Most of us picked California Lutheran University for its size, attention to student needs and the family-like relationships we are able to form. On the surface, Cal Lutheran seems to meet all of these requirements; an undergraduate enrollment of about 3,100, relatively small classes and the ability to work closely with professors.

However, Cal Lutheran is changing as we know it. Although the administration has continually accepted more students, the situation within residence halls, parking and class sizes hasn’t changed. More halls are being targeted for five per room, ending the close and homely feeling Cal Lutheran once held. Not only have existing classes gotten harder to enroll in, but the total number of courses offered hasn’t increased.

Additionally, the majority of students see the massive parking shortage facing our campus. Students have been missing classes simply because they can’t find parking and seem to be turning from the primary priority into a secondary issue.

A recent study from HSBC found that 85 percent of students work while enrolled in college, spending an average of 4.2 hours working for their jobs, more than double the time spent in libraries. This is close to two hours more than students spend in class and close to 1.5 more hours than spent studying.

Student loans now account for $1.4 trillion of all U.S. household debt. More alarmingly, women and people of color will end up bearing a disproportionate amount of this staggering debt. Chegg supplemented this study with a report that found that 60 percent of students feel anxious about their finances “frequently” or “all the time.”

It is time for the administration at California Lutheran to decide on who we are as a school. Increasing student population without being proactive in addressing infrastructural issues that will arise will only lead Cal Lutheran into the direction of a large university. The time is now to take a stand and we are the students to make this change.

Thomas Singelyn
ASCLU Sophomore Senator