Students are suffering. Due to the state cutting back on funding, students studying within certain programs are negatively impacted by these changes. But a solution to these issues, the Connect NC public improvement bond, can help us fix these problems. Appalachian State students need to vote on this bond to better education.

Since 2008 colleges in North Carolina have seen their budgets cut by more than 23 percent, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

This includes Appalachian State which has experienced a reduction of $34 million, according to Carolina Public Press.

Another major issue linked to funding cuts has to do with the program prioritization, a process in which the university was required to make decisions about certain programs deemed to be low-performing. 

That process resulted in recommendations for the closing and consolidation of several programs in the university.

This is where the Connect NC public improvement bond comes in. This bond will provide money to the campus so that we don’t have to cut programs due to lack of funding, an action that is necessary for the university to adequately support its students. 

On March 15, North Carolina citizens will have the option to vote for a proposed $2 billion bond package that would eliminate the cuts of certain programs due to lack of funding and would enhance students’ experiences at the university.

With this bond, Appalachian State will receive $70 million to construct the Beaver College of Health Sciences. The college involves 10 undergraduate degree programs and five graduate degree programs. Currently, classes held for this college are spread throughout the campus and students have no building to call “home.”

The construction of this building will help students within the Beaver College programs to be able to collaborate more easily, which will strengthen the program and make education for students better overall.

With the vote to put this bond in place, we can all help the students within the Beaver College, which in the long run helps all students.

Come March, make sure that you are a registered and ready to vote on this bond to make Appalachian State a better school for its students. Not only are we helping our community by putting this bond into place, but we our helping ourselves.  

Lauren Merrill, a journalism major from Chapel Hill, is an opinion writer.