According to a survey reported in a publication from the Asia Society called Asia in the Schools

• A quarter of all high school students cannot name the ocean that separates North America from Asia.
• Fewer than 2o percent of adults can identify India as the world’s largest democracy.
• Two-thirds of all respondents did not know that Mao Zedong was the first leader of the People’s Republic of China.
• Two-thirds of high school students believe Vietnam is an island nation.

Governor Schwarzenegger, who has repeatedly demonstrated his indifference to education, refuses to budge from a budget that mortgages California’s future for his short-term political gain. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that UC Berkeley will be forced to eliminate East Asian language classes for 1500 students in order to make up a $30-million shortfall.

The East Asian department, which expects to lose $300,000 in support, will cut 40 percent of its courses in Japanese, 54 percent of those in Chinese, and 66 percent of those in Korean. It will also not renew contracts for 13 lecturers. According to a notice on its Web site, the department will restrict enrollment in its courses to students in the College of Letters & Science.

.