BATON ROUGE, La. – The latest round of college budget cuts, combined with threats of still more to come, provoked protest Tuesday from LSU faculty and students and a burgeoning movement that promised more organized opposition when negotiations on next year’s budget begin.
The gathering of about 150 professors, instructors and students was billed as a “memorial service” to lament cuts in state funding that the protestors called devastating to the campus. They picked a location sure to attract attention: across the street from a celebration event for LSU’s 150th anniversary.
“We suffered from some cuts last year, but this year’s cuts are really going to decimate the curriculum,” said Dr. Helen A. Regis, an associate professor in the Department of Geography and Anthropology.
The campus’ annual budget was cut by nearly $13 million this month, as agencies across state government lost money in budget reductions ordered by Gov. Bobby Jindal to close a midyear deficit. That comes on top of a reduction in state funding earlier this year.
