The Math department put forth a proposal to raise the AA/AS math proficiency requirement from the current level of Math 101, Elementary Algebra, to one course beyond Math 105, Intermediate Algebra. This proposal ignited a campus-wide debate, leading up to a faculty vote on Nov. 28 and 29.

At the joint Foothill-De Anza meeting, held at Foothill on Nov. 20, student protesters, including some from the DASB senate, asked the De Anza Academic Senate to delay the faculty vote as they felt student opinion was not represented in the decision process.

DASB senator Les Leonardo said that the Academic Senate voted on the issue too soon. More students should have been informed about the issue, he said. Students have the right, according to the Masterplan’s Title V, to take part in decision-making that affects them. Leonardo also said that they want support plans to be in place first before implementing a higher math standard.

The protesters said they would ask faculty members to vote against the GE package.

Philosophy and women’s studies instructor, Cynthia Kaufman, said that the students have been voicing opposition to raising the math requirement for quite a while.

Kaufman said that the problem is not that the students haven’t had a chance to speak, but that there is no mechanism for their opinions to impact the process directly.

“It would be great if the Faculty Senate were to work with students to develop a compromise plan, one that took students seriously,” Kaufman said.

Kaufman co-authored a previous proposal that recommended the Academic Senate consider the Masterplan goals of student success and student equity.

In a flyer presented to the Senate by the Counseling department, all faculty were urged to vote no on the ballot. The flyer said that the department wants to see a detailed working plan of how the math department proposes to help increase student success. According to the counseling department, De Anza currently has limited resources in place for meeting student needs.

Academic Senator Gary Fischer said that students could encourage that more money be spent on tutors, by targetting administration and Chancellor Leo Chavez. According to Fischer, that would be more effective than protesting.

In view of their concerns and strong opposition, Senator Clara Lam asked Kathy Plum, the Senate president, to delay the faculty vote for one week so that the Academic Senate could work with students to hammer out a plan.

However, Plum decided to continue with the vote despite the student protest.

According to Barbara Illowsky, math instructor, when Plum ran for Academic Senate president, she wrote that she would finish the G.E. packet quickly and that she would work to raise the math requirement. “I think that Kathy Plum is doing an excellent job. She is quite democratic,” Illowsky said.

“You’re treating equity as just a side issue,” student protester Dylin Munoz said. She said that the Senate ignored Leonardo when he brought a letter from the Inter-Club Council to the table. The letter urged faculty to support equity by voting against any proposed math increases. The ICC, she said, represents various ethnic groups whom she feels have been ignored, since, she says, Leonardo was ignored.

“I hope it isn’t too late for us at De Anza to work together to develop a plan for student success, so that the math requirement won’t end up being another wall, blocking students’ paths to their goals,” Kaufman said.