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Volume XXIX - Issue 3
Catch a sneak peak of Skyline’s new gallery exhibit on page 3
March 03, 2011
Get to know the movie Unkown on page 6
www.theskylineview.com
Teach-in focuses on budget cuts Student services in danger by Dean Kevin Santos
Professor Suzuki discusses the impact of the budget cuts on students.
Dean Kevin Santos/The Skyline View
Skyline Against the Cuts held a teach-in on March 2 to discuss the drastic repercussions of Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed budget cuts to student services. The state deficit is hovering around $25.4 billion for the 2011-12 fiscal year, and California’s college students are going to take the brunt of the proposed budget cuts. Approximately $1.4 billion is getting cut from California’s higher education budget. San Mateo County Community College District is expecting an $8 million cut. These budget cuts not only increase tuition, but they also limit classes offered, shorten library hours, increase class sizes, and critically affect student services. The teach-in focused on the student services that would be affected. Student services such as Child Development Services, Extended Opportunity Program and Service, and English as a Second Language programs were all affected by the string of budget cuts from previous years. The main student service that is currently being affected by the budget cuts is EOPS. This program helps low-income students by providing them with book vouchers, meal tickets and bus passes. But for the last two years, the budget cuts to community colleges severely affected these services. It is becoming
Enrollment and class cuts at SFSU
more competitive between eligible students to get these services. Black Student Union President Floyd Madden said these services are “something that has been essential to some people to stay in school.” Economics professor Masao Suzuki discussed and explained the effect of cyclical recession, the decline in tax revenue and other state policies regarding the state deficit. Suzuki said that the proposed tax extensions on sales, income and vehicle taxes are regressive, meaning low-income households end up paying a higher percentage of the taxes than high-income households. The contrasting policy that could be pursued is to tax the rich, but considering that the rich have more political clout, it is less likely to happen. Student organizer Michael Madden said that these budget cuts are only affecting the lowest economic strata of students. Since most of the student services cater to those in economic need, students from lowincome households are affected the most by these budget cuts. For more information, Skyline Against the Cuts has a table in the cafeteria Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and holds weekly meetings on Tuesdays at 2:30 p.m. in room 308 at Pacific Heights.
Students turned away and come to Skyline instead services that support students,” said free services. Jo Volkert, Associate Vice President, “I can’t spend time at SF State after class, so it is convenient for me to go to the San Francisco State University Enrollment Management at SFSU. Learning Center,” Newell said. has fallen victim to California’s “We must also look carefully at how Newell is not the only student who has had to find other ways to get an educabudget cuts, resulting in the termina- many students we admit so that we tion, and some students simply stopped trying because the help they need is tion of classes, enrollment cuts and do not enroll more students than we not readily available. other financial cuts in general. This can serve.” Newell said he knows people who have had to put off their careers has brought some SFSU students Joseph Newell, an SFSU ma- because of school budget cuts. They are discouraged when a class to Skyline to get the education they rine biology student, is one of the they need for their major is need. people af- cut and then they have to D u e by wait another semester to “When the budget is cut, the fected to lack of the cuts. take it, which prolongs funding, University must find ways to He usu- their time at school SFSU was gets and puts financut expenses both in terms of ally directed by t u t o r i n g cial stress on the CSU classes and services that sup- from his them. Volkert justifies Chancelscience port students,” lor’s Office t e a c h e r these cuts by saying to decrease d u r i n g reducing the number of --Jo Volkert enrollment his office students allowed to enroll by 10.8% h o u r s , gives current students a much for fall of b u t h i s better chance of getting the classes 2010, rescience teacher’s hours were cut, they need than in the past. ducing enrollment from 30,468 in so Newell was forced to find help Robyn Graham contributed information fall of 2009 to 29,716. SFSU plans elsewhere. Luckily, Newell is the on having 29,800 students for fall head barista for Skyline Coffee to this article. of 2011. here on campus, so he now gets “When the budget is cut, the the science help he needs from the Sandra R. Barba/Bigstockphoto University must find ways to cut ex- Learning Center. Unfortunately, the penses both in terms of classes and Learning Center does not provide SFSU cuts bring more students to Skyline.
by Brittany M. Olgardt