(April 5, 2012) — Due to the recession, a variety of areas have received budget cuts over the course of the last few years, one of these areas being education. In the last four years, the state has in total reduced its support of California State Universities by 33%, according to The California State University Public Affairs website. With colleges losing money comes cutting of academic classes, reductions in enrollment, laying off of staff members, as well as a loss of many other crucial elements. And if voters don’t pass Gov. Brown’s tax proposal in November, then Cal States will be facing another cut, approximated to be $200 million. This directly affects the class of 2013 in particular, since if the tax measure fails then the cuts are to be made in the middle of the 2012-2013 school year. So let’s take one student who has always imagined going off to college after high school, someone who has been working long and hard to earn a seat at their dream school. But because of the budget cuts, a rejection letter is received rather than an acceptance letter. Instead of going straight to a 4-year college, like any of the Cal States, he or she has to attend community college where classes are very limited due to the surplus of students. This sets his or her education back a few years and has a domino effect on everything else. Now take this student and multiply by 25,000. Besides the life altering effect these cuts have on students who enroll and aren’t accepted, there are also negatives for students who are accepted. The GPA requirement for Cal-Grants is planned to be raised, affecting about 8,000 students. So, after overcoming the difficulties of being accepted, students will then have to deal with the burden of not being able to pay to attend. And although there has already been a decrease of over 3,000 faculty and staff members in the last four years, this new budget cut will result in the reduction of another 3,000. With this reduction will come courses being canceled and students being limited to only 15 to 17 courses per term, with the exception of graduating seniors. It isn’t fair for a student to work so rigorously and then be denied the opportunity to pursue a higher education. We shouldn’t be punished simply because the economy happens to be at its lowest point just as we’re applying for college. Cal States, in particular, are the refuge of many students after high school, so it doesn’t quite add up for the government to be targeting what is to be the future of the world. I’m sure there are other places the government can pinpoint and reduce spending in. There used to be a time in which universities were California’s main prize and possession to show off to the rest of the country. Now definitely is not that time.