The WSU American Association of University Professors (AAUP-WSU) held a quiet protest at the Feb. 17 Board of Trustees meeting. Signs were held by students.
This protest was held to convey the concerns the AAUP-WSU has about the budget cuts that have affected academic colleges.
"We should be outraged, since non-academic spending was overwhelmingly responsible for the budget problems due to Administration and the Board of Trustees following misplaced priorities and managing the university incompetently," Marty Kich, President of the AAUP-WSU, said in an e-mail.
Three AAUP-WSU faculty spoke at the meeting, to address the board about the impact of the budget cuts, including Gretchen McNamara, lecturer from the School of Music, Marie Thompson, associate professor from the Department of Education and Noeleen McIlvenna, professor from the Department of History.
According to Stephanie Triplett, the communications officer of AAUP-WSU, "We're here because we're concerned about the overspending that's been happening, and how that's going to adversely affect students and faculty."
Triplett spoke of the larger class sizes, limiting the courses offered over the summer for students and how that will impact students graduating on time.
"We just want to make sure that administration is aware that we are going to speak out aggressively against cuts that are going to negatively affect students and faculty," Triplett said.
Members of the AAUP-WSU have regularly attended board meetings since the start of the budget crisis.
"We hope that more faculty and students will get involved and become aware of what's happening," Triplett said.
Triplett hopes to spread the message further through their blog, and to get their message across to the Board of Trustees.
"We're just trying to get the truth out there," Triplett said.
One of the protesters, a 20-year-old Mechanical Engineering major, decided to get involved after reading the AAUP-WSU blog and attending the student forums for the presidential candidates.
"My friends and I decided to form a coalition," he said. "Somebody has to bring up these issues and hold these people accountable. I paid for education not administration, as my sign says clearly. It's something I deeply believe."
