West Virginia University has had to cut courses because of a lack of money, which has forced many students to change their majors or classes.
Christian Adams, a student, had to change his whole major because of this. His original plan was to work in labor and immigrant law. However, he had to change his major because the university cut classes like language classes from the school. He now studies politics instead.
A group called the West Virginia United Students Union was against the cuts. They planned protests and petitions and were able to save the jobs of a few teachers before the big cuts happened.
Even though the student union is sad, they have made it clear that they are not done fighting and will not give up. Adams states, “Really, what it is for WVU is a new era of student politics.”
The group of students talks about a wide range of issues, from how to make college more reasonable to how to keep workers safe on the job. They also make sure that there are a lot of different courses available.
The university has lost money, fewer students are entering and has had losses since COVID-19. This caused the university to decide to cut its courses, a lot of which were language classes.
The union has said that cutting classes isn’t in line with the university’s goal, and the students will keep looking at the budget to see where changes need to be made. Matthew Kolb, President and Co-Founder of the Union Assembly of Delegates, said, “We know that when things get tough, that means 143 faculty get pushed off a cliff with one vote.”
Adams said, “A lot of people in West Virginia feel trapped here and like they need to leave. Not many people choose to stay here.” His speech went on, “I chose to go to WVU and stay here to help make my state better.”
