Students are feeling the impact after Bradley University announced that 17 programs are being considered for elimination.
The proposed cuts were announced on Nov. 6.
Bradley University students said they can feel the effects of the cuts on campus. Senior Chelsea Sanchez is a senior English creative writing and psychology major. Sanchez said the announcement caused the vibe on campus to take a turn for the worse.
“It doesn't seem like there's a light at the end of the tunnel for Bradley,” said Sanchez, adding she has friends within the religious studies department that has been identified as a candidate for discontinuation.
“There's just a lot of negativity right now, especially just a lot of uncertainty that is happening and just a lot of stress, both on the professors who are affected by this and on the students who are affected by this,” Sanchez said, “And with like, the lack of under understanding from what we're not receiving information-wise of how it's going to be implemented later on.”
Hailey Damitz is an English and history double major with a minor in women and gender studies. Damitz said it’s stressful not knowing which faculty members are going to be cut next.
“It's really horrifying to watch your professors live in fear of whether or not their job is secure. And knowing that even though your department is not affected, some of our professors in that department have still been cut,” Damitz said.
While Damitz and Sanchez are not directly affected, they said their professors advised them to act with compassion toward those who are, like Stevan Sanchez.
Sanchez, who is not related to Chelsea, is a sophomore math and computer science major. Mathematics is one of the programs identified in the proposed cuts.
Sanchez said the faculty in the math department have told their students their best options are to switch majors, or to transfer schools.
“When I first heard about it, I was kind of told it should be alright, I get to take classes with my professors,” Sanchez said, “And now there's a worry that I'm not going to be able to take classes with professors who I really respect.”
He also said the impacts of the cuts can be seen on the faces of students around campus.
“It really hurts because that was why I want to come to Bradley, right? I enjoyed the fact that the department was small, I understand that having not many students deeply affects these cuts,” he said, “But the small faculty means you're closer to these people you highly respect and it just makes me want to work with them. And now, the fact that I can't, I don't have these opportunities anymore, really has been hurting.”
Faculty within the departments identified for proposed cuts have 30 days to respond to Standifird and advocate for their departments. Standifird said the final cuts will be implemented by the end of this year.
