It has been three weeks since the sudden announcement of the major budget cuts. Since then, there has been a virtual town hall and a protest, but many students and community members say their concerns remain unaddressed amid ongoing communication issues.
“Trust is in short supply,” said Karen Moranski, provost at Sonoma State at the Associated Students meeting on Feb. 4, in response to a question about the lack of open and clear communication, “The only way to rebuild trust is to continue having opportunities like this here.”
The Associated Students meeting held on Feb. 4 was one of the first times since the town hall on Jan. 30 that students and community members were allowed to ask questions and make demands in response to the e budget cuts to Interim President Emily Cutrer and other administrators.
Before public comment, President Cutrer presented slides outlining the budget cuts and reaffirmed the administration’s stance that they were necessary due to financial constraints.
“We have to keep the doors open,” said Cutrer, “We can’t do that without eliminating some positions, without eliminating some programs, without eliminating some majors.”
When asked why there was a decision to cut multiple majors and programs at once, rather than over time, Provost Moranski said they were trying to reduce the impact of the most students possible.
“These cuts affect everyone,” said Moranski, “They affect friends, they affect classmates. But one of the things we have to do in this situation is to try to minimize as few people as possible.”
According to Cutrer, there are 302 students in major programs that are being eliminated. Out of the 302, 56 have to change majors due to being under the 60 unit requirement to finish their degrees before they graduate.
At the meeting, when asked why first-year students and those below 60 units can’t get help to finish compared to others, Provost Moranski said it was due to budget.
“We’re looking at a two-year window where we’re paying for students to graduate,” said Provost Moranski, “So we’re taking money out of the budget that we just cut, to be able to pay for students to continue through to commencement and to graduation. And we can’t pay for four years.”
Moranksi encouraged students who are within the 60 unit requirement to talk to their faculty and advisors for assistance.
The school is facing a $23.6 million budget deficit, prompting the cuts. However, many students have been inquiring about the CSU reserved funds. The CSU has over $2 billion in their reserves, with over $700 million designated for economic uncertainty.
Questions about the reserve funds were not answered at either the Associated Students meeting and town hall, so The Star reached out to President Cutrer. She said the CSU system won’t allow the reserves to be used.
“They are low on reserves,” said Cutrer. “I know a lot of people don’t believe that, but that is the case. Six or seven campuses have had enrollment issues over the last few years, and all the campuses are taking cuts, so because of that, the system is not providing emergency assistance to the individual universities.”
The CSU faced controversy about the reserve funds back in 2019, when a state audit revealed the chancellor’s office did not fully disclose the $1.2 billion in reserves, while increasing the tuition and asking for more state funding. The audit pushed for the chancellor’s office to improve financial transparency.
Sonoma State community members at both the Associated Students meeting and town hall repeatedly asked why the administration wasn’t taking a pay cut to help reduce the budget deficit. During both meetings, Cutrer said they had volunteered to take a pay cut, but couldn’t due to it “setting a precedent for other CSU’s.”
In a follow-up interview with her, Cutrer explained, “We’re all part of the system, and our pay scales are tied to one another.We aren’t independent in that regard. So if we do something, then it becomes a precedent for other institutions, and that’s not acceptable.”
“Then there is a notion out there that all administrators make more than everybody else,” said Cutrer, “That is not the case. It is the case that vice presidents and presidents do, we have high salaries relative to other employees on campus. At least at this university, we do. But, it’s not the case that all administrators make more than faculty.”
The Associated Students meeting seemed to affirm the stance that cuts have to happen, but Vice President for University Advancement Mario Perez at Sonoma State said they are still advocating against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget cuts.
“We were able to contact some individuals who are well known within the government realm and bring them in so that they can support us in this advocacy,” said Perez, “So that means having meetings, phone calls with our local legislators, including our local city council people, and advocating the importance and the value of Sonoma State to the region, ensuring the economic vitality of the region.”
Governor Newsom’s budget proposal would cut $375.2 million from the CSU budget. This was announced on Jan. 10, which according to the administration at the Associated Students meeting, was the defining factor for the sudden reveal of the Sonoma State budget cuts.
Part of the Sonoma State budget cuts is the elimination of six departments, one of those being Women and Gender Studies. This would not be the first time the department has been under threat of closure. In the spring semester of 1980 the department was almost shut down by former Sonoma State President Peter Diamandopoulos, but he ended up giving in to student protest and demands.
With the advent of the Trump administration closing down and targeting diversity and inclusion programs on a federal level, the closure of the women and gender studies department has raised concerns.
“I am devastated that this administration thinks that Queer Studies is not a vital minor in this moment in history,” said Don Romesburg, chair of the Women and Gender Studies Department, “I am personally devastated that after my nearly two decades of service to this university, I’m being given a pink slip.”
When asked if she knew about the impact and historical context of eliminating Women and Gender Studies, Cutrer said she didn’t, and that programs were selected for elimination due to “discussions of metrics and data.”
The Associated Students meeting answered some questions, but still left many of the students unsatisfied. Students left the meeting after public comment. One student came back in right before the meeting ended to put a poster on the wall, in protest of the decisions being made by the CSU system. The poster read “CSU values in action, 1. Dishonor, 2. Incompetence, 3. Conformity, 4. $$$.”
