by Angela Fortuna

Students and faculty protested huge budget cuts proposed by Republican lawmakers at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford on Sept. 27.

“CCSU had already felt the impact of a $66 million reduction to the CSCU system budget in the past three years. A further cut of $93 million over the next two years will be very serious,” said Louise Williams, history professor and president of the Central Connecticut State University American Association of University Professors. “It may mean up to a 10 percent cut in funding to CCSU.”

“What has happened this year and in the past few years because of previous cuts will simply get worse,” said Williams.

People came out to protest the budget that passed the Connecticut legislature on Sept. 15, which was recently vetoed by Governor Dannel Malloy.

In conjunction with his veto, Malloy called the proposal “unbalanced, unsustainable and unwise,” according to WFSB.

If a bipartisan deal cannot be reached, the veto override would require a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and Senate, which would mean 29 House Democrats would have to agree to the veto. This would be a big step and is very unlikely, since only three Democrats crossed the aisle and voted yes on the Republican budget, according to WFSB.

“This budget has the potential to do serious harm to CCSU, public higher education and the state of Connecticut as a whole,” Williams said.

Even though the original budget proposed by Republican lawmakers has been vetoed, that does not mean similar proposals cannot be put into effect.

If a similar budget is approved, then cuts will continue to worsen.

According to Williams, cuts that have already been put into place include an increase in class size, a reduction in class offerings, fewer courses for part-time faculty members, elimination of developmental education and reduction in support services.

This has already created difficulty for students in getting into classes needed to graduate and pursue the programs they choose, a continuously rising tuition and less one-on-one time with professors, according to Williams.

The budget proposed by Republican lawmakers cuts scholarship funding by $15 million, and eliminates the Minority Advancement Program, which could make students who struggle financially unable to attend state universities such as Central.

“Even [though] Governor Malloy vetoed this version of the budget, it becomes the starting point for further negotiations. Therefore all of the devastating provisions are still on the table unless we stand in solidarity and push back,” Williams said in an email addressed to CCSU-AAUP members.

“Our protest and others, such as UConn’s, have made legislators think twice about cutting higher education funding. It helps that we got so much support from more progressive legislators,” Williams said of the protest.

Six students spoke at the protest: Andrew Ianni from CCSU, Megan Hull from Eastern Connecticut State University, Jamie Kelley from Southern Connecticut State University, Kanita Moté from Southern Connecticut State University, Jules Larson from Gateway Community College and Brianna Nelson from Manchester Community College.

Ianni spoke on behalf of the incomplete budget plan, already making its way into October. He compared the unfinished business to old-fashioned procrastination, according to the Hartford Courant.

“Had I or any other students handed in an assignment of this magnitude late, it would have received an ‘F,'” Ianni said at the protest, according to the Hartford Courant.

Five legislators also spoke at the protest: Senator Mae Flexer and Representatives Greg Haddad, Robyn Porter, Toni Walker and Liz Linehan. Seven more legislators were present: Senators Cathy Osten and Gary Winfield and Representatives Matt Lesser, Josh Elliott, Kevin Ryan, Peter Tercyak and Pat Dillon.

Williams is hopeful that the protest will make a difference on the outcome of the proposed budget cuts, and that such large budget cuts follow Malloy’s example and get denied.

Students will face large repercussions financially if the proposed budget cuts of Republican lawmakers gets approved.