SA planning to protest cuts
The Student Association is planning a rally on Thursday to protest against Gov. David Paterson’s proposed mid-year $90 million cut to SUNY.
Paterson proposed four cuts. The first of them, a $24 million cut from the Tuition Assistance Program, has already taken effect. Within the SUNY system, 123,060 students receive some form of TAP funding.
Last year, Paterson raised tuition by $610 at UB. Of the total amount that students pay in tuition, 90 percent goes to New York State to offset the deficit, and 10 percent goes back to the university.
“He’s really depriving us of an education and exacerbating New York’s problems,” said SUNY Delegate Emily Bauer.
SA has planned a rally for Thursday at noon in the Student Union to inform students of the cuts and what is happening to their money. SA President Ernesto Alvarado and the SUNY delegates will speak at the rally, and they plan to bring in speakers like Congressman Chris Lee.
They will also circulate a petition throughout the week that will be sent to Paterson explaining students’ objections to the cuts. All 64 schools in the SUNY system will hold a rally on Thursday and send out petitions. They are hoping for 1,000 signatures from each school.
Alvarado said that UB hasn’t taken an active stance on such matters in the past, but students need to start getting involved.
“We should have a strong voice. The best way to do that is to get students active,” he said. “We have that responsibility as the biggest institution in SUNY to make sure Paterson gets that message loud and clear.”
Alvarado pays the out-of-state tuition rate, with his money going to a state he is not a resident of, he said.
“My tuition isn’t going to better my education. It’s going to relieve New York State’s deficit,” he said.
More students need to be made aware of the situation, because if the cuts are allowed to pass, it will set a precedent and enable Paterson to make further cuts in the future, Bauer said.
“This is something the state government obviously isn’t very vocal about,” said SUNY Delegate Amanda Jonas.
Jonas pointed out that students who are not directly affected by the cuts to TAP or tuition increases will be affected by a decrease in the number of classes available.
“If you’re not affected financially, you’ll be affected academically,” she said.
Bauer said that the cuts could adversely affect the university’s growth initiatives, like UB 2020.
“We can’t do this if they continue to cut our funding,” she said. “We’re going to get mad, we’re going to make a little bit of noise on Thursday.”
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