Dear Governor Schwarzenegger,
It is well known to Californians that we are in severe need of a budget reform. It is even safe to say that the majority of Californians agree that we need to cut certain government-funded programs in order to balance out our outrageously over spent budget.
Another thing that Californians seem to be agreeing upon is that the budget cuts should not interfere with higher education. The students of the University of California and California State University systems should not have to suffer from their parents’ voting mistakes
I am among the 400,000-plus students of the CSU system and attend the Long Beach campus. This is supposed to be my senior year, but I will have to accomplish it in three semesters, or more, due to the new cuts to higher education that are putting our professors out of work, our classes on hold and our learning far behind the curve.
In one of my classes alone there are three weeks of education missing. This particular class is one needed by all business majors — no matter the specific area of concentration.
Despite the serious inconvenience of the cuts, I consider myself one of the lucky students. I am lucky because I have the opportunity to attend a university. I am lucky because I am still enrolled full-time as a student within the CSU system. I am lucky because I have a full-time job. I am lucky because I can afford transportation to and from school. I am one of the lucky ones, governor.
Think of all those Californians who are not so lucky. Think of all of the Californians who would trade anything to be where I am. Only you have the power to change this. Please give the CSU and UC systems the appropriate funding they so desperately deserve. Without the appropriate funding, the CSU and UC systems will have to downsize severely.
This will in turn produce fewer individuals with degrees that will be needed in California. Higher education and degrees equate to higher salaries. Higher salaries equate to higher tax revenues. Higher taxation gives the state more money. What more do we need to do to ensure you see this as an important issue?
Stop punishing our future. We are not just regular voters within the state; we are special. We are special because in the years to come, we will be the ones in power — running local governments, schools, businesses and the appropriation of funds that may affect you. We will remember.
Governor Schwarzenegger, I strongly urge you to reconsider the higher education budget cuts and restructure our budget to save our schools.
Thank you for your time,
Stephen J. Carney
Huntington Beach, Calif.
U.S. Army combat veteran and voter