Sacramento State students voiced their questions and concerns at the President’s Student Forum titled “Ask Me Anything” in the University Union on Tuesday, March 4.

Over 20 students lined up to voice their concerns to President Luke Wood. The students expressed frustration with the administration’s response to recent federal government attacks on transgender and immigrant communities, inclusivity initiatives, AI use, accessibility issues and budget concerns.

Comments regarding the budget deficit

Wood opened by discussing the university’s $37 million budget deficit. He said that, while it’s significant, it pales in comparison to other California State University campuses as a result of low enrollment. Wood said Sac State’s enrollment has continued to grow, helping to offset the deficit.

“If we were facing the same enrollment challenges that some of our sister campuses are facing, we’d be cutting over $160 million,” Wood said.

Wood said the deficit stems from a $20 million reduction in state funding, along with rising costs for compensation, healthcare benefits, insurance and other expenses. The total adjustment needed over two years is $37 million.

Numerous students asked Wood about why some funding decisions are being made without their input or the feedback of staff and faculty.

“Sac State runs a very lean model,” Wood said. “We do not have the same resources as some other institutions in our state.”

Wood said he acknowledged the strain this model creates and Wood encouraged those in attendance to reach out to local legislators to share their concerns regarding state funding.

“Our biggest challenge is that our resources come from the state, but our opportunity is we’re in the city of Sacramento,” Wood said.

Wood said there are a number of upcoming opportunities for students to speak with legislators about the need for more funding for the CSU.

Comments regarding the new stadium

In regards to the new stadium, Students for Quality Education member Thad Gifford asked about the cost for the stadium and how the university plans to fund it.

Wood said the university is investing $5 million that came from a private donor on Feb. 28 into urgent stadium repairs due to structural issues..

Wood said there are areas under the stadium that need to be welded.

“I encourage you to walk under it and spend 20 minutes there. If you disagree with me then I’d love to talk about it,” Wood said.

Wood said the second phase, costing $95-$100 million, will be funded mostly by the intercollegiate athletics fee. Wood said the second phase will improve the stadium for various sports and campus events, focusing more on infrastructure updates.

Wood said the third phase, planned for 2027-2029, will cost between $100-$200 million and will be funded by private donors. This phase will include significant upgrades such as paved areas, stage setups, better entrances and overhangs to improve the fan experience, Wood said.

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Wood said the stadium is a key feature for engaging alumni and attracting new students, as athletics and campus events are major entry points for university donations.

When a student asked how money can be found for athletics but not other campus programs, Wood said it was due to the types of bonds being secured.

“The state gives us revenue bonds for things that can generate revenue. A stadium can generate revenue for the campus,” Wood said. “In terms of the things that I think students are most concerned about, which is those academic buildings, those don’t generate revenue.”

Wood said that the engineering building, Santa Clara Hall, has been awaiting repairs for nearly 15 years and is still low on the priority list.

“That’s part of the reason that I’ve shifted focus away from trying to change what we can do around those buildings to looking at these alternative sites,” Wood said. “Rancho is being mentioned and downtown is being mentioned because I cannot get money from the state to fix our buildings for deferred maintenance or for constructing new ones.”

Wood said despite the focus on stadium funding, other areas like internships, cultural centers, mental health counselors, athletic trainers and instructional funding are also being supported.

Comments on the potential merging and moving of colleges and departments

Wood also addressed questions regarding the proposal for the College of Business to relocate to Rancho Cordova. He said that it is currently a potential project under consideration, and the college is not in the process of moving at this time.

Several students expressed concern about the potential merging of departments and colleges. Wood said the university is not doing either of those things.

“We’re moving from seven different academic colleges to four academic colleges, but we’re not actually merging the colleges,” Wood said. “We’re moving to an operational control model because we don’t have enough resources to support seven colleges.”

In this model, Wood said that a dean would have operational control over another college rather than the colleges being merged. He said more details will be made available after April 25.

Meanwhile, faculty can submit their input until April 15. Wood said that he doesn’t intend to make the decision for the departments. Instead, he wants to encourage them to have their own discussions about whether they wish to collaborate.

Comments regarding Artificial Intelligence

One speaker representing the College of Arts and Letters asked about the future of writing as the university and its students increasingly incorporate AI tools.

Wood said that students should use AI tools only after creating original work, and that there is a risk of over-reliance on AI.

“I’m certainly in favor of artificial intelligence and the use of artificial intelligence, but I do think there is a balance,” Wood said. “Ethical use in my mind is not representing the computer’s work as your own.”

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Another student brought up the ethical use of AI in terms of the environmental harm it causes.

