UNL students, professors hold demonstration as $27.5 million budget cut looms

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Students and professors held a demonstration on Friday in response to the proposed budget cuts at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Dozens gathered in the courtyard on Innovation Campus as the Academic Planning Committee held hearings.

The committee is gathering feedback from the colleges that would be impacted by a proposed $27.5 million budget cut.

SEE ALSO: ‘Difficult decisions’: NU Board of Regents hear from staff on proposed department cuts

The proposal would eliminate six academic programs, including the colleges of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Statistics.

Students majoring in statistics, meteorology, geology and more held signs at the demonstration.

Shae Mitchell is a geology major at UNL.

She said the past month has brought the people in her college together.

“My department has really had my back,” she said.

Mitchell said she will not give up “until it’s over.”

SEE ALSO: ‘No other program like this’: UNL gets pushback for ending Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

Sarah Zuckerman is an assistant professor at UNL, and she also is the chapter president of the American Association of University Professors.

She said the demonstration is about more than just the majors that could be cut – it’s about the students who will lose their favorite classes and the professors who will lose the career they’ve dedicated their lives to.

“I think we also want to show the administration that we are one faculty and that they can’t just dispose of anybody without other people caring or noticing,” Zuckerman said.