Students from the UB and Buffalo State College chapters of the New York Public Interest Research Group protested Gov. George E. Pataki's proposed $1,200 tuition hike at Buffalo's William Street Post Office on Tuesday evening.
As area residents hurried to file last-minute tax returns before the building's 9 p.m. closing, the students lined the parking lot exit at the post office and held signs that compared the proposed tuition increase to a tax hike.
In March, Pataki proposed the increase in the SUNY base tuition, as well as cuts to the Tuition Assistance Program and Education Opportunities Program.
According to protest organizers, the goal of the protest was to amplify media coverage of the proposed increase.
"The media interest has taken a while with the war going on," said Tim Marvin, a senior history major at the event.
However, some students went to the Eagle Street Post Office instead of the William Street Facility, where they were all originally intended to meet. By the time they arrived at the protest, all of the cameras had already left.
Marvin called the lack of media coverage at the event "disappointing," but said that the mood of the protesters was not affected by the lack of media.
"If there was any disappointment about the cameras not being there, you couldn't tell," he said. "It was pretty fun and pretty loose."
As the temperature dropped, some of the protesters began dancing to stay warm. Students improvised a song and dance to protest the tuition hike.
At a press conference earlier Tuesday in the foyer of the Campbell Student Union at Buffalo State, students and faculty criticized Pataki's proposal.
"We're rallying to support Western New York," said Fred Floss, a professor of economics and finance at Buffalo State. "Raising tuition will take dollars out of the pockets of businesses in W.N.Y."
Mary Carney, coordinator of Buffalo State's NYPIRG chapter, pointed to a chart titled "Increase In College Tax for SUNY Students."
"It's really obvious that for people with low incomes, it's a 700 percent increase in the costs of attending school," she said.
At the protest, students chanted slogans such as "SUNY Says Cutback, We Say Fight Back" and carried signs such as "Save Our Schools."
NYPIRG has called for the Pataki administration to keep tuition at $3,400, to maintain the TAP program, and to keep funding for SUNY, the City University of New York schools and community colleges at their current levels.
Some students held signs such as "EOP Cuts Equal Tax Hike" in response to Pataki's proposed $37 million cuts to EOP.
According to Marvin, the UB chapter of NYPIRG will move away from trying to capture the attention of the media and focus more on direct advocacy for students.
"We're trying to put up a table at Spring Fest where people can call their legislators from cell phones that we'll have right at the table," said Marvin.
According to NYPIRG members, political advocacy efforts at UB and Buffalo State will include scheduling meetings with local legislators, letter writing campaigns and lobbying.
In conjunction with the other SUNY campuses, UB and Buffalo State will send delegates to a protest in Albany on May 3. Floss, who will accompany the Buffalo State chapter, said he expects 30,000 people to attend.
"Definitely a lot of UB students have taken an interest in the issues we're working on," Carney said. "The UB rally was great."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
