HSU students brave storm to protest cuts
Times-Standard 2/27/07
Last September, HSU's budget shortfall slipped from bad to worse. President Rollin Richmond said the university had a debt it had to pay back to the state. Combined with a decrease in full-time equivalent students that semester, the university lost more money on top of the debt. Faced with a deficit of $4.5 million, HSU started slashing at all budgets, laid off teachers and cut classes.
A large crowd of students gathered to watch and join the protest, cheering as speaker after speaker took the microphone to talk about Humboldt State's unique and special place in the CSU system.
John T. Carter, a sixth-year Humboldt State student, said the most shocking change he's seen on campus since he first arrived was the increase in student fees.
”We need to let it be known that we're not OK with this,” Carter said. “We need to all come together and figure out why this school is special.”
In the audience, Darcy Poletti Harp, an out-of-state student, held up a sign that read, “I'm more than a #.”
”Education is the most important thing we have,” Harp said. “I'm more than a statistic. I came here for the small class sizes. That's what I wanted.”
The protest rally coincided with CSU Chair of Trustees Roberta Achtenberg's visit to the campus. Achtenberg spent the day in a meeting with administrators, faculty, staff and students, going over the CSU's new strategic plan. Rally organizers set up a booth where students could fill out forms to voice their concerns to Achtenberg.
Matthew Gemmill, another student standing in the audience, said he would stand in the rain because he wants to express his viewpoint.
”We have different standards than the administration,” Gemmill said. “I see my values being communicated here, and I really like that.”
The protest continued in the driving rain for about 45 minutes, until organizers decided to move indoors to wait until 2 p.m., when the strategic plan meeting was scheduled to resume.