Last Wednesday, Associated Student Incorporation (ASI) hosted Made in the CSU to educate students on California’s budget and how it will affect students financially.
Daniel Clark, President of the California State Student Association, Russell Giambelluca, Vice President of Finance and Business,  Nicole Munoz-Murrillo Senior Legislative Advocate and a representative of Mike Gray’s office sat on a panel where they were asked their opinion on the CSU budget system.
“The University of California system only uses 18% of state funding that is dedicated to education while the CSU system is almost completely funded and community colleges are fully dependent on state funding,” Munoz-Murrillo said when asked how California’s state budget will affect the CSU system.
The panel spoke on how the budget cuts affect CSU students and whether or not it will recover. This was met with opposing responses.
“Classes were cut, people were laid off, graduates took longer, students weren’t admitted, and programs were cut,” said Giambelluca. “The services have to go, the people have to go and the care goes with them.”
While Giambelluca discussed losses that were made, Munoz-Murrillo had more of an optimistic approach to the question.
“I don’t think our system will be the same but this opens the opportunity to be innovative and creative,” said Munoz-Murillo.
Fifty million dollars are shared between all 23 CSU campuses. Parking lot two cost over a million dollars to create alone, therefore 50 million is not as much as it sounds.
“We are at a war with deterioration,” Giambelluca said.
There are various infrastructures that need to be repaired to ensure a safe environment to learn. On our campus, we have buildings that are 50 years old and are at a higher risk of deteriorating. When minor things like air conditioning fail to work in a classroom, students are affected.
“All I am thinking about is how sweaty I feel,” Stephanie Landeros (Sophomore, Sociology) said. “The professor will mark me down as absent if I leave.”
The panel called upon alumni to help undergraduates and graduate students with this financial deficient.
“When you became a student you became a part of a family and that doesn’t end once you graduate,” Munoz-Murrillo said.
If you would like to learn more about the decrease in state funding towards the CSU visit madeinthecsu.com.
“We need to tell our story over and over again because nobody else will,” Munoz-Murrillo said.