Following program cuts, new West Virginia University student union says fight is not over

By LEAH WILLINGHAM
Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The West Virginia United Students’ Union is the leading oppositional force against cuts at the state’s flagship university. The union has organized protests, circulated petitions and helped save a handful of teaching positions before 143 faculty and 28 majors were ultimately cut. West Virginia University in September cut its world language department and dozens of other programs in subjects such as English, math and music amid a $45 million budget shortfall. Led by many first-generation college students and those receiving financial aid in the state with the fewest college graduates, union members say they want to usher in a new era of student involvement in university political life.