Turnout Burnout : Panel on CSUN Budget Cuts Holds to Course Despite No-Shows and Student Apathy

Leaders of a Cal State Northridge student body that is struggling with fewer classes and services and higher fees organized a meeting Monday to grill state legislators and campus administrators about the budget crunch.

But when the appointed hour rolled around at noon, all but about 25 of the legions of students who trooped by were headed for a different kind of grill--the one serving lunch in the University Union.

Many of those chatting with friends nearby weren’t sure of the event’s purpose.

Reading the sports page while eating lunch, second-year CSUN student Adam Sarkin was trying to ignore the session’s loudspeaker. Told that the $963 in student fees he paid this year had gone up 20% from the previous year, he responded: “Did they?”

“Dad paid the fees last year,” said Sarkin, a computer science major from Chatsworth, explaining why he didn’t know about the fee increase that was part of the state’s budget-balancing act.

Sarkin, 19, had noticed that he was bumped from a biology laboratory but he said that didn’t matter because he isn’t majoring in biology.

Campus officials said Monday that even though this year’s schedule has 600 fewer class sections than last year, the average student is signed up for just as many classes--although maybe not the classes they wanted. Enrollment, however, is down by 721 students from last year.

“Everyone kind of knows what’s going on, but what can we do?” asked Nick Alonso, a 21-year-old sophomore eating with friends at an outdoor table. “If we did raise questions, they probably wouldn’t do anything.”

Janet DiGiulio, 19, said she knew of several fellow sophomores who were taking a few classes at CSUN and filling out their course schedules with classes at community colleges. “It’s so inconvenient to go to school and pay for it and not get the classes you want,” she said, listening in to the half-hearted back-and-forth between students and panelists.

The turnout of speakers invited to appear on the panel also was less than expected, or promised, and might explain the lack of student interest. Assemblywomen Paula L. Boland (R-Granada Hills) and Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley) and state Sen. Ed Davis (R-Santa Clarita) were unable to attend because the Legislature is still in session. Each sent an aide, but Wright’s representative had to leave before the event started.

Also unable to attend were the top CSUN administrators, including President James Cleary, that the event’s organizers had promised. James Benson, director of legislative affairs for the Associated Students, attributed their absence to scheduling conflicts.

That left Gary Washburn, Boland’s chief of staff, and Hunt Braly, Davis’ chief of staff. Braly led off his remarks by saying: “Let’s do a little poll. Is anyone happy paying 20% more in fees this year?”

The question produced no response. “Is anyone paying attention?” he asked. One person responded affirmatively.

Braly and Washburn went on to say that much of the state budget is beyond the control of the Legislature and that “structural reforms” were necessary to ease the tax and regulatory burden on businesses. That would make it more attractive for businesses to remain in the state, which would, in turn, increase jobs and state revenues, they said.

Braly said that the 20-campus Cal State system, with a budget of $1.647 billion for this year, gets “lost in the shuffle” of Sacramento politicking. He urged students to get organized, research the state budget to find examples of wasteful spending, and come up with better ways for “how all of government should be funded.”

Mark Gendernalik, a junior sociology major who asked Braly and Washburn to explain why the state’s budget seems to swing wildly between feast and famine, seemed willing to take up Braly’s challenge.

“Most of my peers feel disenfranchised” when it comes to influencing state policies, said Gendernalik, 20, from Chatsworth. “They’ve lost the idea of one man, one vote. But I believe, even if it won’t make a difference, you’ve got to try. I believe that’s the responsibility of a citizen.”