The Office of Diversity at the University of Connecticut’s Undergraduate Student Government hosted a town hall meeting this Tuesday, Jan. 30, posing one straightforward question for students to answer: “What pisses you off?”
The forum, moderated by USG Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Advocacy Coordinator Mishka Kapoor, invited students to share their concerns regarding the present and future of the university. “What problems at UConn do you wanna see worked on?” Kapoor asked at the meeting.
The chief concern expressed by students was financial, with looming fears surrounding both USG and university-wide budget cuts.
“My position probably won’t exist next year,” Kapoor said. The USG Office of Diversity is uncertain of its future with significant reductions in funding slated for the upcoming school year. The defunding of USG’s DEI initiative is symptomatic of larger budget cuts proposed at the university level, set to slash the financing received by USG and other organizations due to a deficit in the tens of millions.
The UConn administration has outlined plans to shrink their current budget by as much as 15% over the next five years, prompting many to wonder what classes, programs and faculty may cease to continue.
“If UConn wants to be a premier university competing with other schools, you can’t cut staff,” an anonymous senior student emphasized. The student noted that they’ve witnessed positive shifts since their unceremonious introduction during the pandemic, but are doubtful this trend will persist. “The same opportunities that I had as a freshman won’t necessarily be there in the future,” the anonymous student said.
The budgetary reductions have not gone unnoticed, however, meeting fierce opposition from multiple campus organizations. An internal petition calling for the lessening of USG’s budget cuts has received sufficient signatures to warrant consideration, but its efficacy is impossible to predict.
Additionally, joint student-faculty protests have garnered the attention of campus officials, who in response have begun to hold virtual town halls discussing the five-year reduction to UConn’s budget.
Although the recent town hall event was not widely attended, students have more opportunities to speak to USG representatives at an upcoming POC Student Faculty Social on Feb. 5, located in the Student Union Ballroom from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.