By Gilbert Gutierrez III
Daily Titan Staff Writer

The California Faculty Association Fullerton Chapter Board will hold a day for faculty, staff and students to discuss budget cuts and furloughs on Tuesday from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at the Titan Walk.

The CFA will be voicing its opinion about the decisions made by the California State University system and they encourage anyone who has been affected from the budget cuts to express their feelings as well.

The CFA is petitioning alongside student activists who were involved in the protest that took place on Sept. 29. Their goal is to educate the Cal State Fullerton community about the budget cuts and what steps to take to “fight back.” Volunteers will be distributing fliers, complaint forms and promotional placards for students to display as the public passes through the Titan Walk.

At noon, student representatives will be present to speak out to the community and voice their opinion about the lack of funds for higher education

Fullerton Chapter President of the CFA, Mougo Nyaggah, said that 9.23 percent of the staff and faculty’s salary has been reduced by furlough days this year.

The staff and faculty in general have no money to attend education conferences, which hurts their professional development. Funding for research has also been reduced for the professors’ fields of study, which has affected the quality of information given to students, Nyaggah added.

“CFA is joining the students here who are protesting the tuition increases. It went up 32 percent this year and that will keep off very many students from accessing a university education,” said Nyaggah.

The results of this budget crisis have forced students to pay more for their education, receive 10 percent less than what they paid for, and lengthened graduation time, he said.

The university has yet to disclose how many educators have been lost, but the number is significant, Nyaggah added.

CFA Vice President Jarret Lovell said that Chancellor Charles B. Reed has failed to be a leader, poorly allocated education funds and has not been an advocate for the

CFA’s ultimate goal is to pressure the chancellor to step down from office, Lovell said.

Many students, staff and faculty are upset with Chancellor Reed’s decisions about budget cuts, furloughs and enrollment reductions.

CSU Spokesperson, Erik Fallis from the CSU office of the Chancellor commented that the chancellor’s focus this 2009-10 year is on maintaining as many classes and services for students as possible and saving as many jobs as possible.

“The 2010-11 framework would ask the state to fund a critical recovery budget that would restore the money cut from the system and begin to fulfill the promises made for higher education in California,” said Fallis. The state also cut funding to the University of California, community colleges and state agencies providing services to the public.

Upon obtaining knowledge about the demonstration at CSUF, Fallis said, “It is also important that students stand up for the CSU and make their voices heard in Sacramento, and convey to legislators that higher education must be a priority in California.”

There have been flyers circulating around campus that urge students to join CFA’s demonstration. The flyers read “Remove Reed!” and “CSU Chancellor Reed and his administration have focused for years on their own perks while filing to advocate for students, staff and faculty.”

In response to these accusations, Fallis said, “The budget reduction was caused by a massive decrease in funding by the state of California, and the CSU to take significant steps to protect student services and academic quality.”

The CSU system is facing a $564 million deficit. “The CSU has taken a number of actions to reduce the impact of budget cuts on students. In January, the CSU implemented a salary freeze for all vice president/vice chancellor level positions and above (including campus presidents and the chancellor) effective through the 2009-10 budget year,” Fallis said.

The flyer states that Chancellor Reed’s salary has increased from $254,004 in 1998 to $377,000 in 2007. CSU students have seen their fee increase from $1,428 in 1999 to $4,026 in 2009.

“The chancellor’s salary is set by the CSU Board of Trustees and has not been increased in two years. His salary is frozen, as all executive salaries are, through the 2009-10 budget year. In 1998-99 the state of California provided $11,075 per student. Today, the state provides only $4,669 per students,” Fallis said.

“Education, faculty and students are worth fighting for, and education is meaningless if it’s limited to the pages of a text,” Lovell said. He strongly encourages that students voice their opinion.

Students who are concerned about fees should advocate in Sacramento for a renewed commitment to the CSU and higher education, Fallis said.