Faculty, Students, and Others Tell Trustees to Protect Sonoma State, Immigrants, Quality Education

During last week’s CSU Board of Trustees meeting, students, faculty, parents, alumni and community members urged trustees and CSU management to reverse plans for deep cuts at Sonoma State, protect students, faculty, staff and others from immigration raids, and adequately prepare the CSU for the impacts of Artificial Intelligence.

Most speakers during public comment described recently announced program, athletics, and job cuts at Sonoma State as “abandonment,” “devastating,” “disrespectful,” and “catastrophic.” They urged trustees and administration to have meaningful dialogue with stakeholders for solutions that don’t undermine the mission of the CSU.

CFA member and Sonoma State Professor Mary Gomes has been with the university for over 30 years and said the proposed cuts would “decimate Sonoma State, undermine its liberal arts curriculum, and make it nearly impossible to recover our enrollment.”

“We live in a time where intellectual and cultural institutions are dying right and left because no one is making them enough of a priority to carry them through downturns. What takes decades to grow can be destroyed in an instant. It doesn’t need to happen,” Gomes said. “We can plan for a sustainable budget without clear cutting SSU. The CSU has $766 million in uncommitted … reserves up from under $500 million five years ago. I ask you: if these funds can’t be used to keep valued and beloved campuses afloat through a downturn, what are they for?”

The reductions will amount to the layoff of 46 faculty and 12 staff. An additional 55 lecturers are expected to lose their appointments due to the elimination of programs, departments, and classes. The announcement also included the abrupt discontinuation of all 11 intercollegiate athletics programs, which will result in the loss of 27 coaches and 227 student athletes at the close of the academic year.

Sonoma State 2015 alum Nicholas Moore spoke in opposition to Sonoma State’s proposed elimination of the Women and Gender Studies (WGS) department and the layoff of its faculty.

“I’ve spent the last decade working in nonprofit funding development, a career that was only made possible by the skills and knowledge that this program gave me. In that time, I’ve raised more than $100 million to secure the resources needed to serve vulnerable Californians; this includes seniors, people living with HIV, the marginally housed, and more,” Moore said. “My career of community service mirrors that of many others who I graduated alongside. The shuttering of this department would not just be an academic loss, though it is that, but a loss to Sonoma County and to California as a whole. At a time when vulnerable communities desperately need resources, the elimination of this department means that there will be fewer qualified professionals to staff those critical safety nets.”

Hannah Hellman, another Sonoma State alum, noted the equity and social justice impact humanities programs inspire, and what is lost when they are cut.

“Governor Gavin Newsom said he wants California to be a bulwark against the Trump Administration and Project 2025. Donald Trump has revoked DEI in every federal agency, he has placed a target on the backs of every transgender person in this country, and he has made it abundantly clear that this is only the beginning. He means to revoke the rights that empower women and people of color,” Hellman said. “How are we supposed to be the bulwark against any of his hateful schemes when we are cutting programs and degrees like women and gender studies? How are we supposed to provide avenues for class motility without economics and history? How are we supposed to cultivate critical thinking and inspire social justice without higher education opportunities like the MA (Master of Arts) program? How are we supposed to inspire curiosity and creativity when we are running our places of education and enlightenment like businesses that care only for wealth and prosperity. We must act in the interest of future generations of students, not only worry about how those at the top can ride out the lull in enrollment. In the face of rising fascism, we must prioritize diversity and support each other. Please do not kill our institution. Bolster it instead and utilize it to strengthen the bulwark against the rise of fascism in this country.”

Other speakers noted how CSU administration has been silent on the increasing risks to immigrants after Trump’s inauguration.

“I am a proud daughter of an immigrant. As ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) raids are happening across our state, students throughout the CSU system are having to continue going to school in fear for themselves for their families and their loved ones.”

– Faith Chinnapong, San Diego State student

At a time when undocumented and mixed immigration status members are impacted by the raids, checkpoints, misinformation and disinformation circulating in our communities, budget cuts and decimating the campus experience won’t help, said Michelle Ramos Pellicia, Professor, CFA San Marcos President, and CFA Associate Vice President, South.

“If we want to attract more students, increase enrollment, and support the students that are already enrolled in our campus, Chancellor García and the trustees should not be concentrating on temporary remedial strategies of merging campuses, closing departments, and laying off faculty as we’re witnessing at Maritime Academy and Sonoma State. Instead, our campuses should: offer over-break housing for students who cannot return home due to fear of inability to re-enter the U.S.; hire full-time tenure-track counselors, increase counseling services to better support the mental health needs our students; and bring legal experts and immigration activists and advocates to campuses to provide legal counseling to undocumented and mixed-immigration status students,” she said.

Students for Quality Education intern and San Diego State student Faith Chinnapong asked trustees what they are doing to keep students safe from harassment and deportations.

“I am a proud daughter of an immigrant. As ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) raids are happening across our state, students throughout the CSU system are having to continue going to school in fear for themselves for their families and their loved ones. How are you, Chancellor Garcia and the trustees, planning to keep our community safe and push back against these mass deportations?” Chinnapong asked. “We are demanding that the CSU refuse ICE physical access to any CSU campus and housing, and ensure that campus police are not cooperating with ICE. We are also demanding that you all create better systems to safeguard students’ personal information by refusing to release information regarding the immigration status of our students and community members and refusing to comply with immigration authorities regarding deportations, sweeps, or raids. Our students deserve your attention, we deserve your compassion, and we deserve to go to school without fear. Do better Chancellor García.”

Later, during the trustees’ Committee on Financing meeting, trustees and senior management echoed their tired fearmongering to justify cuts to programs, student services, and workers instead of finding solutions that protect student learning.

Trustee Julia Lopez said the dramatic budget cuts and decision Sonoma State is facing is just the first one to make the news.

“Sonoma was just the first that’s made the headlines, you’re going to hear a lot more of these stories across the state,” Lopez said.

Also at their meeting, trustees reviewed an update on the impacts of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on learning and instruction, based on a committee’s 2024 report.

The agenda item was a precursor to a press conference announcing a new public-private AI partnership. We are investigating the implications of this new venture for faculty work, including academic freedom and intellectual property, and will update faculty as we learn more

CFA members passed a resolution on AI at our Fall 2024 Assembly and will be addressing AI in our bargaining proposals to management when negotiations on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement begin later this year.

In the meantime, CFA member and CSU Stanislaus Professor Koni Stone urged trustees to do more to protect students, faculty, and staff, as well as ensure quality instruction and learning.

“It is imperative that faculty be heavily involved at all levels regarding the adoption and use of AI in the CSU system. A working group report offers some guiding principles and several suggestions regarding the use of AI. I believe this should be stronger. … (For) example: ‘Users of generative AI technologies should be aware of potential biases and possible toxic and inaccurate outputs.’ In fact, users must be aware of this, and the CSU must take all steps to ensure safety. The CSU must ensure that the procurement process and partnerships with private entities have built-in requirements for filtering out bias and toxic outputs. This needs to be a foundation on the front end, not a user mandate on the back end.”