In addition to increasing electricity demands, AI systems require large amounts of water for cooling, potentially depleting local supplies and harming ecosystems.

Wood did not directly answer the question about environmental harm, and again referred to the usage of AI’s effects on people’s livelihoods. When the question was repeated, Wood said he looked forward to learning more about the ethical considerations of AI and thanked the student for educating him.

Comments regarding LGBTQ+ issues

Brianna Davis, second year master’s student in mathematics and statistics, said she has a statement of hope for Wood to do better than his predecessor with the LGBTQ+ community.

“I urge you, especially now when LGBTQ+ people, specifically trans people, are under attack all over the country, to be a beacon of hope for us and to be more visible allies,” Davis said. “To work with the PRIDE center, to not forget until the end of June to send out an email about Pride month.”

Davis asked Wood not to rely on the past administration to compare his progress to.

“The past administration at this university [has] been deeply disappointing to the LGBTQ+ people on campus,” Davis said. “We’ve just been experiencing the bare minimum status quo.”

Davis would like for Wood and the administration to do more with the LGBTQ+ community.

“The bar was set too low for us,” Davis said. “To be visible and work actively with Queer & Trans Faculty & Staff organization on campus and the Pride Center.”

Wood nodded in acknowledgement at Davis and thanked her for her statement.

After the meeting Davis said that students were unhappy with the way former Sac State President Nelson Robert S. Nelsen handled things and was thankful that Wood was available and gave students this opportunity.

“I am optimistic and trust that [Wood] is committed to doing the work. I know there will be roadblocks that will make it difficult, but I am optimistic,” Davis said.

When asked about rolling back inclusivity standards, Wood said that Sac State must adhere to whatever policy the CSU system passes.

“I don’t foresee any situation where the CSU steps away from its focus on supporting LGBT students, particularly the trans community,” Wood said.

Lsea Quinones, with Queers United in Power, asked Wood about steps being taken to ensure transgender, non-binary and intersex students feel supported and included by Sac State’s policies.

To this, Wood said he is developing a campus policy to outline each division’s role in creating a safe environment for students. He said that much work remains, but that he is committed to engaging with the PRIDE center to gather additional feedback before finalizing the policy.

Another student asked Wood if the CSU is unable or unwilling to permit students to self-identify using chosen names or preferred pronouns. The administration said it would collaborate with those communities to create policies and solutions that ensure they are respected and supported.

“There are certain things that we need to do for compliance, but there’s also some leeway that we have within our organization to operate as we feel is needed for our community.” Wood said, “We will be exploring every possible route to make that happen.”

Wood was asked why Sac State hasn’t designated itself as a sanctuary campus, to which he and Aniesha Mitchell, vice president for student affairs, said that the university is not legally allowed to declare that status due to a combination of state and federal law.

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Wood said that nothing he has seen so far suggests that the university needs to drastically change what it is doing, and he feels confident about the protections that California provides.

“I will absolutely be engaged with students in conversations when new policies come down so that it’s not me making a decision, but the students who are affected by those decisions who are informing what we do,” Wood said.

For students being targeted or feeling unsafe under the current political climate, Wood and Mitchell reminded students that they have access to free therapy services at The Well.

“Counselors are also working on developing some group therapy sessions that can occur to support individuals who are undocumented,” Mitchell said. “These will occur via Zoom as well as in person, because we understand there may be reluctance for some people to leave their homes.”

Reese Salmon said they understood Wood’s responses, but still didn’t get the answers they were looking for.

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Comments regarding accessibility concerns

Wood said accessibility was a clear theme throughout the discussion and committed to having separate conversations with students about ways to improve accessibility in the near future.

Quinones shared their experiences with the Disability Access Center, which they said denied accommodations to the point of affecting their academic career.

Mitchell said there will be additional listening sessions for students to share these particular experiences, given that many of the incidents have been escalated to administration in response.

Comments regarding socially responsible investing

Wood was also asked about the university’s divestment from corporations and funds that profit from genocide, ethnic cleansing and violating fundamental human rights. He said that the university does not have any direct investments in these groups, but is likely invested in other indirect ways.

Wood said that as of Friday, Feb. 28, a policy for socially responsible investing was put in place. The State Hornet was not able to locate this policy listed on Sac State’s policy library or elsewhere.

Wood thanked the students in attendance for sharing their perspectives and said there would be more opportunities for them to do so. Several students thanked Wood for offering them the platform to voice their concerns.

“I recognize that there’s only so much that can be said legally, but it would be really cool if we could have those declarations of full support.” Salmon said. “I definitely feel that in the current political context, I am not satisfied,”