Tempers flared and energy ran high at the Defend Public Higher Education Rally Wednesday as several students, techs and teachers met in the south quad to express their concerns regarding the budget cuts. 

News hit the street last weekend that layoff notices were doled out to all lab techs in 12-month positions in the Chemistry, Biology, Physics and Art departments at CI. In the press release the word “anticipated” is used to describe the future availability of 11-month positions, hardly a comfort for those whose jobs are at stake. Dr. Blake Gillespie, chair of the Chemistry department at CSUCI, calls the future “a bit hazy,” expressing that it was “not at all clear” to him what the rehire process would be. The rehire process isn’t the only thing that lacks clarity. Layoff notices have been described as vague, not unlike the wording in the letter to students and faculty and press release, which only devotes two sentences to addressing the issue.

I understand that the money has to come from somewhere given the financial pickle the Cal State system has found itself in, but why the ambiguity? Not only is it uncertain that every position will be filled again, but also whether or not returning techs will take a pay-cut or have to compete for the jobs they once held. Don’t the techs that just received layoff notices deserve some clarity in exchange for their services rendered?