To the editor:As you stated in your publication, Governor Corbett announced his budget proposal. As a result, many people are not happy. I acknowledge that Pennsylvania, along with other states, has budget issues. States no longer have the resources to fund programs and employees as they have in the past. Everyone has to realize that they are going to suffer as states balance their budgets and make necessary cuts. Even though desperate times call for desperate measures, this drastic cut to education is extreme.
I find it hard to imagine a 50% cut to education; just think of all the implications of this historic cut. Penn State has said that they may close all of their satellite campuses, and the state universities, including West Chester, are talking about laying off staff and professors, cutting programs and majors and raising tuition to a rate most of us will struggle to afford. This proposed cut will increase class sizes and directly affect the quality of our education. This budget proposal will affect us all as the University will try to find ways of creating revenue. The worst possibility can happen, if we do nothing.
The state colleges, including West Chester, have already held rallies and protests against Corbett’s budget proposal. I believe more will happen and a protest at Harrisburg is scheduled to occur soon. We must not stop with these actions, however. Students must be proactive and contact their state representatives and senators in Harrisburg. The State Assembly will lower the cuts that Corbett proposed if we pressure them to do so. Please act now!
Scott Good, West Chester student