SUNYSA Testifies at Joint Budget Hearing

Albany – On Monday, SUNY Student Assembly President Thomas D. Mastro testified at the joint budget hearing before the Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means Committees.

President Mastro first testified in the early afternoon alongside SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher and the Presidents of the University at Albany, Potsdam, and Monroe Community College. Mastro’s testimony carried one strong message: SUNY students overwhelmingly support the continuation of a fair, equitable and predictable tuition plan as laid out under NYSUNY 2020. After five years of the plan, Mastro says, “Our student leaders spoke with a loud, clear, and unified voice. They said we cannot afford to be left in the dark. They said we cannot afford sporadic and unpredictable tuition hikes." When the Student Assembly General Assembly met last spring, the renewal of NYSUNY 2020 passed 59-4 with one abstention.

Later that afternoon other leaders from the Student Assembly joined Mastro to speak on their larger legislative agenda. Testifying on behalf of students were Vice President Melissa Kathan, Chief of Staff Marc Cohen, and Director of Legislative Affairs Nicholas Simons.

Vice President Kathan testified on the importance of reinstating tuition assistance for graduate students, known as Graduate TAP. Currently, only undergraduate students are eligible for TAP aid. "Our nearly 41,000 graduate students should have the same access to aid as any student pursuing his or her education" said Kathan. She went on to discuss the importance of disability accommodations stating that, "A student’s opportunity to obtain an education must not be impeded by a campus’ physical or structural insufficiencies." As a senior who will enroll at the University at Buffalo’s Law School in the autumn, she strongly supports the expansion of TAP eligibility so that graduate students can succeed without financial worries impeding their academic growth.

Director Simons spoke at length with regard to increased funding for SUNY childcare centers. "Among the most significant issues facing our non-traditional students is the inadequacies surrounding childcare funding," said Simons. These centers serve students, faculty, and community members at 50 of SUNY’s campuses, and would be negatively impacted by the proposed $1.1 million cut as set forth in the Governor's executive budget.

Last to testify was the Assembly's Chief of Staff, Marc Cohen. Cohen testified on the need for increased community college base aid, which had been touched upon by Chancellor Zimpher earlier. "For all the good that our community colleges do, all of the ways the students contribute back to their communities, they are grossly underfunded," said Cohen. "The proposal in the Executive Budget of a flat Base Operating Aid per full-time equivalent of $2,597 would mean a year to year decrease in direct state tax support of nearly $21 million,” he continued.

The full testimony can be viewed online through the New York State Assembly. The testimony of the Chancellor and President Mastro begins three minutes in, and the testimony of President Mastro, Vice President Kathan, Chief of Staff Cohen, and Director Simons begins at 6 hours and twenty-one minutes. 

Source: SUNYSA