ALYSON E. GROVE/ Arizona Daily Wildcat Xuemei Cai, a sophomore biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology and East Asian Studies majors, studies for one of her many classes in the Integrated Learning Center Friday afternoon. Cai plans to graduate with both a bachelor of arts and a bachelor of science degree.

Walking through the Integrated Learning Center, Xuemei Cai points out the locale of one of her many marathon study sessions.

The sophomore recalls the day she pulled an all-nighter in one of the small rooms next to the Information Commons. In a nearby study room, she notices how a set of complex physics equations on a whiteboard resemble some of her own course work.

For Cai, who's on track to graduate with degrees in biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology and East Asian studies, studying all night is part of the routine.

When she's a senior, she'll be one of about 600 students who have accumulated more than 140 units during their college careers. As with all students whose plans include earning both Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees, she'll graduate with at least 150 units.

Now, though, Republican legislators want to cut $2.6 million from the UA budget because they say students shouldn't need more than 140 undergraduate units.

If you want to attract smart people ... you don't want to cut funding to the universities - Xuemei Cai double major sophomore

That proposal, part of a plan to ax $16 million from the UA's budget this year, has drawn criticism from some double degree students, who say the opportunity to earn degrees in divergent fields is central to the mission of a university.

"Don't you want a diverse and well-educated population?" asked Lauren Giesecke, a sophomore majoring in Spanish and molecular and cellular biology.

Giesecke wants to work as a doctor in a Spanish-speaking country, and said that without both majors, landing a job in that area would be more difficult. She would need overseas language acquisition training before being able to work.

"That way, those skills will be something I get credit for," she said.

Both Cai and Giesecke believe the funding cut proposal shows that the Legislature doesn't value higher education.

Those sentiments have been echoed by several UA administrators and members of the Arizona Board of Regents, who have called the latest proposed cuts "draconian."

Greg Fahey, who lobbies the Legislature on the UA's behalf, said lawmakers proposed the $2.6 million cut because they believe the state should not support students who spend extended periods of time in school.

The legislators who wrote the proposal did not return calls last week.

Fahey called the proposal "totally unfair," and said the university is fighting all the cuts proposed by the Legislature.

Randy Richardson, the UA's vice president for undergraduate education, agrees, saying that students need freedom to be able to explore academic disciplines.

"I think it is necessary for students to have the freedom to explore," Richardson said.

Richardson also said that while the Legislature's proposal is based on the assumption that most students who have accumulated 140 credits have done so because they are spending too long at the UA, many people have other reasons for holding so many units.

He pointed to transfer students as an example, and called the proposal "short-sighted · because there are a lot of reasons students may have accumulated more than 140 units."

"It's sort of a sledgehammer approach to a problem that has a lot more depth and subtlety," Richardson said.

He added, however, that students who continue to accumulate credits without making much progress toward a degree need to graduate and get on with their lives.

President Pete Likins told the Faculty Senate last week that if the $16 million in proposed cuts are enacted, the UA would have virtually no way of paying back the state.

Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano's proposed budget spares the UA from additional budget cuts, and Likins and several regents have said they support her plan. Legislative Republicans have argued for the cuts, saying the university should rely more on research and federal money and less on the state.

Cai and Giesecke are both puzzled by that logic and said that unless lawmakers make higher education a higher priority, students who want to pursue wide-ranging academic goals will go elsewhere.

"If you want to attract smart people · you don't want to cut funding to the universities," Cai said.

Keren G. Raz contributed to this report.