MULTIPLE MEMBERS OF ONE FAMILY AFFECTED BY THE BUDGET CUTS
By Allen Shanley
Carrie stands next to her major
It’s no secret that the state of Nevada has been and is continuing to go through financial difficulty. Even though people in Nevada can agree on the importance of education for getting the state out of this financial hardship and for the future of the state, the higher education system was unable to avoid having staff and facilities cut.
One of the many families affected by the cuts are the Aalberts. Numerous people in this family are going to be hit by the cuts including Carrie, Robert, and Amy.
Freshman Carrie Aalberts is a human development and family studies major at the University of Nevada, Reno. Her college, the College of Education, is among the academic units being eliminated. The summary of budget reductions includes all changes that are occurring in the university, including the elimination of Carrie’s major. From this point on, Carrie will no longer be an education major; she will now be a liberal arts major.
“I think it’s really going to affect my classes, and it’s going to cut down the professors that I could be taking and the class opportunities that I will get, and it’s going to be bigger classes and less opportunities for me,” Carrie said.
While being affected by the cuts, Carrie also feels for people who are losing their majors and being affected by the cuts as well.
“ It’s just hard to see that people are going to have to leave the school when they just got here. I know so many people that love being here, and they are going to have to leave if they cut it … We want to keep people in Nevada, “ Carrie said.
Although Carrie is being hit by the budget cuts, she is not the only one in the Aalberts household. Carrie’s father Robert, a professor of legal studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, is also being affected by the cuts.
“I have been somewhat lucky,” Robert said. Although Aalberts himself isn’t losing his job, his department is being hit. People within the department are losing their jobs, which means the remaining faculty will have to pick up the slack. Aalberts said there is no minor available for the business school at UNLV and that the number of courses offered has decreased substantially. Aalberts himself will have to take a 5 percent pay cut, which does hurt since he’s paying for his daughter’s college tuition. With this in mind, Aalberts feels that the biggest effect is on the students.
“Assuming the cuts happen, we will have to cut the amount of students studying business at UNLV by 20-30 percent,” Robert said. Robert feels that faculty won’t want to come to Nevada to teach once this state gets a reputation.
“Good faculty recruit good students,” Robert said. When asked about the future of education in the state, Robert said, “Future of mediocrity.”
Senior Amy Aalberts, who is a secondary education major at UNR is also being affected by the cuts. She feels that even though the cuts aren’t going to affect her as a student since she will be graduating soon, they are going to affect her in the future.
“The more budget cuts, the less credible the degree looks,” Amy said.
It’s hard for Amy to see the education system being cut, specifically the education department. With the recent passing of President Milton Glick, Amy feels it’s going to get harder. “He was the only thing keeping us above water,” Amy said.
With the state of Nevada and its current budget situation, and the fact that Nevada’s high school education ranks very low in the nation, Amy feels frustrated by the entire situation and feels that nothing good will come out of this. “You’d think this state would make education a priority,” Amy said.
Even though Amy has doubts about her future and possible job opportunities, she is more worried about her sister and father. She is worried that her sister will have problems in her major and her dad will have to retire early. When asked about her sister’s future, Amy said, “She’s going to have to change her major; I guarantee it.”
The Aalberts family serves as a reminder that many people are affected by the budget cuts, and there is no escaping them. Like everyone else, the Aalberts family will just have to sit back and see where these budget cuts take education and the state of Nevada.