UUP Binghamton

Would you like to bring in 700-1000 world class Academics? Would you like to double the number of buildings on campus and bring hundreds of millions of dollars of construction to the local area? Would you like to enroll another ten thousand students?

These are all proposals put forward by SUNY-Buffalo’s president as part of his UB 20/20 Plan; a copy of the proposed legislation is available at http://assembly.ny.us/leg/?bn=A02020. These are all wonderful goals for the university center at Buffalo and could be translated into comparable goals for Binghamton or any number of other SUNY campuses. He has a vision and has gotten many in the Buffalo community to buy into this vision. When one looks a little closer, one is reminded of that line from “The Wizard of Oz,” “pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.” ‘Just pay attention to all that fire and smoke and what it suggests.’

To make this happen at UB, their president has asked for the unilateral authority to raise, and keep all, tuition for their students. The bill referenced above would allow him to increase undergraduate tuition by at least 32% over the next four years. Professional degree tuition could increase by at least 60%. Of course, UB would continue to receive the same state support as before. Even more interesting is the fact that if there are additional funds for SUNY, UB is at the front of the line and gets any increases first, before any other campus.

This bill also allows for the use of any and all state owned and operated facilities and land to be used for private purposes. He wants to build a hotel on state land and have the campus reap the benefits of that construction and operation. The state would get nothing and only the campus president makes the decision on these issues. All of these private enterprises would be exempt from local property taxes.

And, most interestingly, the president would be exempt from the provisions of the Public Officers Law and Ethics Law. He can do what he wishes and then have the state represent him in court if he is sued.

This sounds a lot like what happened during the last eight to ten years in the federal government. Let’s get rid of the rules on oversight; let’s free individuals to make their own decisions; and let’s turn a blind eye to potential legal improprieties. It worked for awhile but then it came back and bit us all very hard. There is a reason for rules and oversight. They might slow us down a little, but they do ensure we are protected and safe from rapacious individuals who are more interested in personal power than they are in anybody or anything else.

- Darryl Wood