Personal Stories
Stories about what budget cuts mean to members of the CSU community
GARY IVEY
Staff, Scientific Equipment Technician
CSU BAKERSFIELD
My name is Gary Ivey and I am an equipment technician repairing scientific equipment for laboratory classes at CSU Bakersfield. Because of deep budget cuts in new and replacement scientific equipment at our campus, there is no longer a need for me to unpack new scientific equipment and show the faculty how to use it. As a result I have been laid off from my job.
These cuts mean that students do not have access to current scientific equipment for science lab classes. Even the microscopes are old. This is especially a problem for students trying to become nurses. There is not enough space so lab classes are crowded and there is not enough equipment to go around for all the students. This interferes with their education. California needs more scientists and nurses and other health professionals who are well trained and up to date. Cutting back in the sciences is bad for our students, bad for Bakersfield where I live, and bad for California.
SUSAN GREEN
Associate Professor, Chicano Studies and History
CSU CHICO
Good afternoon, my name is Susan Marie Green, and I am an Associate Professor of Chicano Studies and History at California State University Chico. I am one of two coordinators of the Chicano Studies Program at Chico State and I came here to speak-out for our students.
Due to the budget cuts, this spring we cancelled Chicano Studies 459 “Chicanos and Latinos in Cross-Cultural Perspective.” This is the capstone course in Chicano Studies. The six students who were enrolled in this class, students like Monica Leonard, Jaime Barajas, and Victoria Escorza, will have to come back next year to take this class when it is being offered again. It is impossible for our Chicano Studies students to make timely progress to degree completion when the courses they need are not being offered at all. Not only will they have to come back for extra semesters due to this delay, they will have to pay more for the class next year than they would have this year if the Board of Trustees proposes an additional fee increase. Cuts to the CSU have consequences and this is but one example from Chico State.
CHRISTIAN MORALES
Student
CSU DOMINGUEZ HILLS
I am a student at CSUDH and these cuts have deeply affected me. For one, I have a Pre-Calculus class which has 60 students and the quality of education is very poor. There weren’t many classes offered for that course and it makes it hard for students to be able to pay attention to what is going on in the classroom. The professor’s office hours are limited and there is less one-on-one teaching from the instructor. It’s very hard for the students to understand anything because the class is full and those who sit in the back can’t hear the instructor.
There are other issues as well such as my financial aid situation. It’s November and I barely am receiving my financial aid which I was supposed to get two months ago. I had a hard time getting my books because of the funds I didn’t have. Also I pay more for parking fees and overall student fees have increased by $300 within one semester. It’s hard to be a successful student when there are many barriers stopping me from graduating in four years as I planned before I entered the university.
SHERRIE CANEDO
Student, Senior in Ethnic Studies
CSU EAST BAY
My name is Sherrie Canedo and I am an Ethnic Studies major at CSU East Bay. Due to budget cuts and the raises in fees, the Ethnic Studies department has been suffering a lot. I transferred to Cal State East Bay as a junior from a community college, expecting to be done in two years. However, because my major is a smaller one, a lot of the classes have been cancelled, cut, or postponed. Most recently, this quarter one of my major classes was cancelled.
This is not an elective or general ed, it is one of the classes I must take to graduate with an Ethnic Studies major. This has happened before, and I’m pretty sure it will happen again. Ideally, I would have been done at the end of this year, but now I am forced to stay until, at least, next fall when they will offer some of the classes I need, that is of course unless they get cut again.
ROBERT ANGUS
Faculty member
FULLERTON
My name is Robert Angus and I teach writing at CSU Fullerton. Not only have many classes in my department been canceled because of budget cuts, class sizes have increased.
It used to be the case that composition courses, especially for basic writers, were kept at less than 20 students on my campus. That number has grown to 25, while the introduction to college writing course has grown to 27 students. Invariably a few students are left out because of late enrolment or other difficulties, so they end up being added to already overloaded classes.
Meanwhile today’s incoming freshmen require more support than ever in the form of tutoring and instructor contact. In these congested classes we just do not have the time to see enough students one on one to help them learn what they need to succeed in college. As a result students in higher numbers are failing or simply quitting their classes. Not only does this cost more in the end, as those failed and abandoned classes must be repeated, we are failing in our mission to provide university education to those students who do not find their way back.
