We thought we had heard everything. We thought we knew how badly the budget cuts were going to affect us next year. But Thursday we found out it wasn’t over yet.

And this time we’d feel the effects before next year comes around.

Gov. Vilsack announced the state will reduce spending $100 million in the current fiscal year. Yes, the current fiscal year.

Vilsack is requesting that state agency directors “shave” 7 percent of their operating budgets. This means the regent universities are faced with a $46.9 million cut. If this passes the Iowa Legislature when they resume session in mid-January, Iowa State will have to find a way to cut back $18.6 million of its current budget.

This means things will be different around Iowa State during Spring semester, as the university will have to start trimming programs and try its best to not let the quality of education be affected any further.

Tuition is on the rise as it is, with numbers as high as 18 percent being thrown around for next year. From the look of it, it’s going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better.

The time has come for ISU students to start seriously pinching their pocketbooks. If this means no spring break trip to Cancun, no full week of binge-drinking and debauchery, then so be it.

We need to start conserving our cash for the tough times ahead.

The governor was faced with an extremely tough decision. The stagnant economy has not shown any signs of improving in the near future.

Gov. Vilsack took this information and decided a $300 million budget overhaul would be best for the state of Iowa. $100 million of that will come out of this year’s budget.

GSB President Andy Tofilon said the multi-million dollar cuts will probably make it harder to convince the Board of Regents to keep the tuition lower. This is true.

Tofilon suggests that instead of a second round of cuts, the state should cut fat out of excessive state initiatives such as the rainforest construction project and the sales tax holiday.

We seriously hope Gov. Vilsack weighed all options before deciding to eat further into the budgets of the state universities.

The cuts are coming. Members of the Iowa Legislature are saying the governor has full support of both Democrats and Republicans in the legislature.

We, as a university, need to prepare for the longhaul difficulties.

There is no doubt things are going to be different. Tuition is going to rise, and unless you prefer paying for a less-than-quality education, we know they are necessary.

And with this new decision on cuts, things are going to be even tighter. Be prepared.

editorialboard: Andrea Hauser, Tim Paluch, Michelle Kann, Zach Calef, Omar Tesdell