Charleston, West Virginia—

Sophomore Christian Adams hopes to study Chinese while attending West Virginia University and dreams of working in labor or immigration law.

He didn’t foresee he would switch his major to politics, a change made last September after West Virginia’s flagship university cut its world languages ​​department and dozens of other programs in English, math and music amid a $45 million budget shortfall. .

He certainly didn’t expect to learn or teach his classmates about community organizing.

But cuts, condemned by the American Federation of Teachers as “draconian and disastrous,” gave rise to a different kind of education: Adams is a co-founder of the West Virginia Associated Students. As a leading opposition force against the cuts, the union organized protests, circulated petitions and helped save some teaching positions, ultimately resulting in the elimination of 143 faculty members and 28 majors.

They were disappointed and said their work was far from done. Led by many first-generation college students and those receiving financial aid who are among the fewest college graduates in the state, members said they hope to usher in a new era of student participation in college political life.

“WVU is actually entering a new era of student politics,” Adams said.

The movement is part of a wave of student organizing at U.S. colleges and universities around issues ranging from affordability and representation in higher education to who has access to various programs and workplace safety issues.

Morgantown University is under financial pressure from declining enrollment, lost revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic and an increasing debt load from new construction projects. Other U.S. universities and colleges are facing similar decisions, but West Virginia University is one of the most extreme examples of a flagship university turning to such deep cuts, particularly in foreign languages.

The union said the move to eliminate 8 percent of majors and 5 percent of faculty is a failure by university leadership to fulfill its mission as a land-grant institution that has been responsible for educating rural communities historically excluded from higher education since the 1800s. student. One in four children in West Virginia lives in poverty, and many public K-12 schools do not offer comprehensive language programs at a time when language knowledge is becoming increasingly important in the global job market.

As the school continues to assess its financial situation, the union plans to keep a close eye on its budget, mobilize against any additional proposed cuts and prepare alternative proposals to keep courses and faculty positions intact.

Another key goal is to oversee and influence the school’s search for a new president after University President E. Gordon Gee retires next year. Gee was the subject of a token motion by a teachers group that expressed distrust in his leadership. Gee said last year that the course cuts come at a time of change in higher education and that WVU is “leading that change rather than being a victim of it.”

He said higher education across the country had become “arrogant” and “siloed” and warned schools faced a “very bleak future” if changes were not made.

Alliance Assembly President and co-founder Matthew Kolb, a mathematics major, said his organization does not want the new president to believe that operating the school as a business or commercial entity is the right thing to do. The only option for the mission.

“We know that when push comes to shove, the result is that 143 faculty members are pushed over the cliff with just one vote,” he said.

Adams, a native of north-central West Virginia who was the first in his family to attend college immediately after high school, said he could transfer to another school and continue studying Chinese. But his primary reason for choosing WVU was a commitment to the country and a desire to improve its socioeconomic prospects.

“A lot of West Virginians feel trapped in West Virginia and feel like they have to leave — not many choose to stay here,” Adams said. “I made a conscious decision to go to WVU and stay here to help improve my life. .”state. “

The cuts mean a reaffirmation of that commitment, “even though my state’s flagship university is basically telling us, ‘Your major doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter, it’s not worth our time or money to teach.’”

Student government organizations have existed around the world for hundreds of years. In the US, the alliance is often associated with campus centers where students have access to restaurants, club offices and social events, while in the UK it also takes the form of advocacy departments independent of the university, operating at institutional and national levels Lobbying.

Members said they envision a West Virginia Unified Student Union similar to those in the UK, and they want to help the concept grow.

This means a lot of work behind the scenes, developing strategies to keep students interested and engaged, and building relationships with campus unions, student government, and other organizations.

Student Felicia Carrara said working with the union has helped maintain student morale as they watch teachers scramble to find new jobs and rewrite curriculum.

Carrara, an international studies and Russian studies double major from North Carolina, said she and many of her peers chose WVU because of its affordable tuition.

“The fact that we now have to struggle to find scholarships and other funding to be able to get an education elsewhere or not get a degree at all, or a very easy degree. It’s really frustrating,” she said.

“When you get into higher education, you think things are going to be better than they were in high school and middle school,” she said. “I was very sad to find out that wasn’t the case.”

Andrew Ross, a senior double majoring in German and political science, will be the last graduate to major in that language.

Ross, a 31-year-old non-traditional student who will transfer to West Virginia University in 2022 after earning his associate’s degree, attended a summer program in Germany with the help of a department scholarship and learned of the proposed program just days after returning home. Layoff plans.

Ross, now vice president of the Student Union Congress, said the cuts “felt like a slap in the face.” The university told him to drop his German major. He’s proud of the hard work he put in to complete his degree, but it’s also bittersweet.

“In some ways, it makes me sad because I hope there’s no one who’s still growing up who can’t have this experience – we all deserve it,” he said. “This university has not only failed me, it has failed the country.”