Peter the Anteater with UC Irvine fans.
California colleges, universities unite in plea for state support
Peter the Anteater usually is found romping on the sidelines at UC Irvine athletic events. On May 8, Peter will apply his cheering skills to Capitol Mascot Day, an event Orange County higher education leaders organized to call attention to the impact of state budget cuts on California's universities and colleges.
The UC Irvine mascot will join with Cal State Fullerton's Tuffy Titan and a lineup of community college mascots to deliver thousands of letters to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state legislators. Written by students, faculty, staff, parents and business leaders, the letters will ask lawmakers to support the state's investment in higher education as a proven way to strengthen California's economic competitiveness. Together California's three higher education systems face a proposed $1 billion in state budget cuts.
United front. Those expected to speak at Capitol Mascot Day include UC Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake, CSU Fullerton President Milton Gordon, Rancho Santiago Community College District Chancellor Edward Hernandez, North Orange County Community College District Chancellor Jerome Hunter, South Orange County Community College District Chancellor Raghu Mathur and Coast Community College District Chancellor Kenneth Yglesias.
The May 8 event is just one of several budget-related activities drawing support from a united coalition of community college, UC and CSU students, faculty and leaders. All have the same message: An investment in higher education is an investment in the future of California's quality of life, economic growth, health and environmental sustainability.
Students carry message. On April 21, more than 2,000 UC, CSU and community college students carried that message to Sacramento as they marched to protest state budget cuts and higher fees. Hundreds more attended campus rallies throughout the state.
On April 28, UC President Robert Dynes, UC Provost Rory Hume, CSU Chancellor Charles Reed and CCC Chancellor Diane Woodruff made a rare joint visit to Sacramento to urge policy-makers to resist the deep budget cuts for higher education. The proposed state budget would have devastating consequences for California's economy, which depends on the state's educated and highly skilled work force to grow.
Future threatened. "We have an amazing system of public higher education in California, where anybody has access at any time of life to the finest education in the world, and that opportunity will be damaged by these cuts," Hume said during a recent radio forum on the state budget crisis and its effects on education.
UC faces a $417 million shortfall if the proposed cuts go through. As a result, UC students, said Hume, will find larger classes, less access to majors and a longer time to earn a degree, which translates into higher financial burdens on families.
Impacts to linger. A recent report from the Campaign for College Opportunity analyzed the cumulative impact of budget cuts on the three systems. Both CSU and UC already enroll more students than current funding can support, the report concluded. Further cuts will mean more students will be turned away. Even if funding improved next year, the report found, UC and CSU would have to turn away 27,000 eligible students just to catch up. Community colleges will need to cut classes and student services while increasing class sizes.
A recent report from the UC Academic Senate concluded that increased philanthropic support and federal grants would not make up for the lost state general fund support.