The state is in trouble, and where California goes, so goes the California State University. Gov. Gray Davis has projected a budget deficit of $14 billion next year. Cuts will be needed in the state bureaucracy, and that includes the multi-billion dollar CSU. This means that ambitious plans by faculty and administration here at Sacramento State may have to be thrown out the window.

Sac State students and administration, in particular, have been at odds over several issues. Much of the controversy is over the handling of our record 27,000 students. The biggest stir in recent weeks has been over President Donald Gerth?s decision to end Monday-Wednesday classes held between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. by next fall. This, according to a shaky fact-finding report, will increase classroom availability by 25 percent. It would take 101 new faculty positions to fill the new classroom space.

This does not include the current 106 faculty openings. In an Oct. 24 editorial, The State Hornet appealed to Gerth to postpone this decision for at least a year, due to poor planning. With budget cuts looming, we now reiterate that plea. The administration should not engage in a venture it can?t afford.

Faculty must also make concessions. Gerth?s Monday-Wednesday decision and the potential budget cut come at an interesting time. New classroom availability and record numbers of students would require an increase in faculty workload. This is one of the major issues that faculty has considered striking over. The California Faculty Association, a union representing faculty members, is locked in a debate with CSU administration over their next salary contract. They have called for larger pay increases, smaller class sizes and the hiring of more tenured professors. That may require more cash than the CSU has in the immediate future. The union is preparing for a possible strike before next spring if it cannot come to terms with the CSU. We urge the CFA to reconsider. Although The State Hornet agrees with CFA goals, faculty should not go to such extremes based on demands the CSU can no longer meet.

The upcoming budget crunch will require wisdom on the part of administration and faculty. If Gerth and the local faculty are willing to pursue more realistic goals, the University?s resources can be maximized. A prolonged recession may call for even larger sacrifices. If the CSU has to stray from its commendable goal of record enrollment in order to maintain a quality education, it should.

Finally, the CSU should continue to provide a quality education at a low cost. Gerth and CSU officials said there are no plans to raise tuition. We hope they are serious.