A cut below: California students and faculty grapple with the effects of a state budget crisis in postsecondary education.

A cut below: California students and faculty grapple with the effects of a state budget crisis in postsecondary education. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Born and raised in San Jose San Jose, city, United StatesSan Jose(sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. , Calif., Betty Duong began translatingfor her immigrant parents from the time she could speak in completesentences. Doing so helped her family navigate daily necessities like readingand paying utility bills. Through her, they also dealt withEnglish-speaking bureaucrats at hospitals, social service agencies andcourts. Family friends and neighbors often tapped Duong's bilingualskills too. But the duties made Duong burn out, rather than engage, in schoolthroughout her K-12 years. It was not until a community college classunexpectedly engrossed her that she realized the benefits educationcould usher into the life of herself and others. As long as it remains accessible and affordable, that is. Today, Duong is among thousands of California students worriedabout vanishing college affordability and access, especially forhistorically under-represented and marginalized populations. Students and faculty throughout California are grappling with theeffects of draconian state cuts to postsecondary education that havetopped more than $1 billion in the last year. As the state's fiscal crisis has deepened, its three majorhigher education institutions --the University of California The University of California has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students, over 1,340,000 living alumni, and a combined systemwide and campus endowment of just over $7.3 billion (8th largest in the United States). , TheCalifornia State University Enrollment and California Community Colleges--have cutfaculty pay, laid off staff and reduced the number of course offerings.The unavailability of courses is forcing some students to take longerthan expected to graduate. Coinciding with the belt-tightening,officials have raised mandatory student fees again, causing students tomount protests and occupy campus buildings. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Ever-soaring costs alongside ever-shrinking classes and serviceslead observers to fear that uncertainties may become norms, permanentlydenigrating higher education in the nation's most populous state. Says Dr. Sandra Graham, a University of California, Los Angeles UCLA comprises the College of Letters and Science (the primary undergraduate college), seven professional schools, and five professional Health Science schools. Since 2001, UCLA has enrolled over 33,000 total students, and that number is steadily rising. professor of psychological studies in education: "It has become asham." Misleading by Example Dr. Ming-Tung "Mike" Lee, vice provost of CaliforniaState University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento, more commonly referred to as Sacramento State or Sac State, is a public university located in the city of Sacramento, California, USA. It is part of the California State University system. , believes the outcome of state-budgetbattles can influence what happens elsewhere. "Whatever we develop,other states will try convincing their legislatures to do the same.It's unfortunately sending the message that by continuing to cut atthe state level, then we will continue to cut at the campus level andjust deal with it." The leaders of the three-tiered education system have urgedlegislators to restore public appropriations to their schools in thenext budget cycle, and they appear to have Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (German pronunciation (IPA): [ˈaɐ̯nɔlt ˈaloɪ̯s ˈʃvaɐ̯ʦənˌʔɛɡɐ]asan ally for increased funding. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "It takes decades to create great universities," UCPresident Mark Yudof Mark G. Yudof became the ninth Chancellor of The University of Texas System on August 1, 2002. Yudof was President of the University of Minnesota from 1997 until his appointment as Chancellor. said at a legislative hearing last month. "Butthey can be destroyed in a relatively short amount of time." Faculty jobs have also fallen to the budget ax. Last fall, the CalState system employed 2,133 fewer lecturers--or 16 percent less--than itdid in fall 2008, according to the California Faculty Association. Sevenof Cal State's 23 campuses lost 20 percent or more of theirlecturers. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Although typically not on the tenure track, lecturers comprisedabout 55 percent of all Cal State faculty as recently as 2008. Some arePh.D.s; others are not. Hired for their expertise in a particular field,lecturers teach but usually aren't obligated to research orpublish. For the remaining Cal State faculty, mandatory furloughs haveaccompanied pay cuts. Dr. Robert McNamara and his colleagues arerequired to specify days and times in which they won't holdclass--even if class is regularly scheduled that day--or office hours office hours,n.pl See business hours. orattend department meetings or campus events. A Sonoma State University Notes1. ^ [1]2. ^ "Sonoma State Music Center Has Detractors" by Sara Lipka Chronicle of Higher Education, Oct.5, 2007External linksOfficial website Official athletics website Department websites political science professor, McNamaranotices "my students aren't doing as well and their researchisn't very deep because we have less contact with each other." He periodically tells students to cross out topics on the coursesyllabus that he covered in years past but no longer does, because ofreduced class time. "I want them to see what they'remissing." McNamara and others agree the harried climate has cornered theminto using multiple-choice exams more often. Meanwhile, administrators at all campuses have cancelled countlesscourses before the start of a term, only to reinstate some of thecourses last-minute, sending instructors and students scrambling. Such