As KnightNews.com works to find out how much the state plans on cutting the budget at UCF, it’s already been made clear that UCF won’t suffer nearly as big of a cut as the 60 percent slashing planned for USF.
After KnightNews.com published news of USF’s proposed cut, some UCF students even defended their rival to the west on the KnightNews.com Facebook page.
Regardless of whether we like USF, they are still fellow students, and in the end, they will be the ones that pay,” UCF student
Matthew Chesney posted. “This is not a good thing.”
The College Democrats at USF told KnightNews.com that they are joining the “outraged” students in condeming the budget proposed by Sen. J.D. Alexander, who is already in a bitter dispute with USF over whether its Polytechnic campus in Lakeland should become independent.
Check back to KnightNews.com as we turn our focus onto the battle for the state’s limited budget, and monitor how higher education across the state and at UCF will fare.
See the press release we got from the USF College Democrats below:
College Democrats Join Outraged Students in Condemning Alexander Budget
USF Students Under Attack By Tallahassee
In a move which has inspired outrage and astonishment across the University of South
Florida’s student body, the Florida Legislature has announced a budget which could cut as much
as $104 million from USF’s Tampa campus alone, amounting to a 60% budget reduction, in a
move related to recent controversies over a possible USF-USF Polytechnic split. Senate leaders
are allowing their own petty squabbles about the USF Polytechnic campus to harm the school, to
harm the students, and to harm the very ideals of higher education and self-advancement that our
state depends on for its future.
The students of USF were scarcely able to heave a sigh of collective release after hearing
the governor’s opposition to proposed tuition hikes before being hit with the news of a $100
million dollar funding cut- a cut that will certainly necessitate draconian tuition increases. This is
yet another in a series of attacks on higher education led by the state legislature. From
privatization efforts to unsustainable tuition increases, there has been little effort to help those
who will soon be taking responsibility for this state’s future. With last week’s allocation of all
$55 million in school construction and maintenance funding to private contractors, it is clear that
lobbyists and bureaucrats have taken control of what should be the state’s most closely guarded
issue.
All through this year’s legislative session students have traveled to Tallahassee to make
their pleas heard, and to fight for these vital institutions. The College Democrats at USF have
joined these efforts, and will continue to fight against attempts to destroy this state’s education
system. We intend to do all we can to work and support further efforts by students, faculty,
and the USF administration to combat these budget cuts. All persons, regardless of political
affiliation, are strongly encouraged to contact us for further information on how they can help
make a difference.
The College Democrats at USF meet every Thursday in MSC 2706 at 7:30pm.
Additional information about the club, and contact information can be found at : http://
collegedems.democratsusf.org/ .
