There was a feeling of unity, excitement, and solidarity amongst faculty and students inside King Hall during the California Faculty Association’s (CFA) People’s Budget Forum on Thursday, April 17. The CFA hosted a public panel meeting in King Hall to raise awareness for the budget and course cuts against the California State University (CSU) system.
According to the official California State University website, the CSU will face a $375 million budget cut and the effects will be felt throughout all 23 campuses statewide. The University Times has previously reported on the budget cut struggles facing Cal State LA.
As the meeting began, CFA members handed out postcards for the attendees to sign their name in protest against the cuts, which will be mailed to Gov. Gavin Newsom. They also showed a slideshow presentation detailing several of the problems befalling Cal State LA, including staff cuts, concerns over the condition of King Hall and other campus infrastructure, and the current CSU debt. A debt report published by the CSU system back in 2024 states the current CSU debt amounts to approximately $9.1 billion.
Featuring a panel of educators, college faculty and political advocates, the forum garnered community activism while also raising awareness of local issues.
One of the panelists was Kenneth Castillo, the president for the California State University Employees Union (CSUEU) and an Equipment System Specialist at Cal State LA. While delivering a speech, which received a fiery response from the attendees in the town hall, Castillo revealed that he has worked with the university for 25 years and has never received a raise.
He said he was motivated to participate because he wanted to lend a voice to maintenance staff, who are often the unsung heroes on college campuses.
“I wanted there to be a voice for staff,” Castillo said. “What I was mentioning about custodians, we see the numbers of custodians diminishing. They’re down 24 custodians. We have departments that don’t even have clerical to work the front desk, because people leave and they don’t get replaced.”
Castillo explained how budget cuts put a disproportionate amount of pressure on the remaining staff to complete bigger work loads.
Other attendees voiced concerns of how the budget impacts student opportunities.
One participant was Anthony Ratcliff, who serves as both the CFA’s chapter president and faculty member of Pan-African studies here on campus. His experience lends to his concern over student networks being diminished by the proposed budget cuts.
“I mean, we have lectures in our department for 20 years. They work closely with students,” Ratcliff said. “Students see them as mentors, and so now they’re going to be told you no longer have a job and that means not just losing work, but losing health care, losing relationships.”
Another participant was Steve Teixeria, a former staff member and alumnus of Cal State LA, who sees events like these as an opportunity to unify the working class towards a brighter future.
“I think panels like this one are an opportunity for people to hear that idea and start talking about it,” said Teixeria.
This article was first published in the April 25 print edition of the University Times.