frustration and low morale pushes many faculty to scoutout-of-state jobs or consider pitches from peer institutions eager topluck "superstar" professors, especially if they are Black orLatino because of the scarcity of them at top-tier researchuniversities. UC officials, for instance, say a "brain drain"has not yet occurred, although they are aware of ongoing courtships. Unlike Cal State, most UC faculty haven't trimmed instructiontime, but Graham observes, "If anything, I'm working harder,hustling." She has crafted a multiyear grant proposal for nonuniversity fundsto support her graduate students. She worries that continued UCLA UCLA University of California at Los AngelesUCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University)UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX cutswill strand students crucial in conducting her research, which examinespeer relations and racial tolerance among youth. The Minority Report Educators are already seeing the state's budget problemssqueezing a disproportionate share of students of color. As an example,the University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university, one of the ten campuses of the University of California. designates one complex of dormsand apartments for ethnic-theme housing. Minorities regularly fill about45 percent of those 600 beds as they do university enrollment. Because of contract cancellations, the complex had 73 vacanciesbetween the fall and winter quarters--five times the usual rate.Officials say nearly all those cancellations came from minorities who,because of job layoffs in their families or other financial strain,sought cheaper housing or dropped out of school. University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis, commonly known as UC Davis, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, and was established as the University Farm in 1905. student Damonde Hatfield, however,wants to move on campus. He has applied for a resident adviser job in adorm because it would entitle him to free room and board. A junior majoring in sociology and African-American studies,Hatfield struggles to stay afloat financially despite sharing anapartment with three roommates. He works at the campus activities andrecreation center to supplement his loans and grants. His grandmother is paying his midyear fee hike of $585 becauseit's beyond the means of his mother, who does office work, and hisfather, a construction laborer. The undergraduate fee increase, theeighth since 2002, is part of a 32 percent spike being phased in at UC. By fall, mandatory systemwide UC fees for in-state undergraduateswill run $10,302, excluding housing or books. The price is less than theretail cost of many academically selective public universitiesnationally. However, Californians are upset because the CaliforniaMaster Plan for Higher Education The California Master Plan for Higher Education of 1960 was developed by Clark Kerr during the administration of Governor Pat Brown. It set up a coherent system for postsecondary education which defined specific roles for the already-existing University of California (UC), the , which in 1960 articulated the missions of higher education institutions, callsfor a tuition-free system charging only nominal fees for sports andother non-instructional offerings. Meanwhile, California State University, Stanislaus California State University, Stanislaus, a campus in the California State University system, was established in 1957 in Turlock, California. CSU Stanislaus has nursing and education programs. student BrittanyGraham's fees have skyrocketed 53 percent from her freshman year to$4,840. Brittany studies nursing. The national dearth of nurses convincedthe fifth-year senior to stay the course. "At least I'll havea job at the end." Dr. Lorelle Espinosa, director of policy and strategic initiativesat the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Higher Education Policy,says because the California Master Plan became a model for so many otherstates in shaping school systems, close attention is being paidnationally to what occurs in California in the coming months. "Therising costs are telling students and families on society's marginsthat they don't have a place in California higher education. Thatis the message being sent to the general public all over thecountry." Costs aside, Californians face additional difficulties gainingentrance into UC and Cal State in the near future and perhaps beyond. UC officials plan to turn over 2,200 student slots for this fall toout-of-state and international students, who pay much higher fees thanin-state residents, unless state allocations dramatically improve soon.UC enrolls 14,000 in-state students for whom it receives no statesupport. Meanwhile, Cal State officials plan to enroll 40,000 fewerstudents over the next two years. For his part, Schwarzenegger says he wants to reverse the damagebeing wrought by budget cuts on California's higher educationsystem. "We can no longer afford to cut higher education,"Schwarzenegger said earlier this month during his State of the Stateaddress The State of the State Address (alternatively Condition of the State Address) is a speech customarily given once each year by the governors of most states of the United States. . "The priorities have become out of whack over theyears." "Thirty years ago 10 percent of the general fund went tohigher education and 3 percent went to prisons. Today almost 11 percentgoes to prisons and only 7.5 percent goes to higher education. Spending45 percent more on prisons than universities is no way to proceed intothe future," he said, adding that he wants to lower prison spendingthrough privatization privatization:see nationalization. privatizationTransfer of government services or assets to the private sector. State-owned assets may be sold to private owners, or statutory restrictions on competition between privately and publicly owned . Schwarzenegger proposed limiting prison spending to 7 percent ofthe state's general fund while spending no less than 10 percent onhigher education. "Choosing