To the Editor:
I would like to preface this by saying that I am not going to talk about Dean Forman with any disrespectful or accusative terms. As the daughter of an academic turned administrator, I know that deans have it tough. Making decisions about departments, budget cuts, and such come at a price: popularity. I instead want to appeal to Dean Forman and the rest of the administration as a student, who like them, wants what is best for the university she loves.
When I walked into Hindi class on Tuesday morning, I knew about the whispers that the Hindi program might be cut. I prepared myself for a denial of such rumors, but I got quite the opposite. My Hindi professor apologized for his tears and broke the news to us about the cut of the Hindi program. Any mental preparedness I had made completely disseminated. I was devastated, and I tried my best to hold back tears. What was most hurtful for me was seeing one of my favorite professors having to deal with a program he helped build removed in one swift blow. I salute Robertji for his determination to be the best professor he can be given these difficult times. To me, he is the definition of a great teacher.
This class resulted in a flashback from three years ago. I was a high school senior writing an essay for admission to Emory–an admission essay about what made Emory special to me. The answer was easy. Emory was special because it supported students with out-of-the-box interests. If you were not pre-med or pre-business, there was still a place for you. “Emory included programs in a variety of languages and majors such as Hindi, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, and Mediterranean Archaeology that were not even available in the other colleges I am considering.” I wrote, “It appears that Emory truly attempts to tailor degrees towards an individual student, and that students are not just restricted to the “standard” options that are typical at most schools.” This is why I chose Emory. I could learn Hindi, a language that is so important in the modern, globalized world. A language that would help me achieve a career in foreign affairs. If the goal is to create global citizens, it starts in the language departments. If we can focus on Contemporary China, why not Contemporary India?
I have given my absolute best, both inside the classroom and out, to this university because Emory has always given me the very best back. This school has expanded my horizons and made me consider paths that I once thought closed. By taking away some of the fundamental parts that were important to the students, the university is not encouraging its students to give their best to Emory in return. It is therefore, Dean Forman, I respectfully ask you to reconsider you decision about the cut of the Hindi and other language programs.
Nandita Balakrishnan
Emory College
Class of 2014
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Well said, Nandita! India is the largest democracy in the world, how can understanding India be unimportant in this century? True you may never sign a business document in Hindi and English can take you far, but learning a language is also about learning a culture, its people, its history. This knowledge DOES take you far.
Let’s be perfectly clear – Forman takes responsibility for this decision (as well he should) but ultimately it wasn’t “up” to him. The Board of Trustees hired him to effect cuts and transform Emory into an “eminent” 21st Century Institution – IE, a hedge-fund / MOOC clearinghouse with an adjunct-staffed university attached as an afterthought – and he’s just smart enough to do what he’s told. Hindi, like any of numerous other subjects, doesn’t monetize in fast enough terms to meet the Board’s demands for ever-more-rapid growth in national rankings – and hence Forman’s vapid statement to Creative Loafing that it’s just an “under-enrolled” course of study like any other. Deans like him are a dime a dozen in the US these days, and we’re all going to suffer for it. I just hope he looses some sleep at night knowing what will happen to the community schools and Atlanta kids who no longer get assistance via valuable initiatives like the Department of Education’s TITUS program. “Eminence” shouldn’t come at the cost of an institution’s soul.