As a recent graduate of Sacramento State, I leave the university proud of my campus. But I leave with a question California legislators and the future governor should take seriously: Who is holding the California State University accountable?
In my four years, it has felt like the California State University (CSU) system is constantly in crisis. Courses have been cut. There have been layoffs, tuition and fee increases. Campuses have merged, and some departments and degrees have been eliminated. Students, faculty and staff keep getting the same message from the chancellor’s office about how CSU needs more money.
Public higher education does need stable funding, but CSU leaders are hard to trust. When they ask students and taxpayers for more money while approving executive raises, pushing fees, touting enrollment gains on campuses where cuts are still happening and making questionable financial investments, such as spending $17 million to provide free ChatGPT for all students, lawmakers should not simply write a check and move on…