Other languages also could be cut

By KYLE ODEGARD

Gazette-Times reporter

Students carried a red coffin around Oregon State University on Thursday as part of a mock funeral for the university's Italian language program. Entry-level classes in Italian will be eliminated for the fall. All grade levels will be phased out by fall 2009.

"It's a sad day," said Italian instructor Christopher Baldridge, and he wasn't referring only to Italian.

The foreign languages and literatures department is running a projected $250,000 deficit this biennium, so class sizes will increase while 17 to 20 sections per term will be eliminated next school year. Introductory Spanish classes will be scaled back from 12 courses to seven, said Guy Wood, the interim chairman of the foreign languages department.

Two more languages and about four full-time positions also could disappear. Wood declined to say which languages are the next likely candidates for elimination.

Italian and other foreign language courses are popular at OSU and many have waiting lists, said Brad Dennis, the chief business officer for the College of Liberal Arts, which includes foreign languages.

Classes with high demand might be cut, Dennis said, because in the university's budget model, tuition dollars don't flow directly to the courses that students take.

"This is so ridiculous. It shouldn't have to be this way. That's the whole frustration," Dennis said. "There is a total disconnect (between) where the students want to take classes and where the budget is to support it."

Mark McCambridge, university vice president of finance and administration, said the university budget model is complicated, because there are expensive classes, such as science courses, and inexpensive courses, such as physical fitness classes. He added that most other departments have been able to operate within plan.

"They're cutting the little people is what it is," said Courtney Lindstrom, a junior majoring in public health management. Lindstrom, who has taken two years of Italian, was dressed in black for the funeral - including a hat with a veil.

About 100 people were part of the funeral procession, with many putting surveys or notes into the coffin. About 40 protesters hauled the casket into the Kerr Administration Building, where they talked with OSU Provost and Executive Vice President Sabah Randhawa.

"It's a sad day, because Italian was definitely my favorite class of my three years here," said Domonique Gratteri, who plans to study in Rome next year.

Italian student Sarah Erickson, a senior, studied in Italy last year, and she said the decision to cut the program was misguided because of globalization, trade and tourism.

"I just am mostly confused with why it's happening," said Zach Riggar, one of 1,400 College of Liberal Arts majors required to take two years of a foreign language to get a bachelor of arts degree. Riggar chose Italian because he is of Italian descent.

Even English courses are likely to be affected.

Tracy Daugherty, chairman of the English department, said four entry-level classes would be cut in the fall because the department is required to provide writing courses that all OSU students must take, but the department doesn't receive enough funding to cover that requirement.

In winter, more cuts could be necessary. The math department also is cutting four lower-division sections to save money, said chairman Dennis Garity.

This year, the university offered three Italian language sections per term, with two for entry-level students and another second-year course. Each class had about 30 students in it.

Wood said he thinks Italian was cut because it was the "new kid on the block." It was added in 2001, Wood said.

It isn't the first time that Italian has been cut, Baldridge said. Before its 2001 return, it had been absent from the curriculum for about 10 years.

Kyle Odegard covers Oregon State University. He can be contacted at kyle.odegard@lee.net or 758-9523.