{"id":1600,"date":"2022-03-02T14:57:51","date_gmt":"2022-03-02T14:57:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/uuphost.org\/purchase\/?p=1600"},"modified":"2022-03-02T14:57:52","modified_gmt":"2022-03-02T14:57:52","slug":"uup-joins-students-lawmakers-in-big-push-for-higher-ed-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uuphost.org\/purchase\/uup-joins-students-lawmakers-in-big-push-for-higher-ed-funding\/","title":{"rendered":"UUP joins students, lawmakers in big push for higher ed funding"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"uupdate<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lawmakers listen to students when students tell their compelling stories of what it\u2019s like to be at a SUNY or CUNY campus these days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students will talk about campus libraries with undependable internet access, and buildings that haven\u2019t had regular maintenance in decades, but also about the feeling of personal power that comes with attaining a college education\u2014often as the first person in your family to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That sense of power, including the power to effect change, dominated the plenary of the annual NYPIRG Higher Education Action Week Feb. 16, which brings together students from throughout the state\u2019s public higher education systems as a force to be reckoned with, for a week of advocacy on the higher education budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UUP, the Professional Staff Congress\/CUNY, NYSUT and lawmakers who have been consistent friends to higher education joined student activists for the virtual session that kicked off the week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis year has been a long time in coming,\u201d UUP President Fred Kowal said to the group. \u201cWith this year, with the state having the resources it has, we can say this is a year for the 15 years of austerity to end.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ASKING FOR MORE, WITH GOOD REASON<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Other speakers echoed Kowal\u2019s message that this year\u2019s Executive Budget is good, but it needs to be better, because public higher education in New York was starved for 15 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UUP and the PSC are each asking for an additional $250 million in operating funds, in a year when both unions correctly note that the state has the money to act on their request. Larger-than-expected tax revenues, a state economy that is coming back to life and pandemic emergency funds still available in the state\u2019s coffers all make it possible, advocates say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kowal also noted that the three SUNY teaching hospitals have not just saved lives and offered innovative treatments during the coronavirus pandemic; they also have continued teaching students to be future physicians and other health care professionals. And they are doing that without any state operating funds at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs good as the governor\u2019s budget was, there isn\u2019t a single thing in that budget for the hospitals,\u201d Kowal said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NYPIRG week of action falls midway through budget negotiations in the Legislature, and also midway through a series of spirited advocacy events by UUP members seeking more equitable funding for SUNY.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch the UUP website, chapter announcements, UUP\u2019s Connect e-newsletter and UUPdate newsletters for details on upcoming events.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lawmakers listen to students when students tell their compelling stories of what it\u2019s like to be at a SUNY or CUNY campus these days. Students will talk about campus libraries … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uuphost.org\/purchase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uuphost.org\/purchase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uuphost.org\/purchase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uuphost.org\/purchase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uuphost.org\/purchase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1600"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/uuphost.org\/purchase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1600\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1601,"href":"https:\/\/uuphost.org\/purchase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1600\/revisions\/1601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uuphost.org\/purchase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uuphost.org\/purchase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uuphost.org\/purchase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}