Aaron Helmbrecht Contributing Reporter Given the draconian budget cuts of the Fall 2009 semester, I was not surprised to learn that CSUN administration officials have approved a measure that cuts financial aid to undergraduate students who have exceeded 150 units. But I was surprised to learn that the logic behind the measure was not budget related. It is an administration plan, which they hope will get students to graduate sooner. I understand the whole trial-by-fire reasoning behind the measure. But… Read more

Aaron Helmbrecht CSUN operated in the midst of an approximately $41 million budget cut in the Fall 2009 semester, which led to cutbacks, including faculty furlough days, class cancellations, and tuition and fee increases. In response, students and faculty held numerous protest rallies and created video petitions venting their frustration at Sacramento. All of these efforts materialized into absolutely nothing. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has promised additional, “across-the-board,” cuts in January in response to the new projected state budget deficit of… Read more

The other day in class I witnessed something I have never seen in the four years of my college life. It happened during what I expected to be a three-hour lecture about media law when a student from our class received permission from the professor to speak to us about something that affects us all: the budget cuts. This came as a surprise to me because other than the occasional one-day rallies or a week at ‘Vent at the Tent,’… Read more