2008 Woodie Awards
A Golden State, a red economy
Casey Pomicpic
Issue date: 10/7/08 Section: Editorial
The Gold Rush of 1848 brought Americans out west to California in search of wealth, glamour and opportunity. One hundred and sixty years later, not much has changed. Wealth resides in the numerous affluent suburbs, glamour can be found in excess down in Hollywood and opportunity knocks in each one of the state's four large metropolitan cities.
California may be home to the world's sixth largest economy, but don't let the bright lights of Hollywood fool you. The Golden state is having serious problems in the red.
Late last month, the state approved the $143 billion budget 85 days late. Late last week, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger sent a letter to Henry Paulson, Secretary of the Treasury, warning that if the financial crisis was not resolved soon, California would need its own bailout costing $7 billion.
The state expects to run out of cash by Oct. 28. Budget cuts will come from state support for nursing homes, hospitals, infrastructure, law enforcement and funding for more than 1,000 school districts.
So what does this state financial crisis mean for us here at SSU?
Well, the state will basically give the CSU system the same amount of money as last year- about $3 billion. However, this allotment is still hundreds of millions less than the system is supposed to receive based on enrollment growth. While the amount allotted is relatively the same as the 2007-2008 school year, it is still less than the amount needed to maintain similar levels of service on each CSU campus.
Our university has basically stopped all plans for enrollment growth after anticipating a significant increase in students only a few years ago. For the Fall 2009 admissions process, SSU is now an impacted campus, making it more competitive for admission. Students who could have been eligible for admission in previous years will be turned away next fall due to an increase in admissions eligibility standards.
The university now only accepts first time freshman in the fall semesters. Applications are no longer accepted for lower division transfer students, meaning students interested in transferring must complete 60 units elsewhere prior to attending SSU.
California may be home to the world's sixth largest economy, but don't let the bright lights of Hollywood fool you. The Golden state is having serious problems in the red.
Late last month, the state approved the $143 billion budget 85 days late. Late last week, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger sent a letter to Henry Paulson, Secretary of the Treasury, warning that if the financial crisis was not resolved soon, California would need its own bailout costing $7 billion.
The state expects to run out of cash by Oct. 28. Budget cuts will come from state support for nursing homes, hospitals, infrastructure, law enforcement and funding for more than 1,000 school districts.
So what does this state financial crisis mean for us here at SSU?
Well, the state will basically give the CSU system the same amount of money as last year- about $3 billion. However, this allotment is still hundreds of millions less than the system is supposed to receive based on enrollment growth. While the amount allotted is relatively the same as the 2007-2008 school year, it is still less than the amount needed to maintain similar levels of service on each CSU campus.
Our university has basically stopped all plans for enrollment growth after anticipating a significant increase in students only a few years ago. For the Fall 2009 admissions process, SSU is now an impacted campus, making it more competitive for admission. Students who could have been eligible for admission in previous years will be turned away next fall due to an increase in admissions eligibility standards.
The university now only accepts first time freshman in the fall semesters. Applications are no longer accepted for lower division transfer students, meaning students interested in transferring must complete 60 units elsewhere prior to attending SSU.
Be the first to comment on this story