A state legislator and University administrators said they would do everything they could to keep the budget cut from permanently damaging ASU's quality of education.
About 20 students discussed the proposed budget cut with people in key positions Monday in the Memorial Union. The forum was sponsored by the Associated Students of ASU.
"No More Than 4" indicates that the ASASU does not want the budget cut to be any more than the 4 percent that Gov. Jane Hull requested for state agencies, said Maceo Brown, executive director of Arizona Students' Association.
"Let me clarify that we do not support a budget cut to the universities," he said. "We accept that a cut must be made, but we only want a 4 percent reduction."
Rep. Meg Burton Cahill said she plans to fight for ASU in the special session on Nov. 13.
"We are facing hard times, and we are trying to make the budget balance," she said. "My job is to fight for what I believe in and I'm not supportive of cutting budgets for schools. I'm getting ready for a big fight in two weeks."
ASU Provost Milton Glick said the main concern the University has is making sure that students will be able to get all the classes they need.
"We want to set up priorities and stick to them. We realize that any cut will cause damages, but we will protect academic programs over non-academic ones," he said.
Glick also said the budget cuts would affect class sizes, faculty travel and classroom improvements.
"We cannot promise that there won't be layoffs because of the budget cuts, but that could take years to recover from, so we hope to stay away from that," he said.
Brown said he was concerned about tuition increases inspired by budget cuts.
"There is no way that we can get around tuition because it is the easiest and fastest way for a university to generate revenue," he said.
Cuts are necessary because of the recent fall in the state's economy, Burton Cahill said.
"We need to make a few fundamental changes in the government. We need to look at the ways we fund in the state, because it doesn't make sense that we went through such a prosperous time in the last decade, but now we have very little for schools," she said.
Glick agreed and said, "The economy went south and then with Sept. 11, it went souther."
Burton Cahill said that if the pattern of giving to organizations other than schools is enforced, "We'll become a state of workers, not thinkers, and in this new day and age that is not the path we want to follow."
However, Glick still thinks ASU can create intelligent thinkers. "I believe that even with the cut, we'll provide a good program and make it better than last year."
Reach Sandy Almendarez at salmend@imap.asu.edu.
