Opinion: A march of student and educators needed
By Lauren Tyler FEATURES EDITOR
In a push to halt Schwarzenegger’s cuts to California’s education system, students and faculty are convening at the capitol on March 16.
The California community college system, along with the UC and Cal State systems are facing devastating cuts, which will limit programs, admissions and classes.
This is not the first time California’s students have been upset with the state lawmakers’ approach to bridge budget gaps. This time though, educational institutions are in a particularly sticky situation.
For starters, the legislature released the budget nearly three months late , putting other academic institutions behind schedule with their own budgets. Due to the delayed budget, many institutions did not receive expected checks, allocated for the schools from the state, for months.
Peter Goldstein, vice chancellor of finance and administration at City College, said a large portion of the colleges’ financial loses this year were incurred from the money they had to borrow while trying to balance their own books as the state budget laid in limbo.
The interest from the money institutions had to borrow was not included in the checks the institutions received late from the state, Goldstein said.
Specifically, City College had to borrow $25 million from the City of San Francisco and is paying three percent interest, said James Bilmont, City College’s chief finance officer. This was done to merely cover day-to-day costs, said Bilmont.
City College faces a $10 million loss, or two percent of its budget with the current state budget. This would call for a cut in the summer session and would keep many of the administrative positions vacant.
The UC and Cal State programs face even heavier cuts. Though City College would be adversely affected, the curriculum would remain intact.
At San Francisco State University for example, many of the upper-division courses are threatened. “I may not be able to graduate,” said SFSU student Colin Cahill during a budget cut protest in November 2008.
The question for many students is, what classes will be offered when they transfer? Many students from state are sent to City College for some of their class selections. So what’s the point of transferring to yet another community college?
Is it Schwarzenegger’s intention to suck dry the universities we have and place the burden on community colleges, who are already immensely underrepresented economically?
For this reason, many students can not help but feel angst. This is our future, our livelihood. Particularly in this faltered economy, dipping into recession familiar only to the 20s and 30s.
Yes, many-a-protest have been done. But that does not mean students voices will not be heard and reverberate all the way to Washington. The only people who can make an impact is the student body, who will be stronger than any administration.
It is the decision of the student body to ensure these atrocities end and America be rebuilt from the ground up by providing affordable education and the programs to ensure it.
It is imperative to go to Sacramento to secure the funds which are rightfully education’s. It does not end there, find groups on campus or even on-line to become a continuous part of changing the Schwarzenegger regime and to ensure Californian’s with imperative education.
