Albany – The Student Assembly of The State University of New York
(SUNYSA) and the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) today
announced a groundbreaking partnership in support of Maintenance of
Effort and an accessible quality higher education in the State of New
York. The Maintenance of Effort Provision which aims to increase state
support for The State University of New York and The City University of
New York was passed recently by both houses of the New York State
Legislature. It now goes before Governor Andrew Cuomo who, in 2015,
vetoed the same measure.
Through an online
petition sponsored by the Student Assembly and NYPIRG, hundreds of
students and supporters are calling on Governor Cuomo to sign
Maintenance of Effort.
"This partnership could
not have come at a more critical time,” said Student Assembly President
and SUNY Trustee Marc Cohen who is a graduate student at the
University at Albany. “We are calling upon every organization and
individual who care about the interests of public colleges to sign on to
our ongoing initiative. Governor Cuomo continues to be a strong
proponent of accessible public higher education, and has proven to make
it a central part of who we are as a state. We are hopeful that he will
sign this critical provision as a full and honest Maintenance of Effort
will put more New Yorkers to work, increase educational quality, and
directly contribute to building the world's most competitive workforce."
“On
average, New York college students graduate with $30,000 in student
loans,” said Smitha Varghese, Chair of NYPIRG Board of Directors and
CUNY Queens College student. “With capital chains weighing us down, we
are then expected to work for years just to make ends meet while paying
off the astronomical costs that keep us down. The Maintenance of Effort
bill will address this growing issue, and allow the government to
rightfully foot the growing costs that college students simply cannot
afford to pay.”
“I am very excited to be
partnering with NYPIRG on a crucial initiative so important to all of
the students we represent,” said Conner Wolfe, SUNYSA Representative and
Chair of the Joint Maintenance of Effort Advocacy Committee which
includes students and staff from SUNYSA and NYPIRG. “This is the start
of an ongoing mutually beneficial relationship with the Student Assembly
and NYPIRG to ensure access to a quality public education in New York
and a full Maintenance of Effort.”
The petition is available online at www.sunysa.org/moe.
Source: SUNYSA
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