STEVE TEIXEIRA
Academic Counselor
CAL STATE LOS ANGELES
My name is Steve Teixiera I help students from underserved communities get into and stay in Cal State Los Angeles. One of California’s most serious problems is the unequal education provided low-income kids, mostly minorities. As a result, the CSU itself is as segregated as the state, and the cuts will only make that worse. Almost 1/3 of the incoming students at CSU Dominguez Hills are African Americans, but at others it’s less than 5%. Now Outreach, enrollment levels, the Equal Opportunity Program, and Summer Bridge are taking cuts. Although we have minority CSU and American presidents today, the poorest communities are being pushed back to pre-Civil Rights Era isolation.
SEAN STRACHAN
Student, Marine Transportation and Science
CALIFORNIA MARITIME ACADEMY
My name is Sean Strachan and I attend the prestigious California Maritime Academy. My major is in Marine Transportation and minor in Marine Science. Due to the budget cuts and lack of college professors and facilities, I was forced to drop out of Math 100, a crucial class for my major. Because of this drop, I had to wait a semester to do many of the classes that required Math as a pre-requisite; classes such as Physics, Navigation, and so on.
Also, many of the classes that are required for my major are only offered once per school year. That means, along with me being behind in my requisites, I cannot make up for them by doing extra classes.
Many of the classes have caps of 20 with only 3 sections. In my current class, there are 65 Marine Transportation students. That means that after registration, 5 students are left snooping around in sections, begging the teachers to take them in.
Why should we as students, with the increase in fees, have to spend more money for a class we might not even be allowed in? I was supposed to graduate in the year 2010 and now I have to graduate a year later. There must be something done about this.
JULIAN DIXON
Lecturer, Music
CSU SACRAMENTO
My name is Julian Dixon and I teach the tuba studio and chamber brass in the Music
Department at Sacramento State University. Because of budget cuts, two of the classes I teach were eliminated along with my medical and pension benefits. Being a Part-time Lecturer for well over 8 years… Yes, in the CSU, 8 years of temporary appointments is still considered Part-time,… I represent the most vulnerable of the faculty. My “contingent” status does not make me less passionate, dedicated, or valuable as a teacher to my students and my community.
As in any symbiotic relationship, the loss of these classes directly injures my students and the Sacramento community. The brass instruments classes that I teach in the CSU system are the only place for these young musicians to get this kind of professional training. In the professional world tuba players are very isolated, usually on their own. Our program at Sacramento State is one of the rare opportunities they will ever have in their career to learn with other tuba players, and to learn how to survive in the music business. We teach all our brass players to form chamber groups which offers an important way for them to earn a living as musicians and bring live music to the community. We sustain and pass on the traditions essential to our profession. That is being taken away. (What you take away now, may take a generation to rebuild.)
AARYN BANKS-LEVINE
Student, Environmental studies
SAN FRANCISCO STATE
My name is Aaryn Banks-Levine and I am a junior at San Francisco State in Environmental Studies I recently transferred from community college and I am putting myself through school. The number of classes offered on my campus is decreasing rapidly. But we do not yet know exactly which classes will still be there because even though we are being required to pay our fees, we have not been allowed to register for next semester’s classes.
Because I receive financial aid, I am required to take a minimum number of classes to be a full-time student. If I can’t get the classes required for my major, I will have to take classes that do not help me finish school. This is a waste for the university and for me. I fear this means it will take much longer to graduate from school.
Also, I am concerned about the future of the Environmental Studies program. This curriculum is unique at San Francisco State and it is exactly the kind of program California and America needs to green our culture and our businesses. Since this year is the first time that San Francisco State will not accept all eligible students, I’m worried that we will lose students who could play a really big part in saving our environment and our economy.
SKIP ROBINSON
Lecturer, Psychology
SONOMA STATE
My name is Skip Robinson and I teach psychology at Sonoma State University. Last Thursday, I asked 75 of my students for their comments on the unviersity’s budgt crisis. I have made 25 copies of 50 of their responses. Here are a few examples:
“More students, fewer teachers, fewer classes, fewer sections, fewer resources.”
“It was hard enough before, but now with the budget cuts it’s going to be almost impossible.”
“I worked hard my whole life to get here. It makes me mad to know that my hard work and dedication may not pay off.”
“Now I wonder if I made a mistake coming to SSU. I can’t handle the fighting for classes, the overcrowded majors. Most of my friends ended up with only one or two classes they needed. I don’t think I’ll ever graduate.”
Their emotions? These are quotes from their comments: fearful, confused, scared, worried, lost, disappointed, highly frustrated, angered, enraged, heartbroken, hopeless. Think how this will affect their studies.
