UC Irvine Protest Ends in Accord on Asian Studies Program

IRVINE — About 100 students, most of them Asian-American, occupied the office of UC Irvine’s acting chancellor Thursday, staging a vocal but peaceful protest that ended four hours later with school officials reaffirming that they will hire four more professors to teach Asian-American studies.

Though school officials said they have been interviewing candidates for the vacancies, the agreement signed Thursday by Vice Chancellor Anne Spence promises that those positions will be filled and will not be eliminated in budget cuts, as students had feared.

“We got it guaranteed,” said John Ing, a student leader. “This is something in concrete.”

But the agreement does not specify when the positions will be filled.

Students and school officials have been meeting periodically for weeks over the students’ demands for an Asian-American studies program and, initially, for a total of seven teachers. The university has had two part-time teachers of Asian-American studies, one of whom recently became tenured.

University officials announced earlier Thursday that they also will hire a second Asian-American academic counselor and a second program coordinator. Students will have a voice in selecting them and the new professors.

Thursday’s events also marked the end of 35 days of fasting in shifts by the protesters on campus. Five weeks ago, students from the Asian Pacific Student Assn. pitched a tent in front of the administration building and began their hunger strike.

Though Asian-Americans make up 43% of its student population, Irvine is one of two UC campuses without an Asian-American studies program.

Thursday’s noon rally drew about 200 students to the front of the administration building for speeches.