Members of the South Asian Political Action Committee (SAPAC) are frustrated with the Experimental College's failure to continue the Hindi/Urdu language program that was over-enrolled in its inaugural year. Robyn Gittleman, director of the Experimental College, said that Tufts could not find a professor to teach the course.
In the ranks of the disappointed are students who completed Hindi/Urdu I and II last year and now cannot continue with their studies, and those who planned to begin studying this semester.
"I was told that I could use Hindi/Urdu I, II, and III as my cultural requirement. Now they are telling me I need to take three new language courses, and I don't have time for that," said Vidushi Gupta, a SAPAC member.
Hindi is the primary language of Hindus in India and Urdu the most spoken language for the Muslims in neighboring Pakistan. While there are many languages spoken by South Asians at Tufts, SAPAC felt Hindi-Urdu would interest the broadest segment of the South Asian community.
Sucharita Kuchibhotla, the head of SAPAC, stressed how much time and effort it took to get Hindu/Urdu I and II courses implemented last year. "It's always a struggle," she said. "There's a lot of bureaucracy."
Kuchibhotla said that by not offering the program this year, Tufts is depriving students of an important academic resource and forcing SAPAC to take a step backwards in its ultimate efforts to earn a place for South Asian languages in the Olin Center.
Following discussions with administrators, SAPAC leaders believed that sufficient student interest in the courses last year would guarantee funds for Hindi/Urdu I and III this semester. Both SAPAC and Gittleman agree that the program was a huge success - so popular, in fact, that teachers had to turn students away from the classes.
"There was so much interest last year that they had to cut freshmen. I really wanted to take it this year," SAPAC member Himanshu Verma said. "I'm outraged."
Gittleman noted this week that there was only a select number of people who would have been eligible to take Hindi/Urdu III, as many of the students who took the elementary courses have since graduated or are studying abroad. Despite those limitations, she said the Ex College did try to replace Sumil Sharma, the visiting lecturer who taught the two-semester course last year, but was unable to make the necessary hire.
"I did try to find somebody," Gittleman said. "It's not always easy to find someone to teach when it's not a full time position, and it's not just getting a native speaker, but a professional."
Gittleman insists that the main issue was not funding but identifying an appropriate professor. She plans to meet with SAPAC to discuss the program's future.
Members of SAPAC said that the Ex College did not make them aware of the problems with the classes, and the possibility that they would not be offered this semester. Gittleman, in defending her program, pointed out that the list of courses accepted for this semester was posted on the Internet during the summer.
In a meeting last night, members of SAPAC expressed great frustration regarding the suspension of Hindu/Urdu language classes and vowed to fight for their reinstatement. "We just want to let the community know how disappointed we are because we fought so hard for this," Nadia Samadani said.
"We've already fought for this once and it's ridiculous that we have to go through it again," said Ayesha Siddiqui at last night's SAPAC meeting.
Founded in 1998 by a small group of students after a forum for South Asians, SAPAC lobbies for courses and professors at Tufts that will better reflect the South Asian culture.
"Our mission is to get more recognition and more attention to the growing importance of South Asia," Kuchibhotla said. "Ten years ago we were just a handful of students on campus. Now we are the largest ethnic group on campus."
