On May 1, Orion Bretherton made a decision that would change his life. He decided to enroll in Linfield University. One of the biggest draws was a standalone Japanese major.
That all changed in the middle of summer.
“I got an email saying the Japanese program got cut,” Bretherton, now a freshman, said. “So, we set up a call with Gennie VanBeek and with Michelle [Tomseth], and apparently they did know that they were cutting Japanese. They just hadn’t finalized it yet, so they didn’t tell anyone.”
Japanese is one of the handful of programs that are being cut as part of phase one of the Reorganization, Elimination and Merger (REM) process of the Balanced Budget Initiative. These cuts are to help erase what was once a $4.9 million deficit.
Gennie VanBeek, the dean of the college of arts and sciences, was in communication with students affected by these cuts around the third week of July. The reason this communication came so late was a result of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) review period of the REM process not ending until July 4.
This delay has drawn ire from some students, like freshman Andrew White.
“I feel like I got the rug pulled out from under me because I came here specifically for the Japanese program,” White said.
Bretherton feels “screwed over” with the situation as well. It caught both of them off guard. Both of them said there was no prior indication that Japanese could potentially be getting cut.
What made the situation even more difficult was that the only Japanese professor, Masayuki Itomitsu, left Linfield at the end of the last academic year. Because of that, Linfield had to not allow incoming students to enroll in the program.
Left with a difficult decision, the students are forced to decide between staying and being unable to do the program they want, or attempt the challenge of transferring to another university at the last second.
Bretherton has considered transferring, but White doesn’t think he will. Both of them are weighing the pros and cons of taking such action.
Without a professor to teach the language, the students’ only option are conversation classes with the TA, Riona Kiyosue. However, there is no guarantee these classes will last beyond this school year. VanBeek says there are going to be meetings to try and provide further opportunities to educate students about Japanese language and culture.
There is a Japanese Club on campus. The club seeks to celebrate Japanese language and culture through events. Ash Richards, a public health major with a focus in health promotion, has led the club for the last three years. Richards took Japanese in middle and high school, and is experienced with the language. With Japanese being cut in its entirety, the club has taken a whole new meaning.
“We usually had one event a month, which would be movies, crafts, food and social events. Now we have a second,” Richards said. “That’s conversation practice.”
Kiyosue runs the conversation practices, while Richards takes on the social events. In September, they held Takoyaki Night, where people made the popular Japanese street food Takoyaki, a ball-shaped snack made of wheat flour filled with octopus, tempura scraps and pickled ginger.
These events have had large turnouts. Takoyaki Night, according to Richards, filled up Graf 111, one of the larger classrooms on campus. Conversation practices have been popular as well, with 15 to 20 people, the size of a typical class.
“For Linfield, that’s a lot of interest in a class,” Richards said. “And to see that was really sad. As a club leader, you want to be excited that there’s so much support, but you just know that it’s the only place that people can go for that practice.”
White and Bretherton both appreciate the conversation practices, although they also both want more.
“I’m practicing with someone who studied abroad for a year in Japan and with another senior,” Bretherton said. “But also I want something after that, something further.”
White and Bretherton are trying to take classes adjacent to Japanese. For example, Bretherton is taking a class about east Asian history and White is considering studying abroad.
There has also been the possibility of taking classes at Pacific University.
“Linfield said you can take the conversational class in the fall,” Bretherton said. “And then we’re going to try and offer a 102 class in the spring. They sent an email like a month or so ago saying, oh, we’re not actually offering that, but we can explore options.”
Pacific University is located in Forest Grove, which can be up to an hour’s drive depending on traffic. VanBeek has done this approach before.
“This student had transportation, was able to fit Japanese courses at Pacific into their schedule, and I reimbursed him for his transportation,” VanBeek said. “Because that seemed more than fair. And I worked with the dean at Pacific to make sure the student was in the right class.
And he had a really positive experience.”
However, this is an approach that can only work in situations where it would work for a student’s schedule. For those like Bretherton, these opportunities are impossible to work into a schedule involving other commitments, like track and field.
“The university tried to help,” Bretherton said. “But also I feel what they’re doing can’t really live up to what I need in order to pursue Japanese.”
For now, providing a place for students to learn Japanese has largely fallen to Japanese Club.
“As a student-run club that’s not affiliated with academics, should we really be shouldering the weight of an entire language and culture study that can’t be generalized over bimonthly events,” Richards said. “It’s reliant on so many other things where people could just simply attend a class.”
White and Bretherton are both considering their options about how to pursue the careers that they want. Both have said they don’t want to leave behind the connections they have made thus far at Linfield, but want the opportunities they can only get elsewhere.
Japanese is now off the course directory at Linfield, and only a couple of majors remain. Richards is concerned about what will happen once current majors and Kiyosue leave. With the second phase of the REM process on the way, more students may end up like this year’s prospective Japanese majors.
