Cesar Chavez High School has been considering if Chinese courses for the 2023 -24 school year should be canceled. Since then, there has been pushback from students and teachers alike, prompting a petition on change.org.

Students have been surprised to learn of the administration’s plan to cancel Chinese classes next year. Because of this, students have been petitioning against the decision to show administrators that they want Chinese classes to remain available. With no word or updates from the Chavez administration, teachers and students are still waiting for a clear answer as to why this foreign language class may soon be no longer available.

According to Ruiwen Yu, a student petitioning for Chinese class to stay says, “We’re doing everything we can to change their minds but I’m not sure if it’s possible; it’s the school’s decision. We’ve put up an online petition, we handed out flyers, we told everyone we know, trying to gather support and we’re hoping to get teacher signatures next.”

Ms. Wang, the Chinese teacher stated, “I’ve tried to get help from the school district and I’m trying to set up meetings with the principal but I’m still waiting for a response.” Administrators have evidently been careful with their responses as students and staff have been unsure about whether petitioning will help their cause at all. 

“I don’t know anything about my culture and I’m losing the opportunity to learn about it.” A student who asked to remain anonymous said this after being asked about her feelings on the matter. Furthermore, Ms. Wang says, “I’m shocked. This program has been going on for 8 years and it’s going to have a big impact on my students. Mandarin is the second most spoken language in the world and these classes could open the door to so many career opportunities for my students. A lot of students wanted the opportunity to learn Chinese and may not be able to anymore.”

Though there has been an abundance of backlash, Ms. Wang is unsure of what the final decision will be but trusts that the school will make the right decision.

When administrators themselves were asked for a comment on the decision to cancel the Chinese class, one administrator stated that the decision is still in consideration and no further comments have been made besides this fact.