As the decision regarding higher education budget cuts draws near, the LSU administration and the students are fighting harder for their school.
Last Wednesday, it was released that LSU might have to file for academic bankruptcy if the legislature doe not change its plans to make larger cuts to higher education funding in Louisiana.
According to the budget update on the LSU website, LSU has not begun any processes that would lead to financial exigency. Leaders at LSU are preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best.
The plan for LSU to file for bankruptcy was met with skepticism from some about whether this plan was simply a way to get the legislature’s attention.
“I’m skeptical to say that it’s a PR stunt, but it’s more of a preparation for something that could possibly happen,” Mass Communication Junior Valencia Richardson said. ” I don’t wanna say that financial exigency is inevitable because none of this is inevitable.”
LSU officials will not comment on whether or not LSU will file for bankruptcy, but Dr. F. King Alexander did state that it was an option.
Recently-elected Student Body President Andrew Mahtook is concerned about how these cuts affect his future and the future of the entire student body.
“Any LSU resume is instantly downgraded because people will see, ‘He went to LSU. Wow, I can’t believe he went to this under-performing school, this underfunded school with not as many accolades and merits’,” Mahtook explained. “It definitely affects me in a great way and also alumni.”
A group of students, including Mahtook, have joined together in an effort to show legislators that LSU means business. Tomorrow at 12:30 p.m., LSU students will meet at A.Z. Young Park to march from there to the Capitol steps for their school and their education.
“Legislators for the next two weeks are gonna be meeting to discuss our future,” said Mahtook. “If they don’t have any input from us, they don’t think that we care, then they won’t take us into consideration when making their decisions.”
Other schools have taken on the challenge of battling the budget cuts on the Capitol steps, and now it is LSU’s turn. If you want to be a part of tomorrow’s event, check out the “Make the Change March the Capitol” Facebook page to get more information.