Students Call for State to Make Good on Its Promises

 
The SUNY Student Assembly has called upon the New York State Senate and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to approve a last minute of “Maintenance of Effort” provision which would provide critical aid to the SUNY system and potentially eliminate the need for another round of tuition increases.

“Students have continued to pay more than their fair share of college costs after years and years of tuition increases with only the briefest reprieve” said SUNYSA President and SUNY Trustee Marc J. Cohen “Its fundamentally unfair that students are continuously required to shoulder more of the burden despite the states repeated assurances that this is not the case.”

President Cohen went on to explain the compounding impact of the continued lack of state investment.

“Salaries go up. Cost of maintenance goes up. Utilities goes up. Inflation continues, and yet state funding remains flat. This in every sense of the word amounts to annual budget cuts. It’s morally reprehensible and flies in the face of what true and honest Maintenance of Effort was supposed to be. This model hurts our most vulnerable students who rely on aid to help cover associated costs of attendance as more and more of their already limited aid dollars get eaten up by tuition.”

His statement comes just hours before the SUNY Board of Trustees is expected to raise tuition system-wide to the maximum legal limit of $200. The Student Assembly also sent a Memorandum of Support (see addendum) to key members of state, urging them to pass the Maintenance of Effort Provision.

The Student Assembly of the State University of New York (SUNY SA) is the recognized student government organization representing the nearly 600,000 students of the State University of New York. Comprised of student leaders elected by their peers from across SUNY’s 64 campuses, SUNY SA is committed to empowering students throughout the state, and ensuring the representation of its members on the state and national level, as well as throughout the SUNY system. 

Source: SUNY SA