Nina Hollars – “I’m trying to take it day by day and enjoy this semester while things are still kind of normal. I think it’s important to remember that things could always be worse, but if you need support there is always help. Losing one of my majors (geology) has caused me great anxiety, and I am nervous for what my future will look like. This setback will cause me to be in school for way longer than I was planning, but it is up to the university to help me achieve the goals I came here to complete.” 

Ella Hoffman – “Honestly, since I’ve begun college in 2020, it’s always been uncertain, so part of me doesn’t even really feel deeply affected by this. Thankfully my program isn’t on the list of things being cut or downsized so I feel okay, but I definitely feel the tension on campus…This is a great school and I don’t know why it’s happening, so it’s more sad than stressful. But how it’s affecting my future is more, ‘Am I gonna have to go to a different school?’ 
I’ve already transferred a couple times, so I would hate to have to transfer again.” 

Abby Park – “I’m in a good spot because I’m graduating, but I want to continue my education and now that’s a factor in whether or not I stay at Sonoma State. The significant advantage to me continuing my education here is that I would still be able to live at home, which is a huge financial factor, but how can I trust an administration who isn’t transparent about numbers and budget and is willing to cut departments unanimously without any sort of consultation?” 

Abby Eck – “My department (Business Administration) was untouched, so luckily, my long-term goals are unaffected. That doesn’t mean that I don’t think that the way the school is handling the whole ordeal is absolutely unnecessary. The fact that it was announced through an email is ridiculous. The fact that staff found out they were going to be laid off through that very same email is disgusting. And the fact that the sports department was almost completely cut makes no sense whatsoever—especially since the school is concerned about enrollment. Sports are such a big draw for so many students! It’s frightening, to say the very least. I hold onto cautious optimism, but we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Mario Pometta – “I live off campus. I don’t play sports, nor have I had my programs eliminated. Yet I still feel like I lost something at Sonoma state. I think everyone can relate to that. I’ve been emailing administrators and voicing my concerns. Mentally, as a student that needs to work on top of my studies, I don’t have much time to reflect. It’s been a dissociative process. My Long-term goals are not affected by the cuts. I plan on continuing my education after my time at Sonoma. But I don’t know what local employers are thinking. Maybe this could potentially change their mind about an applicant from SSU.”

Jacob Gonsalves –  “As a student here, I am saddened by the news of the deficit. Many of my friends will no longer be attending Sonoma State. I believe that even if they retract their decision on the cuts, the trust in the board of trustees and administration is gone. As a lacrosse player I sympathize with all of the student athletes and those affected by the department changes. My long-term goals are not directly affected, but there is definitely a cloud of uncertainty in my time here at Sonoma.”

Isabella Castaneda – “As an active student who enjoys getting involved on campus, from holding an on-campus job to being a president of a club, it was such a shock when I first read about the upcoming drastic changes coming to our campus, especially the cut to the athletic department. I’ve enjoyed attending many of our collegiate sporting games, from basketball to baseball, and it’s upsetting to think that I won’t have that as an option next year. Some of my favorite memories while at SSU have been the laughs shared with my friends at our sporting events. I feel for all of the students who will be losing their communities from the department cuts and all of the faculty who will be forced to reenter the job market. As a business student, I’m fortunate in knowing that I don’t have to worry about the health of my academic college, but as a student who takes advantage of the different outlets to get involved, I’m saddened to hear about the university’s reductions and the way that these changes will affect current and prospective seawolves.”

NG Andrau, a Junior Psychology major at SSU, is not a part of the proposed cuts of majors, but still has concerns immediately and for the future. NG said, “I am kind of worried, even though my major is not impacted. I am planning on doing the counseling master at SSU, and I worry that things will continue to be cut, or the school will close and I won’t be able to complete my masters, which is my long-term goal.”

Andrau spoke of the possible impacts to his long term goals further. “I’m worried, that was my long-term plan, and at first my challenge was getting into the program, but now my challenge is making sure the program is here,” Andrau said. “So I am starting to think about looking at other master’s programs from other universities. It would complicate my life a lot because I have a job at the GMC, I have all my friends, I have everything and all of my stuff here. Moving somewhere else by myself would be extremely complicated.”

Andrau’s final thoughts focused on the further reaching impacts for him personally. “As an immigrant from France, I’m not a citizen, and it’s to the point I’m worrying that I will have to cut my education and move back home with the way things are looking. There’s a lot of concern with how things are going right now.”

Evan Prusha, a Sophomore in the Earth Environmental Science Major program, a major planned to be cut with the recent proposed budget cuts, has many concerns over his continued stay at SSU. “I’m just trying to figure out what options I have at this point,” Prusha said. “ “I’ve talked to some professors, they’re trying to help, but they’re also all getting laid off. Right now I’m looking at other schools.”

Prusha  is able to continue his program next year, but he has his doubts about the worth of that option. “They’re offering, essentially, that I have to take all the necessary classes for my major and minor next year… but they’re not going to be taught by the same professors, he said.

Prusha’s concerns continue past just his major, as his minor has an even larger impact in his decision making and thinking towards the future. “I’m really focused on my minor, which is paleontology, which is really obscure. This was the one school in California that I could get into that offered paleontology. So I will be going out of state if this continues to go through.”

Prusha expressed the difficulty of dealing with the situation while working with impacted professors. “I think it’s crazy that they told the professors the same day they told all the students,” he said “The professors I need to talk to are getting laid off at the same time my major is they’re going through all the same stuff we students are, and still have to help us through it.”

Miles Broadwell is a sophomore double majoring in Computer Science and Art Studio Photography at SSU, and has many thoughts on the recent announcement of the proposed budget cuts at SSU. 

“Since my major is not the one being cut, I can still go through with it, as well as computer science is safe. So I can continue my journey here for now, but if things keep slipping down this very slippery slope, then I may have to reconsider, especially with a double major”,  he said.

Broadwell expressed a lot of concern and empathy for other students. “I do not blame anyone who is thinking of transferring or thinking of changing majors. I want them to get the support they can,”Broadwell said“I don’t think anyone is overreacting. I think that the protest that happened was not only completely justified, but probably should have been even bigger. I saw all the student body who cared about these things, seeing their passion. It was amazing to see the students were willing to fight for their right to the college they paid for, and overturning the decision would be the best possible outcome.”

Anonymous

Business Major; Freshman 

A freshman business major at SSU had many thoughts concerning the proposed budget cuts at SSU. “I have been keeping track of the budget cuts, because every step of the way since I’ve attended this school I have been very calculated in what can and won’t benefit my career… I was considering possibly double minoring or majoring with economics, but that being taken away, I don’t like it,” they said, “Especially since I like the subject of economics.”

“I am a little scared because I tend to be scared when my plans don’t go according to plan, but also very sad for what’s happening for the school, and I hope that there will be a way that the school will become healthier again.”