|
|
|
School budget squeeze
September 23, 2009 3:40 PM
|
||
|
By this point in the semester, everyone has heard about SF State's budget catastrophe. However, the budget situation has had different effects on students, faculty and staff, and everyone has different plans on how they will deal with it. Sophomore Greg Ji said he wasn't able to register for the classes he needed so he signed up for whatever classes still had seats open. "I just tried to get as many credits as possible," he said. "None of the classes I am taking are really interesting me. It's seems like it's been really hard for everyone." SF State has lost about $30.1 million in funding for the 2009-2010 academic year, according to University Spokesperson Ellen Griffin. To students this translates to a 20 percent tuition increase and 339 fewer class sections this semester than last fall. To many faculty members it means a pay decrease or even the loss of their job. In fact, SFSU has lost 145 full-time lecturers since the fall 08' semester. Many students and faculty are now wondering what can be done to fix the budget situation. Kenneth Segovia, who worked on campus for 39 years, said students should be more active on the issue. "The budget is a disgrace," he said "The reason why I say this is because the government is spending billions and billions of dollars on war for nothing. We need action." Phil Klasky, of the American Indian Studies Department, has been active in organizing students to speak out against the budget cuts. He stresses that this situation could have been avoided. Klasky pointed out that California State University Chancellor Charles Reed and 17 of the 18 members of CSU Board of Trustees, who are appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger, rejected a tax on oil exploration that would have raised about $1 billion for the state. He said similar tax revenue is used to fund public education in Texas and Alaska. "What kind of influences are on Reid and the trustees, as well as the governor, that led them to reject this kind of tax?" said Klasky. "While the governor says 'no new taxes' he has taxed the students."
»
|
RICH MEDIA
You can also experience more multimedia.
ADVERTISEMENT
COMMENTS
Brutus said September 23, 2009 10:17 PM
How are you supposed to have a small-scale university with 30,000 students? Aaron Goodman said September 24, 2009 9:39 PM
They enlarged enrollment, without "fair-share" impacts, and provisions for the density. Therefore they need to build new facilities for "on-line" learning and in neighborhoods like bay-view hunters point, treasure island, or other alternative sites, near the schlage lock-factory site, or other locations for satellite campuses... To push all the density, and development on a rental neighborhood only jacks the prices more, and causes more displacement and gentrification of the largest rental neighborhood in SF... Students do not see the impacts when they leave every 3 years, and no vacancy decontrol exists. (Brutus) needs to understand the universities long-range impact, and the effects on surrounding neighborhoods. CSU/SFSU students are not the only people impacted by budgetary "largess"... Sincerely Aaron Goodman @ PRO Aaron Goodman said September 24, 2009 9:41 PM
Reduce enrollment, reduce administration pay, and reduce expansion plans, reduce consultant fees, and sell back some of the land-grab, than you can pay to open schools in other areas, keep a small-scale, and provide educational opportunities adjacent to where dis-enfranchised communities need educational facilities.
POST A COMMENT
| |
|
|
|
 |
||
 |
|
|
 | ||
| BACK TO TOP | Copyright © 2008 [X]press | Journalism Department - San Francisco State University |
cut the SFSU/CSU Masterplan, and fund the essential needs of a small scale university. demand csu remain a functional educational option thats affordable for students and not playing "big" university, with a foundation, that eats up communities and costs millions...