Some University of Iowa students are taking legal action after learning last week they would lose scholarships due to state budget cuts.

More than 2,000 UI students will lose their scholarships next semester because of the cuts.

UI freshman Ben Muller, who was affected by the scholarship cuts, has filed a class-action lawsuit against the UI.

Jon Muller, Ben’s father, said his son was awarded the $1,500-per-year Iowa Heritage Award, which is the UI’s legacy scholarship, when he was accepted to the school. Jon Muller said when he first heard that his son would no longer receive the scholarship, he was shocked.

“We had been promised a four-year scholarship,” he said. “It was like something was stolen.”

The Muller family had no prior knowledge of the scholarship cuts. They were not aware that this was happening until the UI sent an email to the family on Feb. 23 stating that Ben Muller would no longer receive the four-year scholarship he had been awarded.

“It was completely out of the blue,” Jon Muller said.

He said he called the UI Admissions Office to find out what was going on, and they told him that there was “disclosure language” when his son received the award.

This language can be found on the UI admissions website. “In the event there are reductions in state funding for the UI, support institutional scholarships and grants may be impacted, if that happens, academic awards may be reduced within the academic year accordingly,” according to a paragraph related to scholarships on UI admissions.

Within a day of receiving the notification, Jon Muller called his attorney.

“My objective all along has just been to get the university to come to its senses and restore the scholarships,” he said.

He said they worked on their lawsuit over the weekend, discussing legal strategies. He also worked with UI alumni and students to set up both an unsanctioned student group and the Iowa Scholarship Class Action Network.

UI law Professor Patrick Bauer said Steve Wandro, the attorney hired by the Mullers, has a lot of experience and most likely wouldn’t have agreed to defend Ben Muller and the other students who are a part of the class action unless he thought it there was good reason. This is because many lawyers don’t get paid unless they win their case, he said.

UI student Mila Kaut was directly affected by the cuts being made.

“President Harreld must be held accountable for upholding the scholarship guarantees that played a major role in the college decisions of many students, myself included,” Kaut said. “The revoked scholarships place an unnecessary burden on students and their families and send an unfortunate message about the university’s priorities.”

Kaut’s mother, Judi Kaut, said she has written and called UI President Bruce Harreld’s office several times with no response but an email stating the UI had no other choice but to cut these scholarships.

“I disagree,” Judi Kaut said. “[The University of Northern Iowa] and Iowa State [University] were able to find ways to make the cuts without cutting scholarships, but scholarships were first on Harreld’s chopping block. Because Harreld is not budging on his position, we’re moving on to legal remedies.”

She said she encourages students and parents to join the class-action network’s Facebook page to keep speaking out about the need for the UI to keep its commitments to its students.

The university has not publicly addressed the lawsuit.

“The university doesn’t comment on active litigation,” Jeneane Beck, the UI assistant vice president for External Relations, wrote in an email to The Daily Iowan.

Judi Kaut said the class-action network will hold two events with Wandro and Associates, the firm representing the lawsuit, on Saturday. One is at 3:30 p.m. at the Robert A. Lee Recreation Center, 220 S. Gilbert St.. The other is at 10 a.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn at 2205 S. 64th St. in Des Moines.