By Jamie Iglesias
Daily Titan Staff Writer

The California Faculty Association discussed the issue of restructuring in the Cal State University and University of California systems on Tuesday. The CFA authored a white paper, a report addressing the issue, entitled “’Restructuring’ the CSU or Wrecking It?”

The press conference call focused primarily on the effects that restructuring has had on CSUs because of the elimination of academic programs that are significant in higher learning.

The biggest concern of the CFA is the elimination of academic programs and the future impact that these changes will have on CSU campuses.

According to a press release from Lisa Cohen, some CSU campuses that are already undergoing restructuring are Bakersfield, Dominguez Hills, Humboldt, Pomona, San Diego and Stanislaus.

Susan Meisenhelder, general manager for CFA, began the meeting by stating the reason the new white paper was written.

“These changes have dramatic, disastrous long term effects for the future prosperity of California, and it is important for the public to know what is at stake,” Meisenhelder said.

Lillian Taiz, president of CFA, summarized the white paper while David Bradfield, professor of music and digital arts and CFA chapter president at Cal State Dominguez Hills, addressed the effects restructuring has had on the campus.

Bradfield said he believes that the CSU is becoming “smaller, more elite and structured to serve the strict needs of corporate interests rather than the broad interests of a participatory democracy.”

He clarified this statement by stating that restructuring when it comes to core subjects is training students for trade work rather than training them to be critical thinkers.

Career training is a problematic end result because careers are changing and instead, students are trained to have certain kinds of jobs instead of being life long learners, Taiz said.

Taiz sees this as a major problem at CSUDH because students do not have the variety of programs that they once had due to the impact restructuring has had on the campus.

Music, languages, multicultural studies, life sciences, art and physics were some of the subject areas mentioned in the press conference that are in jeopardy of being eliminated.

With the lack of many of these classes, many students are now forced to stay longer in school to graduate.

Taiz acknowledged that the CSU is not standing by its promise to provide access to quality four-year education and instead is disappearing.

The CFA has expressed frustrations about the failures of CSU Board of Trustees and the chancellor to fight for the system, Taiz said.

“We have seen instead a quiet acceptance of every cut, and at the same time, student fees have more than doubled, faculty positions have been eliminated and enrollment caps established,” she said.

Aside from financial increases, enrollment will be dramatically affected because of restructuring. Taiz states that the CSUs will deny 40,000 students acceptance compared to the 2,500 students that will be denied in the UCs.

CSU admission requirements will not be similar to those of the UC, but it will be more challenging for students to be accepted into certain campuses and certain programs, Taiz said.

“We are denying an entire generation of students access to an education and in doing so, we are denying them a chance to achieve their American Dream. On top of that, however, we are digging ourselves into a deeper economic hole in California,” Taiz said.