Virginia State University students and faculty gathered in the Multipurpose Center for a mandatory meeting led by President Abdullah on Wednesday, Feb. 5, during which he addressed concerns about financial stability and the future of the university in the face of new government administration.
The meeting was prompted by a memo from the White House which stated financial aid and federal grants for students would be cut for both students and the school itself. The memo has since been rescinded, however, the fear on campus was palpable.
This prompted President Abdullah to call a school-wide emergency meeting. Before the meeting, many students were very alarmed as no one was telling them what the meeting was about. Rumors circulated, some even being as bold to say the university could be shutting down.
According to junior history major Kennedy Patterson, receiving the email announcement for the meeting made her immediately consider transferring schools because she didn’t know what would happen.
During the meeting, President Abdullah said that financial constraints would impact student fees, faculty employment, and possibly the state of VSU in the future.
“I was scared, because I really want to be an HBCU graduate,” Patterson said. “During the meeting, I feel like he said things that I guess I already kind of knew. We were still gonna have to pay extra for stuff because of inflation. Okay, cool. We’ve already been doing that. I know things are starting to have to make us pay out of pocket. And, you know, some things are going to get cut back.”
Another student, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “I had a gut feeling that’s what he was going to just talk about, because President Abdullah has never scheduled a meeting as far as I have been here. So for him to schedule a meeting about this, it had to be something important related to the related to the federal government and the budgeting of Virginia State University. I do feel like Virginia State University has a plan.”
Some students appreciated the fact that the President was direct about the situation instead of sugarcoating the university’s financial struggles.
Despite this, concerns are still high within students and faculty. Patterson said that while students already expected the cost increases, the idea of faculty members being potentially laid off was a shock to everyone, especially since many professors themselves seemed unaware of it.
Some wondered if the university could have better prepared for this announcement, as there was nothing to tell students and faculty what the meeting was about beforehand. Patterson also said that while a simple email might have worked, some students likely would have ignored it, leading to even more confusion. However, she also acknowledged that a university-wide meeting was necessary to ensure everyone was aware of the situation.
“I do like that he called for a meeting instead of just sending an email, because I don’t think it was really going to get read,” she said.
As students process the impact of these financial challenges, concerns about the future of VSU and other HBCU’s remain. Students fears include that a lack of financial aid could force many to drop out, and that cuts in funding, especially with Virginia State getting a majority of its funding from the government as the President said in the meeting, will weaken the university’s ability to compete with other larger institutions.
While President Abdullah did his best to attempt to ease concerns, the overall feeling among students is still one of uncertainty. The future of Virginia State University depends on how both the school and government administrations will handle these new uncertain times.
