Click the play button on the video window to the see the storyMore than 800 people piled into the University of Arizona student union Thursday to speak out against hundreds of millions of dollars in budget cuts to the state's three major universities.
The Arizona Board of Regents meeting was standing room only as student, parents and leaders blasted the $600 million in budget cuts proposed over the next two years by state lawmakers.
"People are just wondering why leaders at the state legislature would single out higher education," ASU President Michael Crow said.
The proposals came last week as officials begin to wrestle with a $3 billion state budget deficit.
The presidents from UA, ASU and NAU said the list of cuts would cripple their schools.
"It's probably the biggest single cut any university has ever had by its state partner in such a short period in history," Crow said. "How is it that Arizona is pushing that kind of proposal ... I don't understand."
Crow is openly condemning the cuts.
He sent out a letter to all ASU students and employees this week, detailing the actions the university would have to take if forced to make all cuts.
"I am deeply concerned for the future of Arizona State University," Crow wrote. "Their plan would reverse all of the progress ASU has made and set the institution back a decade or more."
Among the actions Crow said ASU would have to take:
- Shut down one or more campuses
- Close academic schools and programs
- Layoff thousands of employees
He went on to write, "Our legislature has failed to live up to its constitutionally mandated responsibility to fund education," and that the cuts would create "for Arizona a Third World education and economic infrastructure."
But lawmakers said that the budget porposals are just a first list of all options to be weighed, and that they far exceed what will be needed.
And it will be weeks or months until final budget decision are made, with several significant changes likely to occur to the university plan.
But the announcement of the proposed cuts still has many ASU students and workers on edge, especially at ASU's Polytechnic Campus, where warnings of a shut down have already spread.
"I just heard about it all yesterday," said Kaela Kirchner, an ASU Polytechnic student. "I've been getting calls and texts from people asking if my school is closing down."
