Fifty years ago, at the inception of the California State University, the Board of Trustees voted to institute an American Institutions graduation requirement. Later this requirement was codified in Article 5, Section 40404 of the Administrative Code of the CSU system.

In a 1989 report the California Legislature’s Joint Committee for Review of the Master Plan for Higher Education reaffirmed the California’s commitment to civic education in a 1989 report, saying:

[CSU Students] can expect an education which offers them an opportunity to become fully thoughtful citizens, which provides them an occasion for engaging the enduring questions in our evolving and complex culture, and which gives them hopes of becoming fully responsible, productive, and satisfied participants in California’s developing multicultural society.

Now, the CSU system is poised to begin chipping away at this commitment to civic education by eliminating this graduation requirement, at least for some CSU students (for now).

The change is being pushed by advocates representing “high unit majors” (those that require more than 120 semester credits for graduation) in the CSU system, like engineering and business programs. I guess there is simply no place for understanding American political institutions in these students’ lives.

For decades experts of all stripes have bemoaned the lack of political interest and involvement of Americans. Turnout in our national elections is abysmal. We consistently compete with Switzerland and South Korea to avoid last place.

Of all voting groups voters between 18 and 24 are the least likely to vote and take part in other forms of political participation. According to standard measures of political knowledge the majority of Americans do not know some of the most basic features of American politics (e.g., that members of the House of Representatives serve two year terms and Senators six year terms).

Americans’ poor understanding of American history and politics is constantly on display. Consider these recent statements by serious presidential candidates:

• Sarah Palin suggested that Paul Revere rode to warn the British: “He who warned uh, the British that they weren’t gonna be takin’ away our arms, uh by ringing those bells, and um, makin’ sure as he’s riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be sure and we were going to be free, and we were going to be armed.”

• Michele Bachman stated that the American Revolution began in New Hampshire: “You’re the state where the shot was heard around the world in Lexington and Concord.”

• Herman Cain pledged that he would sign bills that were three pages or less in length: “You and I didn’t have time to read it. We’re too busy trying to live — send our kids to school. That’s why I am only going to allow small bills — three pages. You’ll have time to read that one over the dinner table.”

Defenders of the elimination of the American institutions requirement in the CSU will certainly argue that their aim is limited to waiving the requirement for a narrow band of majors. Anyone conversant in political science will tell you that this is a classic case of incrementalism. Once the camel’s nose is inside the tent there is no stopping the beast from invading the whole territory.

If you understand “incrementalism” and “the camel’s nose” metaphor, thank a political scientist for teaching you something about politics. If you do not, you are probably soon to be a student graduating from the CSU, which will soon abandon its quest to prepare you to participate in a democratic system.