When people imagine a college campus, they might picture students hustling to class, busy facilities and vibrant communities. But here at Sonoma State University, that idea is fading fast. Faced with budget cuts and an unknown future, the university is slowly turning into a ghost town.
On Jan. 22,faculty and students received a harrowing message from Sonoma State’s Interim President Emily Cutrer about merging departments, laying off faculty, the elimination of athletics and the elimination of various departments and programs.
Departments that are identified for closure are women and gender studies, philosophy, economics, geology, theater, and dance.
“They cut my fellow brothers’ and sisters’ majors right in front of their eyes through a simple email,” said Michael Guzman, a second-year biology student, “They failed to show up and look them in the eye. This is immature and lazy.”
“Cutting the athletics and possibly doing your major on the side for a lot less money but not guaranteeing that you will have that future, it’s appalling,” said Guzman.
Mallory Field, a third-year student at Sonoma State studying Women and Gender Studies and minoring in Psychology went home and “sobbed” after reading the mass email.
“Women and Gender Studies is a safe space for me, [and] it’s really important to me,” said Field. “With everything that is going on in the world, I was really counting on having a safe space to discuss things that were attacking my identity. And to have that taken away with no warning, was really devastating.”
Interim President Cutrer’s message discussed the school’s budget deficit, writing that it is closer to $24 million rather than their previous prediction of $21 million. In addition to the elimination of programs and athletics, it was announced that 46 faculty members at the university received a notice that their contracts would not be renewed for the 2025-2026 academic year. 12 staff positions and four management positions were eliminated as well.
As if the announcement couldn’t be any more alarming for students, it seems as though Cutrer has left out information that should be known to all.
California Faculty Association mentions in a recent article that the budget cut will be laying off about 130 faculty members, slashing the number of faculty by over 25%. The school will eliminate six departments and 23 academic programs, and merge seven departments into three.
“I did consider transferring, but it’s too late for me,” said Field, “I’m devastated that I am not going to have the education that I paid for and that I deserve.”
Sonoma State has seen a decrease in enrollment for some time. It has dropped by 38% since its peak (9,408 students) in 2015. After the extensive media coverage and dissatisfied students, I’m sure that Sonoma State will see a further decline in enrollment as many students will need to transfer in order to graduate.
Mallory Field said that Sonoma State is marketed as the first Liberal Arts CSU in the system, and that programs like humanities, arts, or sports entices people.
“To cut all of those, we’re not going to have something to market to those people, and they are not going to come,” Field said.
In the CSU system, there are 23 campuses, but only a few are almost in the same situation as Sonoma State. CSUs Los Angeles, Dominguez Hills and Northridge are also struggling from either budget cuts or enrollment.
These problems could not have come at a more unfortunate time, as Governor Gavin Newsom has recently planned to reduce state funding by nearly 8%, affecting the CSU system.
On Jan. 30, a virtual town hall meeting was held to address the situation at hand. Hundreds of students arrived at the Seawolf Plaza to protest against the budget cut, and watch the broadcasted meeting together as Cutrer explained that “there is no plan B.”
“It’s just a failure to everyone,” said Guzman. “They failed as administration and as a person to enact to other human beings, to give them the simple right of going to school that most of them are paying for.”
Many faculty members like Liz Burch, department chair of communications and media studies, showed their support as did those who were fired, like philosophy professor John Sullins who wore a “Hi, My Name is” sticker, filling in the word “fired!” underneath.
Cutrer recently sat down with The Press Democrat for an exclusive interview discussing the criticism she faced and the next steps in her plan. One of the main points she spoke about was enrollment and the cut of degree programs.
“We will continue to have a number of degree programs that historically have been in the liberal arts,” said Cutrer. “I value the liberal arts, but I also think it’s not only the liberal arts that provide the kind of education that students need.”
Cutrer moved on, discussing the decline in enrollment in the future, saying that Sonoma State has been affected by the fires, COVID-19, and a lack of high school graduates. These were “beyond our control,” Curter said
In order to bring in more students, Cutrer says that the university will work closely with Santa Rosa Junior College, College of Marin, Napa College, and Mendocino Community College to get students to transfer here. But this might not be enough as there are other universities with more programs than what Sonoma State can offer.
“I sincerely believe that over time, we will grow,” said Cutrer. “We’ve had a brief grieving period. But moving forward, this is the story that we need to tell people.”
It seems as though Sonoma State may not be able to recover from this in time for the next enrollment period. This comes after a great amount of media coverage and stories that have smeared their name, administration and decisions.
Sonoma State is a great school in many ways, but before they can claim that title, they have to understand that these repercussions will drive current and future students away. For anyone who is standing by those affected by the budget cuts, now is the time to write to the administration, protest, and reach out to the community to demand solutions that will prioritize those who are impacted.
