Dear Gov. Spitzer:

My name is Lizzy. I’m eight years old now. Bill asked me to congratulate you for being elected. That’s easy. Congratula-tions. I know what that means! It means we’re happy and proud that you won. Bill is president of UUP, a big union of college people. They all worked hard to get you elected. I think I’ll congratulate them, too.

Bill is always asking me to write something. But I’m very busy. I’m working hard in third grade so I can go to college. I took a French course and can say “Bonne Annee.” That’s Happy New Year. SUNY’s trustees think that’s good. But my general education isn’t deep enough. I need to learn more. My mom and dad both went to SUNY. They’re successful lawyers. Dad says they pay a lot of taxes. I want to go to SUNY so I can get a really good job and pay a lot of taxes. I can’t wait.

Mom and dad say I’ll need real good grades to get into SUNY. Last year, gazillions of good students couldn’t get in. I asked Bill if the doors were locked. He said yes — “figuratively speaking.” He talks funny sometimes. Figuratively speaking, he said, means the doors aren’t really locked. There just isn’t enough money to let in every student who’s good enough to be there. But they’re not students if you don’t let them into SUNY. Besides, why do you need money to open the doors? Bill said SUNY doesn’t have enough teachers to teach all the gazillions of students who want to go to SUNY. The money would hire more teachers.

I asked Bill what happens to people who don’t get into SUNY. He said some go to colleges and universities out of state. