GREENSBORO – Students from the 17 UNC systems campuses are gathering Wednesday morning to speak out against the budget cuts that could shut down a number of the universities.

Governor Pat McCrory released his budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year that begins July 1. The proposal cuts $140 million from the UNC system. Talks of a cut that large have put people on alert that the school system may have to close down one to two campuses.

“The potential school closings would unfairly target H.B.C.U.s and other campuses which historically serve many poor and working class students and families of color,” says Carla Guzman, a student at UNC Greensboro and is one of the members of the NC Student Power Union, which is holding the press conference and speak out in Raleigh on Wednesday.

An H.B.C.U. is an historically black college or university.

To shut down an entire university—or to at least remove it from the school system—would be a major undertaking, and something that Guzman believes is not far-fetched.

“It seems unbelievable, but many changes are happening, so we’re going to take this seriously,” Guzman says.

She says one sign of its likelihood is that these are not the first round of budget cuts the system has seen.

“They’re greater than $135 million on top of over 400 million that the UNC System has already absorbed,” Guzman says. “I think that as outrageous as it sounds, I think that that’s why we’re holding this press conference to let people know that we’re not going to allow it to happen.”

Wednesday’s press conference begins at 11:00 a.m. outside the North Carolina Office of State Budget Management on West Jones Street in Raleigh.

UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp released a statement last week on Gov. McCrory’s budget proposal. To see the statement, click here.