Students say, "Enough is Enough": UNCG Walkout Round 2

"Today, Thursday March 6, 2014 at 1pm, UNC-Greensboro students and faculty will be walking out, on the EUC Lawn,  for the second time this semester. This particular event will highlight the concerns about the proposed $12.8 million budget cut that UNC-Greensboro will be facing for the next fiscal year.

Currently, a proposal to handle this cut calls for 84% of the $12.8 million dollars to come from Academic Affairs. If the proposed cut from Academic Affairs continues, an estimated 390 course sections and $400,000 in graduate student support could be lost and reduced.

The budget issued at UNC-Greensboro are partly due to an over-estimation of enrollment and partially due to budget cuts handed down by the North Carolina General Assembly.

The first UNC-Greensboro event, which occurred Feb. 19, showcased students, faculty, parents and community members testifying and addressing the crowd. Today’s event will continue to provide a forum for concerned community and UNC-Greensboro members to voice their opinions and thoughts.

The proposed Academic Affairs cut and $91 million dollar Student Recreation Center plans have caused an outrage within the student body as well as with members of the UNC-Greensboro faculty and Greensboro area community members. The proposed Student Recreation Center will cost students an additional estimated $435 per year in student fees. This rise in fees paired with proposed academic cuts have some students at UNC-Greensboro worried.

In the wake of the proposed academic cuts, the Department of Specialized Education Services at UNC-Greensboro announced through a memo released Feb. 28 on its UNC-Greensboro website “The minor in ASL/Deaf Studies will be discontinued effective fall 2014” and “ASL will no longer be offered to fulfill the language requirement.”

This particular cut will drastically affect many students who plan to graduate with an ASL/Deaf Studies minor or learn ASL as part of a foreign language requirement.

Freshman Jen Nelson, an ASL/Deaf Studies minor, is now even more concerned with graduating with an appropriate degree.

“I was thrilled when I found out I could minor in ASL and take ASL as a foreign language as UNC-Greensboro, and that played a large role in my decision to attend this university,” Nelson said. “Now that the minor and foreign language credits are being discontinued, I will no longer be able to obtain the degree I want from UNC-Greensboro. It just doesn’t make sense to me. The ASL classes are extremely popular at UNC-Greensboro, and there have even been waiting lists for non-majors to take ASL. It angers me that important programs are being eliminated.”

ASL is not the only program that will be negatively affected by the budget cuts. Other programs are in danger of losing funding and more decisions will be made concerning the cuts through the summer."

Release submitted by Jen Nelson (336) 209-8103, jmnelso3@uncg.edu & Dhruv Pathak (704) 649-4715, dapathak@uncg.edu