CUNY Students Plan Rally As Board Of Trustees Votes On Tuition Increase

Photograph by @joetorres, WABC reporter

Baruch College's afternoon classes (after 3 p.m.) are cancelled because the City University Board of Trustees is voting on tuitions hikes—$300/year for five years—and CUNY officials are concerned about another clash between protesting students and campus police. Still, students are taking the time to rally at 4 p.m., to criticize last week's chaotic confrontation as well as the hikes, "They make tuition increases over the summer knowing many students are not on campus, they continue to increase tuition, while cutting, resources (closing libraries, writing centers, etc), they have public meetings where students and faculty are denied admittance, then are beaten for attempting to peacefully assemble and have a voice."

Barricades outside Baruch's East 25th Street building were set up hours earlier. City College junior Rocio Rayo, who is an organizer with Students United For a Free CUNY, told Running Scared that she expects hundreds to attend, "Today is going to be a big deal.. Even if the numbers of students dwindle, since some students are expressing concern over police brutality, we're expecting a huge turnout from our community and labor allies."

Governor Cuomo signed the tuition increase in August, with his office explaining, "For the past 20 years, the average annual SUNY tuition increase has been 6.7 percent, well above the five-year, $300 increases included in this legislation. During that time, there were periods without tuition increases followed by sudden and dramatic tuition spikes of up to 40 percent. Such spikes and uncertainty in tuition is detrimental to students, families, and the university system. The NYSUNY 2020 legislation prevents these types of unpredictable tuition hikes from reoccurring." CUNY's website also features information about why the school is a compelling value, offering costs for other private and public institutions.

Still, the state's tuition hike would still translate to being 31% higher than before the five-year hike, at $6,330/year versus $4,830 last year.

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By Jen Chung in News on November 28, 2011 3:12 PM

Comments [rss]

I S

stop your whining. the smallest increase for education known to man!!! how do you expect to get new equipment, pay professors better and maintain those key professors with a competitive salary etc? what are we teaching kids today, gather a mob & protest when we don't get what we want??? hey, i want a ferrari, does anyone else want to occupy the dealership with me on Dec 5?

emdz

I would understand, but CUNY is not paying professors or lecturers more. For new equipment they charge technology fee's; some of the highest fee's that don't seem to go to providing much new technology to students at all.

birdtird

tune in, turn on, drop out

emef23

only $300/year for five years seems like a pretty stellar deal to me....

luke_1

$300 a year more.

And again, it is not about the hike. It is about raising tuition while cutting services.

Colonel_Inugus: why would they drop out?

emef23

and i'm sure the services that are still there are only rising in cost, like everything else in the world, from facilities to salaries to pay for educators--have to pay for it somehow. i understand your "point", but i just don't agree that an increase (especially of only $300) is unreasonable.

emdz

However, most of the educators are not being paid more. Much of the faculty in CUNY schools are not full time, they are adjunct lecturers. They don't pay as much to them. Most of the money goes to the high paying salaries of the CUNY Board Of Trustees and Presidents and deans of the schools. All of that meanwhile the schools are deteriorating and little or no money goes for maintenance or student services. To them it is more of running the schools as businesses than as a university.

Guest

But maybe it has something to do with CUNY getting 91.5 million less (or 103.8 million if you include the community colleges) from the new state budget. How else do you except the Board of Trustees to make up for the lost money?

I would be more understanding of the protests if the protesters presented a plan to make up for that 91.5 million dollars without increasing tuition. Even if the salaries of the CUNY executives were slashed, that would do next to nothing in making up that money