish majors and minors and one faculty member responsible for advising students, the quality of advising suffers, Dana Bultman, assistant professor of Spanish, said Thursday in a phone interview.

"We don't have the chance to talk about careers or future opportunities with the students" because the line of advisees is so long, she said.

"We would like to be able to discuss these things."

Juan Nuñez, a freshman from Gainesville, plans to minor in Spanish. He said with the growing number of Spanish speakers, deactivating the minor will harm students.

"A Spanish minor would help any major, no matter what it is," he said. "It's not something [the administration] can just put aside and ignore."

The proposal, which was submitted by the Romance Languages department, said it recognizes the "changing demographics in the Southeastern United States" and "values this knowledge as necessary to succeed in our global society."

In the two years without the Spanish minor, the department is proposing that they will make some changes.

Possible plans include hiring more faculty members, appointing a staff adviser to register students within the department and designating Spanish as both a high-demand major and minor, Bultman said.

Diego del Pozo, a Ph.D student from Spain, teaches two upper-division Spanish courses each semester.

He said it is necessary for the department to hire more tenure-track faculty members to give Spanish majors increased opportunities to be taught by research professors instead of only teaching assistants.

"TAs are really good instructors, but they don't have the experience and depth of knowledge that professors have," he said.

"[The department] has to do something, because [the situation] right now is not benefiting the student body."

Bultman said she hopes students don't think the Spanish department is punishing them.

"The faculty wants to serve students well," she said.