The School of Cinema at San Francisco State University recently announced that liability insurance coverage for off-site locations will end next semester, leaving students now responsible for obtaining insurance on their own.

The department notified students through email that the insurance coverage is going to end on Feb. 1, 2024, citing a “University-wide budget overhaul” as the reason for the decision. The School of Cinema made this decision in close consultation with SFSU’s Risk Management office.

Off-site location insurance covers any potential damages to sets during filming. Many places require liability insurance and students won’t be allowed to film at these locations without it. The department’s decision also now makes students liable for any injuries that may occur to those involved during filming.

Sydney Rincon, cinema student and president of Delta Kappa Alpha, spoke about how the decision will impact filming projects for next semester.“I plan to create a thesis film next year and it [the decision] makes the project and my own budget all the more tenuous,” Rincon said. “It has made film production more insecure and inaccessible, and I’m crossing my fingers we find a solution and soon.”

The department was forced to make this decision due to insufficient money from the Instructionally Related Activities, funded by student fees, and CSU’s budget for facility upgrades and large purchases.

Pablo Cuartero, a lecturer at the School of Cinema, spoke about how the department was forced to decide with minimal effect on the curriculum.

“Since they [the budgets] are not providing any academic unit with funds anymore, we were forced to make choices. The location insurance is the only item that can be lost and still not affect how the program is run,” Cuartero said. “There are other things we need to prioritize so as not to affect the curriculum, things like equipment repairs.”

Cinema student Kiana Bajo wasn’t aware that the department had announced its decision to end liability insurance coverage. She spoke about her thoughts on their statement.“I think that the university should be paying for it because we already pay for tuition. It should be part of our tuition, it’s already overpriced,” Bajo said.

Low campus enrollment has affected many programs and departments on campus, with fewer classes set to be offered next spring. Rincon oversees a film organization on campus and spoke about the general sentiments felt by students.

“The decision has definitely stirred up some feelings amongst the student body,” Rincon said. “It’s important for people to realize though that this is so much bigger than us and our insurance. It’s a restraint on our education that the CFA (California Faculty Association) is trying to fight against and more than ever we need to remember to stand with our department, the CFA, and understand the reasoning behind this decision.”

Cuartero doesn’t believe that enrollment will be impacted by the department’s decision to end off-site location insurance coverage, citing resources such as on-campus and city filming permits that the program offers to students.

“In a way, we were offering so much that canceling General Liability Insurance seems like a lot, when in reality our students are still covered for accidents during their film shoots. They can use our equipment for free and we also cover insurance for such equipment,” Cuartero said. “We offer them facilities to film their projects and for editing as well. It’s unfortunate that we had to cut loose this particular element, but it’s definitely not going to affect the excellence of our cinema program and curriculum.”