By Shea Farver
Western Sun Staff Writer
Usually a day off school was a blessing when we were younger, but when you’re in college, paying for every minute, it doesn’t always come with a smile.
Furlough days have now been made mandatory for the California State University and University of California systems since August 2009, with cuts being made every which way to bring in money for the state.
The state budget cuts have definitely made an impact on the universities in California. Students are now paying more per semester with less educational days since professors are being forced to take days off.
Colleges have agreed to take two days a month off in order to help keep as many staff members on payroll as possible.
The $584 million dollar budget deficit caused by a 20 percent reduction in state funding is weighing heavily on the colleges, asking for a quarter of the money to be paid with tuition increases from previously approved students and another quarter with the furlough days and staff and faculty salary cuts.
Long Beach State students Megan Fell and Rhianna Maras both had negative feelings about the way the schools were handling it.
“I’m paying extra money and I’m getting less time in class” sighs Fell. When asked about having more time off for herself she reported that she had to spend “more time teaching myself rather than the professor.”
Maras had some of the same feelings, annoyed that the furloughs “interfere with our learning”. No matter if the students are in class or not they’re “still responsible for the material”.
With this predicted to continue until at least 2011, students and professors are worried that more will be lost for the sake of the deficit.
