Authors: Kayla Woods-Crane (Managing Editor) and Joann Seow (News Editor)

In the Fall 2025 semester, all departments, excluding Academic Affairs, were told to cut their budget by 10% to help decrease the structural deficit. On top of the initial cut, several departments faced additional cuts based upon the need for further cost reduction. These reductions have impacted various aspects of campus.

Maintenance

Maintenance on campus took a noticeable shift, one the whole campus can feel, according to Scott Hebert, director of Facility Management. 

The office started by eliminating service contracts, which is contracted maintenance work done by an outside company, in favor of in-house staff doing said maintenance work instead. They continued with cuts by reducing staff. With less staff and the same, or an increased, amount of work, Hebert said the office has to prioritize which issues get addressed first.

“​​[We] want to make sure your toilets are flushing. They’re not causing floods. [We] want to make sure your roof is not leaking anywhere. Make sure your air conditioning is working as best as possible.” Hebert explained that aesthetic problems, like chipped paint, are not a priority.  

According to Hebert, the office normally receives between 2000 and 2400 work orders each month. In the past, the department made sure to respond to requests within 24 hours to a week of its submission. Now, they try to respond sometime within the month of its submission. 

“We went from being proactive to reactive, which has been a hard pill to swallow for my group, but we are team players and will continue to do our part to keep the University in a financially stable place,” he said.  

Ashton Jerro, a sophomore majoring in public relations, said the light in his Huger Hall dorm room went out in the Fall 2025 semester. Despite putting in multiple maintenance requests since then, the light has remained unfixed and is now hanging from his ceiling. “It makes me feel like this university doesn’t care about their housing. And, yeah, man, it makes me feel like I’m in poverty,” Jerro said.

Recreational Sports

For Recreational Sports, Director Dave Suter said that in addition to the initial 10% reduction in spending, they have access to only 60% of their annual budget, while the remaining 40% is currently unavailable for spending.

According to Suter, one of the main impacts has been the inability to fill vacant professional staff positions, which include a fitness coordinator, aquatics coordinator and an administrative assistant. Repairs and improvements to facilities at Bourgeois Hall, as well as purchase of new equipment, have also been put on hold. 

Additionally, club sports had to reduce their travel costs and come up with alternative methods to raise funds for travel. Suter also mentioned the possibility of delaying the opening of the pools or reducing the hours. 

In navigating the cost reductions, Suter said, “Our professional staff members, our GAs (graduate assistants), our student workers, have had to absorb some additional responsibilities to kind of keep things up to our standard.”

Explaining how Recreational Sports is responding to the challenges, Suter said that they are pausing all spending where possible. They are also reducing student labor expenses as Recreational Sports is one of the largest employers of students on campus, with nearly a hundred student workers each year. 

Moving forward, Suter said that Recreational Sports will remain cautious with spending and purchases, while ensuring that the student experience is not negatively impacted. “Everything that Rec Sports does is geared toward making the student experience the best it can be. So it’s my hope that we can continue to do that.”

Athletic Department

According to an article by the The Acadiana Advocate, the UL Lafayette athletic department reduced expenses from $46 million to $42.7 million to help address the University’s larger deficit and the department’s own operating deficit of $13.2 million in the 2025 fiscal year. The department did this “by leaving vacant positions unfilled and cutting operational budgets.”

Now, the department is working with about 25% less staff. Along with staff reductions, the department’s athletic nutrition program was scaled back, saving them about $800,000. 

Josiah Whitiker, a junior on the University’s track team, acknowledged the challenge it might be for some student-athletes to make it to other on-campus dining halls between balancing classes, practice and personal life. 

“I mean, most of us don’t really stay on campus, so it’s kind of hard to get there sometimes.” Despite this, he said he viewed the athletic cafeteria as a luxury and something that wasn’t completely needed, especially if its downsizing helps the University.

Student Engagement

For the Office of Student Engagement & Leadership, Director Heidie Lindsey shared that the bulk of the impact from the budget cuts have been the inability to fill a position in the office, as well as the University Program Center (UPC) having to cut event costs where possible while still ensuring that the student experience is minimally impacted.

Lindsey explained that the vacant position’s responsibilities would include the planning of leadership training, registering and orienting new student organizations, overseeing Campus Groups, event approval and more. For the past two years, these responsibilities have been delegated amongst the positions in the office.

Commenting on the cutting of event costs, Candice Dazet, assistant director of Student Engagement & Leadership and advisor of the UPC Cultural Connections board, said, “It’s sad, but it’s not a setback, it’s a learning opportunity.”

Dazet shared that while the Cultural Connections board has to work with a smaller budget, they are navigating the challenge by planning their events with a cost-saving approach. “We are very economical. That’s one of the skills that I try to help my students learn… just because we have all this money doesn’t mean we need to spend it without purpose.”

One of the changes students can expect at UPC events would be the reduction of promotional items. Previously, students that attend events hosted by UPC would be able to walk away with souvenir items like T-shirts, hats, cups and more. 

Amber Felix, assistant director of Student Engagement & Leadership and advisor of the UPC Traditions board, said, “Now that they’re not getting this, we are having to rethink and restructure, what can we give them so that they still feel like they experienced this event?”

Additionally, Felix shared that another impact from the budget cuts include changes to event decoration. Previously, the traditions board would hire an external event decorator for events like Krewe of Roux. Now, students on the board are taking up the task of decorating.

Overall, the sentiment shared across the Office of Student Engagement & Leadership and UPC is that, while they are having to work with a reduced budget, they have been looking for alternative cost-effective solutions in order to continue delivering events and maintaining the student experience.  

In addition to fiscal measures rolled out by the University to tackle the structural deficit, a big portion of cost-savings comes from reduced spending campuswide. Dr. Edwin Litolff, chief financial officer, said, “Through prudency, cost efficiency, we’ll save money throughout the year, which will then allow us to build some reserves to be able to move forward.” 

This story does not encompass all departments or organizations facing budget cuts on campus.