Cal State faculty, students protest proposed cuts in budget, admissions

Roberto Aguilar figures he has done everything right to earn a spot at a state college, working hard in high school to achieve a 3.5 GPA and SAT score of 1780. But the Pasadena 17-year-old’s vision of the future -- moving away from home, meeting new friends in the dorms and exploring a new city -- is in jeopardy because of the state’s budget woes.

“My chances of getting in have just gotten slimmer,” said the senior at Marshall Fundamental High School, who applied to study civil engineering at Cal State campuses in Northridge, Long Beach and San Diego, as well as UC Davis. “I might have to go to my backup, backup plan now, and go to community college. I’m worried.”

Officials at the California State University system announced Monday that for the first time in its history, they are proposing to turn away qualified students because of a deepening state budget crisis.

As part of a plan to slash its 450,000 enrollment by 10,000 students for the 2009-10 academic year, the 23-campus system, the nation’s largest, will push up application deadlines and raise the academic bar for freshmen at its most popular campuses.

State legislators are dealing with a budget shortfall that could grow to $24 billion by the middle of 2010. To help cover the gap, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has recommended a $66-million midyear cut for the Cal State system, which has been hit with a series of rolling budget reductions since 2002.

Cal State Chancellor Charles B. Reed said he has not ruled out fee increases even though the Board of Trustees is not currently considering that option.

At Cal State headquarters in Long Beach on Tuesday, students, faculty members and staff staged a rally protesting proposed cuts in the system’s budget and enrollment. Several hundred participants waved signs and shouted, “Save our education!”

Speakers described a budget-strapped system that is already in disarray, with students being forced to stand or perch on window sills in stuffed classrooms, and unable to graduate because classes have been dropped or severely curtailed.

“In our school right now, you can’t start an art program because the art department stopped Drawing I, and it’s required,” said Sonoma State freshman Kia Kolderup-Lane, a liberal studies-political science double major who is interning for the California Faculty Assn. “It’s like cutting the head off a snake. It doesn’t work.”

“We’re not fighting for just ourselves, we’re fighting for the people who don’t get in” to Cal State, said Tony Snow, 23, a history major at Humboldt State. “I have nieces and nephews I’d like to see go to Cal State.”

Lillian Taiz, president of the faculty association, called the enrollment reduction proposal “hideous” but added that the system can’t go on cutting classes and other essential services while admitting the same number of students.

“We hate it,” she said. “There will be a whole generation of students who do not have access. It’s so self-destructive.”

There’s substantial uncertainty over how the proposed enrollment cap will affect individual students hoping to attend the Cal State of their dreams.

Although the plan is expected to hit freshmen especially hard, Gustavo Flores, director of admissions at Sonoma State, said he expects to enroll the same number of first-year students this year as last -- 1,600. At the same time, he said, students with the minimum qualifications -- a high C grade-point average with the requisite SAT or other test scores -- might find themselves out of luck.

“That’s the uncertainty, how will it impact students?” Flores said.

Word of the proposal, which could go into effect later this month, began to spread among students, parents and educators Tuesday, prompting confusion and worry.

“I’ve had several students come in and ask about what could be the consequences of that. They’re concerned,” said Philip Peeples, a counselor at Moreno Valley High School. “Last year, the year before, we had students that didn’t have too good GPAs, and we were still able to get them into a Cal State because there was space available and the Cal States really worked with them. They’re worried this year that’s not going to be the case.”

Robin Sroka, a college and career counselor at Wilson High School in Long Beach, said she is advising students: “Be calm. Have options they can live with, whether it’s choosing go to community college for two years . . . and waiting for slots to open up.”

She said the potential change underscores what she has always advised students: Apply to a broad range of universities.

Senior Frankie Wiggins, 17, followed her advice. His first choice is studying aerospace engineering at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and he’s confident that he’ll make the cut with his grades and standardized test scores.

But he is also applying to Cal State Long Beach -- where he would get preference as a Long Beach resident -- as well as San Jose State, UCLA, the University of Oregon and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz.

“I’m excited to hear from all of them,” he said.

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seema.mehta@latimes.com

gale.holland@latimes.com