Opinions about Tuesday’s meeting vary among students, faculty who participated
President John D. Welty met with student representatives Tuesday afternoon in an open ̢۬forum debate held in the Peace Garden at California State University, Fresno.
At the meeting, a follow-up gathering to the student walkout staged two weeks ago, Welty responded to a list of demands and fielded questions from students for nearly two hours.̢۬
The reactions to Welty and the list of the demands varied, with some attendees arguing that the university president brushed off the demands and danced around the issues. ̢۬Others thought Welty had been the target of misplaced blame.̢۬
Freshman Daniel Andersen, 18, felt Welty was being wrongly blamed for many of the ̢۬students̢۪ frustrations.̢۬
“I feel like a lot of these students are advocating for what they believe in, but a lot of it is 
frustration with the wrong person,â€Â Andersen said. “It’s not Dr. Welty’s fault, he had two bad 
choices, either furlough or cut classes — it’s like picking the lesser of two evils.â€Â

Nate Chang, an undeclared freshman, said that he supported Welty and that student ̢۬expectations of Welty were too high.̢۬
“I paid more for high school than I do for college,â€Â Chang said. “I have a job and I pay for my 
education.â€Â

Sat Vir, a student who participated in the debate, disagreed. ̢۬
“[Welty] answered in a way that you’d expect a politician to answer,â€Â Vir said.

However, he said that Welty̢۪s direct response to the AB 656 proposal was a bright spot ̢۬during the debate. Still he feels that many of Welty̢۪s answers skirted the issue.̢۬
“He kept repeating things we told him. He didn’t have reasoning behind it. He had no facts, 
documents and statements,â€Â Vir said. “Some of the statements he made weren’t accurate. 
Unless you’re a top-level accountant, you can only speculate as to where our 
money is being spent.â€Â 

Welty, who said that he would not take the pay cut some students lobbied for, agreed in principle to several of the 
demands proposed by students including a “study inâ€Â that he offered to host at his home.
Josh Cranston, 27, a member of the Walkout Coalition said that he would be at Welty̢۪s home on this Saturday at 6 p.m.̢۬
“Students have just getting screwed over. I just want to see that we get some power,â€Â Cranston said.
just saying... • Nov 5, 2009 at 5:56 am
“Che,”did you even read the whole article? They asked two freshmen too whose opinions are before the others in the article. Stop having selective reading.
just saying... • Nov 5, 2009 at 1:56 pm
“Che,”did you even read the whole article? They asked two freshmen too whose opinions are before the others in the article. Stop having selective reading.
just saying... • Nov 5, 2009 at 1:56 pm
“Che,”did you even read the whole article? They asked two freshmen too whose opinions are before the others in the article. Stop having selective reading.
Garth Clifton • Nov 5, 2009 at 12:52 am
seniors who used the forum as a method to further a political ideology instead of find real solutions to real problems.
Garth Clifton • Nov 5, 2009 at 8:52 am
seniors who used the forum as a method to further a political ideology instead of find real solutions to real problems.
Garth Clifton • Nov 5, 2009 at 8:52 am
seniors who used the forum as a method to further a political ideology instead of find real solutions to real problems.
Che • Nov 4, 2009 at 9:14 pm
They were seniors. They apparently have a much larger grasp of what is going on than you do. How old do they have to be?
Che • Nov 5, 2009 at 5:14 am
They were seniors. They apparently have a much larger grasp of what is going on than you do. How old do they have to be?
Che • Nov 5, 2009 at 5:14 am
They were seniors. They apparently have a much larger grasp of what is going on than you do. How old do they have to be?
just saying... • Nov 4, 2009 at 8:12 pm
It might’ve been better if you asked a majority of older students who have experienced college for more than a few months what they thought instead of asking two freshman right out of high school with probably no real idea about a majority of what is going on.
just saying... • Nov 5, 2009 at 4:12 am
It might’ve been better if you asked a majority of older students who have experienced college for more than a few months what they thought instead of asking two freshman right out of high school with probably no real idea about a majority of what is going on.
just saying... • Nov 5, 2009 at 4:12 am
It might’ve been better if you asked a majority of older students who have experienced college for more than a few months what they thought instead of asking two freshman right out of high school with probably no real idea about a majority of what is going on.