Everyone is buzzing about the Academic Affairs Budget Advisory Task Force’s proposal to cut $2 million from our university’s budget. From Facebook pages to meetings, students and faculty are sharing their opinion on parts of the proposal.

As a student government, we are always happy to see students speak up, share their opinion and lobby the university. We are committed to breaking through some of the misconceptions that are floating around regarding the proposal, so you can make helpful suggestions and give informed feedback to our university’s leaders.

Myth No. 1: Students can’t be involved.­

This is not the case. There are many forums available for students to access information, ask questions, make suggestions and get involved.

You can find the entire proposal on the Academic Senate’s website at www.csufresno.edu/senate. When you go to the website, you’ll find two links: the first is to read the proposal and the second is to leave anonymous feedback regarding the suggestions made. Students can use this website to share their thoughts, questions or alternative suggestions. There will also be a student-wide forum, hosted by Associated Students, Inc., regarding the proposal on Friday, Dec. 2, 2011, from 9:00 a.m. — 10:00 p.m. The forum will be held in the Satellite Student Union. Everyone is welcome and members of the task force will be available to answer questions and hear suggestions.

Myth No. 2: Even if we give feedback, it’s too late, the decision has already been made.­

The task force proposal is in no way final, it is just a draft. It is being circulated for the purposes of collecting feedback from faculty and students. The task force will review the feedback and potentially make adjustments to the proposal before it is passed. The administration has indicated it expects to make a final decision next semester, in March.

Myth No. 3: The proposal gets rid of science and math.­

While the proposal suggests eliminating the overhead cost of the College of Math and Science, the idea that the proposal gets rid of science and math altogether is a misconception. The proposal suggests removing the organizational infrastructure of the college by shifting departments into new colleges, but retains all of the faculty members, class sections, majors and departments.

Additionally, the departments are shifted into merged colleges. So, for example, biology wouldn’t be housed in the Jordan College of Agriculture but rather in the Jordan College of Agriculture and Sciences. Plus, there is no suggestion of reducing or removing classes from buildings, so the biology department and chemistry department would still be found were they currently reside.

Myth No. 4: The proposal attacks the College of Science and Mathematics.­

The proposal makes six major suggestions in areas where the task force felt that money could be saved. Some of the suggestions don’t focus on colleges at all but on enrollment efforts, low-funded programs or more efficient funding methodologies. While the College of Science and Mathematics is included in the proposal’s suggestions, so are all of the other colleges on campus. The proposal suggests that the colleges of Agriculture, Engineering and Education merge with other colleges, adopt additional departments or some combination of the two. Additionally, the proposal suggests merging between the College of Social Science and the College of Arts and Humanities.

Myth No. 5: If we don’t accept the proposal, nothing changes.­

There seems to be this idea that simply refusing the proposal will preserve Fresno State as we know it now. That is not the case. The state budget has reduced funding for higher education, and Fresno State must find a way to keep its doors open with $2 million less than we’ve had in previous years as a result of the state’s budget decisions.

This year, one time dollars, like reserve funds, were used to supplement the state’s funding. One time dollars do not provide a steady source of income for the university, so some way or another we must account for the money we will no longer be receiving from the state. The proposal’s goal was to suggest ways to save $2 million without increasing tuition or cutting the amount of courses, number of majors or programs offered to students; however, these are viable alternatives. Suggesting ways to cut or save dollars in areas that you believe will least impact students will be more helpful to the task force than simply opposing the proposal.

These are some of the major misconceptions regarding the proposal that ASI has become aware of, but there may be others, so please make sure you read the proposal and get your questions answered. Once you are informed, ASI encourages you to make full use of the student forums and online feedback options available to share your opinion with the task force. We also encourage you to join ASI’s effort to lobby the state. Let’s show our legislature what universities have to do in order to run on a severely reduced budget and the impact that it’s having on our education.

Selena Farnesi is the Associated Students, Inc. president. She writes a semi-weekly column for The Collegian.­