Students and faculty from San Francisco State University (SFSU) protested the California State University (CSU) budget cuts as a part of the National Day of Action for Higher Education.

The protest started at 11 a.m. at the SFSU quad and ended at 3 p.m. in front of San Francisco City Hall. Topics like class sizes, artificial intelligence (AI), the Palestinian conflict and immigration were all deliberated.

The budget cuts came on Jan. 10, when Gov. Gavin Newsom submitted the annual budget to the state legislature, which included plans to cut the CSU budget by $375 million. Since then, multiple statewide protests have been organized by students, faculty and California Faculty Association (CFA) members.

“We’ve lost hundred[s] of professors already,” said Chris McCarthy, an astronomy professor at SFSU and a member of the CFA. “The impact on students is that the class sizes are much larger, students don’t get individual attention like they did before and student fees have gone up.”

Sean Connelly, an adjunct lecturer at SFSU, told NBC Bay Area News that he estimates the number of lecturers that have been let go is over 100. The university, however, did not disclose the actual number.

Lynda Macareno, a second-year cinema student at SFSU and Fresno native, shared how the budget cuts are affecting her.

“I’m a cinema major, so in that aspect, a lot of required classes have been cut short,” Macareno said. “I’m actually taking my required classes in the summer because I’m scared that in the fall they won’t be available.”

Macareno said that having to take summer classes is an additional financial burden.

“My financial aid package last year was better than how it is for next year,” Macareno said. “It kind of sucks that the middle class scholarship specifically has been getting lower.”

Not only has SFSU faced faculty lay-offs, increases in class size and course cancellations, but they also were automatically enrolled in ChatGPT Edu, leaving many upset with where their funding is going.

“I hate that knowing that my tuition is funding AI and how harmful it is to the ecosystem and indigenous communities,” Macareno said. “I fear that in the future, they’re going to fire more and more faculty and…rely more on ChatGPT to teach us.”

Even with around 400-500 undergraduate students who are majoring in political science, the department is still facing faculty lay-offs.

“I lost 10 colleagues in my department,” said James Martel, a political science professor at SFSU. “The CSU has totally lost its way; all it cares about is making money.”

After the teach-in at the quad, the protest moved to San Francisco City Hall.

Around 100 students and faculty circled in front of city hall chanting, blowing horns and waving signs. The circling lasted for an hour, and the protest concluded with a few keynote speakers.

One keynote speaker, Ali Noorzad, a history and philosophy student at SFSU and member of the SFSU Student Union, spoke about the impact of faculty being laid off due to budget cuts.

“Cutting hundreds of lecturers is something that every one of us feel, because we’re not just losing a lecturer, we’re losing a person, a human being and a member of our family,” Noorzad said.

Another point of interest at the protests was individuals fighting for LGBTQ+ rights.

Amanda Ching, an SFSU student who protested loudly during the event, said they are personally very angry with the current political climate, especially because they didn’t vote for President Donald Trump. Ching voted for Kamala Harris, saying that they wanted to see a woman in the White House.

“I’m here to fight for my education as a nonbinary kid,” Ching said. “I am so mad at Trump because we deserve equal rights.”

Faculty advised everyone at the protest to talk to their district assembly members and senators about the budget cuts.

“We got a few people in the assembly and the senate that are proposing [an increase in the state CSU budget by 5%],” McCarthy said. “We want everyone to contact their representatives and let them know that we don’t want our public universities decimated in this way.”

Jazmin Alvarado contributed to the reporting of this story.