Strength In Numbers

The Bucks Start Here campaign was visible on the Cal State Monterey Bay campus on Monday, Feb. 6 during the Otter Showcase event providing new, relevant information concerning budget cuts as well as offering a unique opportunity for students: Letting their struggles and financial concerns be heard by the Governor himself.

The current problems plaguing California State University (CSU) campuses across the state are budget cuts. The cuts facing the CSU system must be met head on, and students need to become well informed on the topics that affect them directly. The CSU system is facing what may possibly be the worst financial crisis in its history. That is where The Bucks Start Here comes in.

The Bucks Start Here is a campaign that began in November of last year with Associated Students at San Diego State University. Their goal is to show the governor how budget cuts have detrimentally affected the lives of almost all CSU students. Students can write their grievances on the back of mock $750 million dollar bills (27 percent of the total CSU budget) representing the amount of money that has been cut from CSU system in the 2011-2012 school year alone.

It should be known that these cuts are permanent, and reduce the base funding for all CSU campuses. A moneybox with all of the notes included is being sent to CSU campuses statewide and will given to the governor on March 5 during the March for Higher Education in Sacramento.

The proposed budget for the 2012-2013 school year $2 billion dollars, but that has the potential to be cut by another $200 million, representing 27,000 CSU students. These cuts hinge on the votes of the citizens of California. Governor Jerry Brown has proposed tax extensions for the CSU system that, if rejected, would reduce the budget to the lowest level it has been in 15 years. Students already faced a tuition hike of 12 percent this school year. The revenue from this hike has generated $300 million thus far, but this does not come close to offsetting the current cuts.

Now is a more difficult time than any to be accepted into a CSU. To deal with the cuts in budget, enrollment for CSU campuses was lowered by 10,000 students, making education even more of a premium in the state of California.

Faculty, as well as school presidents, take up much of the budget for each campus. As much as 84 percent of the budget for each campus goes to paying for the salaries and benefits of the faculty. This is a large number when considering all else that must be paid for to operate an entire university.

Over the past several years there have been many measures taken to reduce school spending including furloughs, delaying the purchase of equipment and the deferment of facility maintenance. These stopgaps may only be enough to get schools through this fiscal year. Starting next, more academic programs may be cut and tuition will see even more increases.

The Bucks Start Here is making an effort to inform students and allow their voices to be heard throughout the state. These cuts and proposals are being made without the consent of those who they directly affect. Knowledge is power, and The Bucks Start Here is doing all that is possible to spread this knowledge to the 412,000 CSU students across 23 campuses.