news story / By Helen Sanderson

Stormy Weather at HSU

… Why were they rallying, exactly?

(March 1, 2007)  The rain was coming down in relentless sheets Monday, hard and steady upon the dozens of Humboldt State students who gathered midday on the quad, cardboard signs sagging, shoulders raised up to jaws for warmth, to rally about, um … Why were they rallying, exactly?

For an observer, it was hard to understand the exact purpose of this foul-weather shindig, and not merely because too many mic-wielding pontificaters chased obscure tangents on topics that had little to do with the crisis at hand. No, beyond that, it’s not a surprise that the waters got muddy, what with such big issues competing for attention: $5.5 million-worth of looming budget cuts, faculty walk-out threats, eroding university programs. And so, student sentiments flowed into a confusing confluence of frustration that still, somehow, managed to be uplifting.

Photo by Helen Sanderson

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So what was the objective, anyway?

“Mostly, the rally was to show [CSU] Trustee Roberta Achtenberg that we won’t just sit back and not have a voice,” explained Sarah Schneider, an environmental ethics sophomore. “We figured it would be a good time to talk about budget concerns and how wonderful HSU is and to express this to her in person.”

Achtenberg, Chair of the California State University Board of Trustees, visited HSU Monday as part of the CSU-wide Access to Excellence, an initiative to establish program priorities and meet future challenges at state universities. During a break from the all-day brainstorming session, Achtenberg and HSU President Rollin Richmond briefly listened to rain-soaked students but did not, however, address the crowd.

And while Achtenberg’s presence generated buzz and “raised awareness,” as students like to say, it’s a small blip on the radar compared to the storm brewing over HSU’s shrinking budget and the proposed strike of some 24,000 CSU faculty across the state because of a contract negotiation impasse.

So there are two issues of equal gravity following parallel timelines: While HSU is trying to trim its expenditures by 7 percent, or by around $5.5 million, unionized faculty are negotiating for pay raises that they say are overdue and would put them in line with other institutions around the country.

After almost two years of wrangling between administrators and instructors, a “fact-finding” neutral third party is now attempting to find common ground between the two. But in the event that an agreement cannot be reached, the California Faculty Association has authorized a vote to strike. The system-wide vote will begin later this week and wrap up March 15, around the same time the fact finder is expected to release a report.

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