???The political landscape in New York has been unstable as it's ever been. Not only will this situation affect us at a state-wide level but also on our day-to-day lives.
???The ambiguity doesn't just reside in the nation's capital; it's also rampant in New York. From newly appointed senators to Gov. David Paterson's education reform plan, politicians continue to quarrel over the issues.
???"The nation and political leaders are highly polarized," said James Campbell, chair of the Department of Political Science. "There are substantial policy and ideological differences that are real and important. There will be a grand show of and call for bipartisanship; but when the rubber hits the road, partisan views cannot be set aside."
???New York politics have been in a state of flux.
Yen???Resignation of Governor Spizter
Yen???Former Senator Clinton becoming Secretary of State
Yen???Newly appointed Senator Gillibrand
???Paterson has proposed dozens of pieces of legislation in an attempt to fix New York's budget crisis due to the current economic downturn. One of his proposals has specific relevance to everyone involved with the SUNY system.
???To raise new revenue tuition for all SUNY students is being raised.
???Essentially, this means Paterson is taxing the students who choose to go to SUNY schools, according to Campbell. There has been little reaction to the proposed increase in tuition.
???"Frankly, I am surprised that there has not been a stronger reaction to this policy on the part of the university and the students," Campbell said. "The fact that the state will be skimming 80 percent of the new tuition money raised by the University is equivalent to levying a 400 percent sales tax on tuition. For every additional $100 that a student pays, UB gets to keep $20 for educational costs on campus and the state rakes off $80 for other purposes."
???UB President John B. Simpson has been actively trying to obtain a new set of guidelines on how universities can raise tuition and keep that money within the school, rather than lose the majority of it to the state.
???Simpson has thrown his weight behind legislation for the UB 2020 Flexibility and Economic Growth Act, which would give the university the ability to operate more autonomously. In response to the growing economic crisis, UB is attempting to free itself from the restrictiveness of the state financial reach.
"I know that these are tough economic times, but it does not seem like a good idea to be trying to balance the budget on the backs of students who already have a tough enough time paying for tuition and books," Campbell said. "It seems pretty shoddy and there ought to be more of a protest from all quarters about this."
Newly appointed Sen. Kristen Gillibrand came into office with little fanfare. Though she was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2007 to represent New York's 20th congressional distract, she has received limited acknowledgment across New York.
"Senator Gillibrand is largely an unknown quantity. She has little political experience and, until her appointment to the Senate, had virtually no name recognition statewide," Campbell said.
???Garnering the public attention will take more then just appearing on television, according to Campbell. Gillibrand must show her constituency what she stands for.
???"She represented a fairly conservative district outside of Albany and was able to win in the district even though she is a Democrat by taking conservative positions on many issues," Campbell said. "Most notable was the high rank that she received from the NRA, but she also took conservative positions on many [other] social issues."
???Some have expressed concern about Gillibrand's appointment and accused her of frequent shifts in position on certain issues in her district.
???"I have some concern that Sen. Gillibrand may not be a very principled politician. The New York Times ran a piece on her flip-flops and I heard that some people in Washington gave her a nickname after the ruthlessly ambitious character played by Reese Witherspoon in the movie Election," Campbell said. "She may be in the mold of former [New York] Senator [Alfonse] D'Amato who was better known for constituency service than for big ideas and political courage."
???Gillibrand has until 2010 to prove her worth in office, when a special election will be held to determine who will sit in her current senate seat.
