As a South Campus major, I am constantly inundated with labs, pre-med stresses, and jokes at the expense of humanity majors who are apparently “wasting their parent’s money.” So with my classes solely ranging from Young Hall to La Kretz, I decided I wanted to try something new. This quarter I am taking a GE called Ways to Read Race and I am already amazed by everything I didn’t know.
College is not simply about retrieving your bachelor degree and working towards a job or a graduate school. It is four years dedicated to shaping your identity as a young adult about to enter the real world. And in order for us to be responsible and successful people, we must be well rounded with our knowledge and willing to learn information out of our comfort zone.
I know that GEs are generally considered annoying and a waste of our time. And that for most of us when picking a GE it is based on whether Bruinwalk’s grade distribution is favorable instead of whether or not the class is interesting. And while I understand and am also at fault for participating in it, it’s important for us to remember to take classes that we genuinely want and are curious about.
GEs are a way for us to broaden not only our knowledge but also our understanding of the world in general. On the first day of my class, I learned about this group of Chicano artists called Asco that made a huge imprint on the art and, specifically, mural world. One of the artists visited LACMA and asked the curator to display more Chicano art because well LACMA is in LA. And the curator said, “There are no such things as Chicano artists. They are all gangsters.” That day Asco went and “tagged” the walls of LACMA and sent a sarcastic message that if LACMA does not want to display Chicano art then Chicano artists will simply make LACMA their Chicano art.
When hearing this story, we were expected to discuss the inherent racism found in certain prestigious institutions and whether the nonprivileged being there would mean that we are okaying the oppression. Or in other words, if LACMA really did display Chicano art would it even be Chicano art at that point?
Without taking this class I would never have been exposed this type of information or line of questionings.