This school year, Mark Keppel recently has added Ethnic Studies into its course roster, which is a great addition for students who would love to go into Ethics as a career. 

Starting in 1969, after protests from students at San Francisco State University to add Ethnic Studies, UC Berkeley was also one of the first universities to add an Ethnic Studies Department. California is the first state to have Ethnic Studies as part of its curriculum after Assembly Bill 101 was passed. This requires schools to have it by the ‘25-26 school year. Some districts made it a required class. In 2014,  El Rancho Unified School District in Pico Rivera, CA, became the first in California to require an Ethnic Studies class in order to graduate.

According to Cal State University of San Marco, Ethnic Studies is the study of the history, cultures and issues of ethnic groups in the United States, alongside racial issues, structural violence, colonialism and other ideas. 

Ethnic Studies teacher Daniel Mattey says “Ethnic Studies is about the study of identity, culture and history of marginalized groups in the United States, because usually in U.S History, they don’t go and explore the themes of these marginalized groups in the United States. So, we look at the history and historical events through what they were going through.” When asked if students should take the class, Mattey said, “Absolutely. Every student should take this class; I think it should actually be a mandatory Senior class.” He also added that he volunteered to teach this class.