The California Faculty Association along with all 23 California State Universities have organized a rally taking place on April 4, calling attention to Gov. Jerry Brown and legislatures in Sacramento about the continuing decline in CSU funding, tuition hikes, racism and discrimination and protecting DACA and undocumented students.

Buses are set up to drive students from each CSU to California State Capitol in Downtown Sacramento in response to Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2018-2019 state budget that included $92.1 million for all CSU funding in California. The CFA is proposing a $422.6 million boost that is estimated to increase entrance to a CSU by around 18,205 students.

In a press release conducted earlier by CSU Chancellor, Timothy P. White stated that although the CSU Trustees had proposed a budget increase of $282.9 million in November 2017, Jerry Brown had proposed and approved an increase of only $92.1 million for the CSU 2018-2019 state budget. The budget increase that CSU Trustees had originally proposed would have funded.

“The university-wide Graduation Initiative 2025, compensation, enrollment growth, facilities and infrastructure needs and mandatory costs,” said White in a press release.

With the approved budgets that are being placed each year, Jennifer Eagan, California Faculty Association President. She stated that the CSU is considering a repeat of an tuition increase this year.

“Those student fees aren’t even enough to fill in that hole in the budget that the CSU isn’t getting from the state,” Eagan said. “Campuses kept raising [campus based] fees and so students and families were continually paying more of the share for their public higher education that should of been funded by the state.”

The increase of minority groups enrolled in CSU’s is one of the main factors why the CFA believes CSU funding is decreasing.

“The funding for the CSU used to be enough to cover just about all the costs for all qualified students and when that was happening, the student body was about 70 percent white. Now, 72 percent of CSU students are students of color and now there’s not enough money to accommodate all qualifying students,” Eagan said.

Eagan also stated that California failed on their promise because funding system-wide is not adequate for the number of qualified students who want to attend a CSU. Consequently, it has also violated public policy as the state had committed to call for a college educated workforce, Eagan said.

The bus departing from San Francisco State is expected to leave at 8 a.m. carrying faculty and students. The buses are expected to return to drop-off students and faculty once the rally is over.