A Sonoma County judge issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday against Sonoma State University, requiring the school to stop implementation of its plans to cut six academic departments amid a major budget deficit.
At the same time, Sonoma County Superior Judge Kenneth English denied the direct request for an immediate halt to SSU’s related plans to discontinue its entire NCAA Division II athletics program, as reported by Austin Murphy of The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, Tuesday’s ruling came in response to a request from a group of seven Sonoma State student-athletes who had filed the petition for the emergency order seeking a halt to the sports cuts.
Officials announced in late January that all athletic programs would be cut, along with classes and some staff members. English's ruling Tuesday found that SSU violated the law in its decision-making process for the cuts, Tori Gaines and Joe Fonzi of Fox affiliate KTVU in Oakland reported.
The same group sued college and California State University administrators in March.
Related: Athletes Sue Sonoma State, CSU Over 'Fraudulent' Elimination of All Sports Programs
Tuesday's ruling states that SSU interim president Emily Cutrer and California State University chancellor Mildred Garcia failed to follow their own regulations and policies when it comes to cutting academic programs in particular. The court issued a Temporary Restraining Order prohibiting CSU, SSU, Cutrer and Garcia from making further cuts or discontinuing academic programs at SSU.
This ruling comes as the attorneys representing the students who are suing the school over the cuts call for the resignations of Cutrer and Garcia, who have both been ordered to appear in court May 1 in Santa Rosa.
The decision to cut programs was made before students returned to campus from winter break.
"I find it disrespectful how this whole situation has been handled. They made us come back to campus, pay tuition, pay housing, sign leases to tell us on the second day of school that we're no longer going to have a program," one SSU student said, as reported by KTVU.
The school hosted a forum for local representatives Monday. State politicians and local instructors directed their complaints to the CSU Chancellor's Office, which is responsible for 23 schools across the state. "Many were concerned about declining enrollment across the state, which could also be impacted by a lack of an athletics program at SSU," Gaines and Fonzi reported.
"Athletics is one of our greatest recruiters to campus," SSU professor Elain Newman told KTVU. "Why are we getting rid of athletics? What we're hoping to do is restore the cuts, bring back these programs—in fact, don't get rid of these programs, that are already so popular with students."
Said California assemblymember Chris Rogers, "The damage to the brand of Sonoma State has been so deep, so profound, that we cannot ignore the impact that that's going to have on demand."
Final choices about what will be cut at SSU and what will remain will be announced in June when the state budget is released, KTVU reported.
