Students and faculty demand answers from SSU administration amid their $24 million deficit
On Thursday, Jan. 30, Sonoma State University held a virtual Town Hall meeting to address the critical budget cuts that have led to the loss of all athletics, over 20 major degree programs, and four extended education programs. The meeting was originally planned to be in-person but was held virtually on Zoom instead, due to the high number of participants. This raised questions from students about why the campus facilities were labeled as inadequate to hold the town hall. The meeting ended up with 1,410 participants.
The budget cuts came in response to the school’s $24 million deficit, and will take effect after the 2024-25 academic year. The announcement has left students, families, and faculty feeling enraged, and has raised questions about the university’s loyalty and decision-making process. During the meeting, student athletes, faculty, alumni, and parents expressed their feelings and concerns about what is next. Many people affected by this felt blindsided because there had been no discussion about it, giving them no opportunities to voice concerns.
Doug Luden, an SSU student said in the virtual meeting, “I am appalled and disgusted by the actions taken. You are a coward, how can a university survive without athletics?”
Student-athletes have no other choice but to transfer if they want to further their sports career. Alumni expressed disapproval of the school eliminating something they once loved.
Beyond the athletic programs, other programs have suffered alongside. Political science student, Dino Ortega, called the administration’s decision “draconian.”
“You’ve destroyed careers of tenure professors and blocked careers of thousands without any democratic decision-making,” Ortega said.
In response, SSU Provost and Chief Academic Officer Dr. Karen Moranski assured students that the university is committed to maintaining the 48 active majors moving forward next year. Moranski said the administration did not want to make any cuts, but there was no other choice they could make.
Moranski explained that the administration is doing the best they can to help the institution survive after these incredibly difficult decisions. The board of administrators collectively acknowledged that there may be enrollment loss next year, while they aim to have the smallest possible impact on students.
“I know if you’re in athletics, it feels like people don’t care about you, we all do, we all care about athletics, we care about our students and our employees of athletics, but the fact is the university can no longer afford to support intercollegiate athletics and that is the very very sad truth,” Cutrer announced.
Adam Amjadi, a master’s student in the English department, said this outcome is counterintuitive considering the school already has an enrollment crisis, with a nearly 40% decline in 10 years, making it even worse with the cuts to majors, including the English master’s program. Amjadi expressed concerns about the decision being convenient for the administration, since the announcement came out after students paid their tuition for this semester.
Parents of students expressed their concerns and asked questions about the major cuts and assistance in transferring their children to other colleges. Elizabeth Burch, an SSU professor and department chair of communications and media studies said she has a daughter who is considering applying to SSU. Burch asked how the cuts will convince parents to invest their money and send their children to this school.
SSU Interim President Dr. Emily Cutrer explained that they avoided this as long as possible but the institution couldn’t sustain any longer, the cuts were merely unavoidable. She said the college doesn’t have enough funds to pay for the same amount of expenses year after year, as the problem has escalated from the decline in enrollment and rising operational costs.
“Raising money to keep the athletic program is unsustainable…we need to close the gap between our ongoing expenses and our incoming revenue,” Cutrer said. She emphasized that SSU is not the only California State University to enforce cuts, although not all of them will be taking as hard of a fall as Sonoma State.
Despite the administration’s reassurance and explanations, students still pushed back. A third-year geology major questioned the logic behind cutting the geology program when the campus is in an area that has an active earthquake fault line. The student wondered how that seemed reasonable.
The meeting concluded with lingering disappointment and questions. As SSU is trying to move past this, many members of the community are doubtful about the future of the university. The full recording of the Town Hall is set to be posted online for those who weren’t able to attend.