PEORIA, Ill. – As a final decision looms regarding cuts to programs and faculty at Bradley University, a small group of students are making their voices heard to try and save them.
A protest at Main and University on Wednesday afternoon is the second one since the announcement last month of the proposed cuts. The university is proposing cutting 17 programs and 47 faculty positions, in an attempt to save $13 million.
Last month, around 150 students attended a protest against the proposed cuts. Wednesday’s protest brought in around ten students, holding signs that included “Chop from the Top” and “Don’t Cut My Future.”
The protest was held in front of the former Avanti’s location, which one of the protest’s organizers, political science major Sarrah Denton, says was picked for a specific reason.
“We decided to stand in front of the Avanti building as symbolism of the empty promises that the admin has given us, and the lack of transparency we are receiving,” Denton said.
Denton says she is hopeful that students will be heard by the administration to explain the reasoning behind the cuts.
Another student that attended the protest was philosophy major Mark Tangel. He held a sign saying “Save B.U. Save Our Professors.”
“There are going to be professors who are going to have to take on bigger classes, there are going to be professors who are obviously let go, and there are going to be professors who lose the value of some of these classes that allow their students to gain new ideas and broaden their horizons outside of their own major,” Tangel said.
Tangel says he wants people to reach out and write letters to the Board of Trustees to tell how they feel the cuts would affect Bradley University and Peoria.
The protest lasted for an hour, where some then went to a faculty senate meeting to show their support.
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