universities over prisons," Schwarzeneggersaid, "this is a historic and transforming realignment re��a��lign?tr.v. re��a��ligned, re��a��lign��ing, re��a��ligns1. To put back into proper order or alignment.2. To make new groupings of or working arrangements between. ofCalifornia's priorities." Still, there's no guarantee Schwarzenegger, a lame-duckgovernor, will succeed in winning over lawmakers. If he doesn't, heproposed that the matter be put to voters. That means immediate relief for higher education is nowhere insight. The cost-cutting measures and their impact on minority studentstrouble Duong, now a third-year UC Davis law student. To afford college, she has worked as a make-up artist and trimmedexpenses by living with family friends during some semesters. Shesupplements her law school loans with jobs as a UC Davis researchassistant and teaching assistant in Asian-American studies. She credits higher education with giving her career prospects and asense of self-assurance and belonging that eluded her in childhood. Duong earned a bachelor's in Asian-American studies from theUniversity of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley is a public research university located in Berkeley, California, United States. Commonly referred to as UC Berkeley, Berkeley and Cal . "Getting my education hasempowered me, made me feel privileged." But she cannot ignore the fact that hardly any of her low- andmoderate-income peers in San Jose hold a degree from any of the 10 UCcampuses. It doesn't take her long, either, to count the few whoattended, much less graduated from Cal State. And considering the opposite directions that costs andaccessibility appear to be heading, Duong surmises that even fewer youngpeople of future generations may have those opportunities. "I really don't know how new students are going to beable to manage this burden." Students Lament Costs, Contemplate Future John Tan sometimes second-guesses his turning down a full-tuitionSeton Hall University Seton Hall University is a private Roman Catholic university located 14 miles from Manhattan in historic South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by Archbishop James Roosevelt Bayley, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan university in the United States. law scholarship, despite his satisfying experienceat UC Davis, where he plans to finish his law degree this spring. "I would've picked up the same tools at Seton Hall butwith much less debt," he says, referring to $75,000 in loans. Hehas also earned income as a teaching assistant in political science andAsian-American studies at the main UC Davis campus. Annoyed by annual fees that have jumped 40 percent within threeyears of law school, Tan is considering skipping the State Bar exam thissummer. He says he can't justify another loan for exam andpreparatory course costs, which would run several thousand dollars. A Change Of Plans Paris Granger's mother always dreamed of a University ofCalifornia education for all her children. A junior majoring in historyand criminology, Granger still recalls her mother's elation elation/ela��tion/ (e-la��shun) emotional excitement marked by acceleration of mental and bodily activity, with extreme joy and an overly optimistic attitude. whenshe received the UC Irvine letter of admission. But escalating UC fees mean that Granger's younger sister, ahigh school senior, will likely attend community college in the fallwith hopes of transferring to UC as an upperclassman. Granger'soldest sister is a senior at UCLA. Their mother, who's single,works for a company providing transportation to the elderly. "My mom's biggest fear is that my sister might not beable to transfer by that time," Granger says. "Things would bea lot easier if she was able to afford UC the whole way." No Time To Help Emilio Camacho never envisioned himself at the state's mostprestigious postsecondary system until a community college teacher andmentor convinced him it would help him overcome being stereotyped byothers. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] At age 16, the Mexican-born Camacho accompanied his mother, who isa housekeeper, and younger sister to the U.S., where he struggled tolearn English and finish high school. At the urging of his mentor, he transferred to UC Davis and earneda bachelor's in philosophy before entering its law school. A second-year student and father of three, Camacho has encourageddisadvantaged and marginalized youth to consider topflight top��flight?adj. InformalFirst-rate; excellent.topflightadj → de primera (categor��a or clase)topflightadj → colleges aswell. Whenever possible, he would speak to high school student groups orparticipate in career days. But his outreach has tapered off in recent months. To keep up withever-rising school fees, Camacho took a teaching assistant job inChicano Studies for UC Davis' main campus. "It's likeadding an entire class to my schedule, with 100 students' papers tograde." "But I have to work. I have to take care of myselffirst," he says. Climbing Fees Devour Scholarships Philip Person chose UC Davis law school in part to remain close tohis family in California. A second-year student, he tries avoidingadditional loans by applying for scholarships every time he learns ofopportunities. Climbing fees devour the scholarships as fast as he secures them.His third-year fee of $42,322 will be 48 percent more than that of hisfirst year. That's startling, considering annual law school tuitionand fees at Stanford University, which is private, currently run$42,420. His younger brother, Andrew, a senior at UC Berkeley, takesnote as he shops law schools and scholarship offers around the country. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "He's looking for the best bang for his buck,"Philip Person says of his brother. He adds, "I thought educationwas a way for people to gain financial stability. But now, a student hasto be financially stable to get an education." --By Lydia Lum n. 1. A chimney.2. A ventilating chimney over the shaft of a mine.3. A woody valley; also, a deep pool.