On February 8, 2023, Governor Lamont gave a speech to a joint session of the Connecticut General Assembly outlining his proposed budget, and opening the statewide debate on funding priorities through 2025. The budget proposal includes a changes to funds previously allocated to the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system, which includes Western Connecticut State University. The governor’s office has previously described these changes as a mere reallocation of funds, while both the CSCU System Office, and the state chapter of the American Association of University Professors have described the changes as major cuts.
As part of the Echo’s continuing coverage on the Connecticut state budget, we collected feedback from students on their views on the state budget and university funding as the proposal now heads to debate in the General Assembly, which is expected to make its recommendations known by the end of the month. Quotes came from letters submitted to the Echo, and public statements to the legislature.
Stanley Vishinski
“As someone who works full time to make ends meet while being a full-time student, a possible change to tuition rates would be insurmountable… I know from a personal standpoint that this would be a large hurdle to overcome, I would be concerned about future students who may be stripped of their opportunity to pursue a higher education because of this.”
Ryan J Denmark, Economics and Theatre Design/Tech Major
“If our school’s funding continues to be diminished over the years, nothing dramatic like club cancellations or major cuts would happen. Our school’s culture of achievement would slowly be extinguished, starting with reduced participation and awards, and then moving into fewer course offerings, and then Western Connecticut State University would eventually have no significance in the professional world.”
Hannah Kwarteng
“My generation, Gen Z, is viewed as “the future of this country,” but how can we be if higher education is gradually becoming more and more inaccessible? For the wealthiest state in America, it is outrageous that affordable education cannot be provided to students.“
Catherine Litz
“I am from a single-parent household, and my mom is supporting my brother and I through college. Western Connecticut State University allows me to live at home and affordably attend college. This will be negatively impacted if the budget is cut and the tuition is raised. Cutting the budget would also have a devastating effect on the lives of the students. I feel that the school has given me many opportunities during the short time I have been here. I have joined the National Society of Leadership and Success, which has already helped me learn crucial leadership skills. Though private universities are often considered to be more prestigious, state universities offer the opportunity to get a higher education to many people who can’t afford private universities. If tuition were to increase, there would be little difference between a private and state university.”
Anonymous
“Within my few months of being at WCSU, I have been able to work through some of my traumas regarding my physical and sexual abuse from my father. I was denied this luxury after being practically forced out of my home by him in order to keep myself safe. As it stands today, and as it has for quite some time, I am homeless. I live here on campus, and it is not a dorm, but it is home. That being said, if funding were to be cut, it could potentially ruin my chances for safety. I am a 4.0 student and I apply myself to my classes, so it’s unlikely I’m here wasting time because while part of it is necessity the other half is me enjoying being here because I love what I learn. For the first time in 19 years, I am able to express the anguish that plagued me for so long. If programs were to be defunded, I would go back to living in ways that make me internalize the trauma I have and focus on the homelessness I face on the outside of school. I have created a world and a life separate from what I have came from, if I go back I don’t know how I could function.”
Emma Dorion, Education, Stratford CT
“Many students at WCSU rely on scholarships to attend. State universities are meant to be more affordable and accessible than private universities so that students with diverse backgrounds can pursue higher education without taking on excessive debt. Taking on student debt is the last thing a young person needs to do in this economic climate”
Kurt Ruiz
“Not only is the General Assembly planning to cut down financial assistance for the universities, but Governor Ned Lamont’s new tax proposal reads that tuition for students will increase 25-30%. It is outrageous for people in high-ranking positions to assume that middle class citizens are able to pay college tuition without a problem. The reality is that when prices of everyday items in the market rise up, job wages stay the same. With the use of credit scores and cash rewards, wealthy Americans consistently step over the working class and with no power, keeps the poor in a never-ending cycle of misery.”
Michael Azzi, Junior, Justice and Law Administration, SGA President
“It’s because WCSU offers an affordable platform to improve, grow, and excel to all types of students. Western provided me the opportunity to reinvent the student I was in high school and prove to myself that I am the student I always thought I was! For the students that made the same mistakes in HS that I did, or the students that haven’t reached their full academic potential: WCSU is a place to find that. It’s a place, to learn, find your strengths, and to explore your interests. For those that have already found their academic potential, WCSU is still a place to grow, but it is also a place to make connections, and stand out.”
Campbell Mitchell, Senior, Social Sciences, Editor for the Echo, Ridgefield, CT
“Connecticut students are capable and motivated to pursue a better and more equitable world, and to contribute to realizing progress in our state. The research theses of students from CSUs are cited in serious academic papers, student organizations represent our state at national conferences, and graduating students, myself included, are accepted into world class institutions to continue their education. The students of the CSUs are eager to prove themselves the equal of any other institution, state or private, when given the opportunity to succeed. Graduates from the CSCU system become doctors, lawyers, nurses, technicians, entrepreneurs, parents, and neighbors, contributing to the rich tapestry of our state and its own economic future.”
Connor Voth
“If more funding was allocated to our state universities, the cost of going to university here in Connecticut would go down as the universities would not need to rely on the students going to our universities to be the foundation of their income. Increasing funding would allow for more teachers to be hired, which would allow for more classes to be held, more classes that could attract students from both in state and out of state to come to our universities, which would benefit the local economy and the state economy overall.”
Niko Bass, Freshman, Political Science, Writer for the Echo, New Milford, CT
“My education has been plagued by the debt that haunts the school. Late in my first semester, the possibility of my major being cut was very, very real. Let me make it clear – if my major was not offered at WCSU, me and many people in my area would prefer to go shortly across state lines into New York rather than commute elsewhere in Connecticut in an attempt to get the education we have the right to. The ghost of budget cuts haunts us in other ways, too. […] There was no air conditioning in any dorm room. The reason for this? There isn’t enough money to afford to cool the whole building. My parents were forced to overexert themselves and then were forced to help unpack in a hot, stuffy dorm room. My mother almost passed out. […] And then, the food. To live on campus, the University requires us to buy the most expensive meal plan, at least in our first year. No one I know uses all 5 of the meal swipes per day – because the food is so low in quality we would rather starve than deal with the stomach pains and fitful sleeps.”
Franz Muhaj, Junior, Economics
“As a first-generation college student, I’ve found this school to be an excellent resource with a fully funded program that has exceeded my expectations. The low tuition was a major draw for me and many other students, but now we’re worried about potential cuts to the state university funding, which may make education unaffordable for us. As an athlete on the men’s soccer team, a tuition increase could make it difficult for me to balance both work and school, which will leave me making tough decisions. I hope the co-chairs consider students like me during budget talks and work to protect state university funding, to keep education affordable for everyone.”
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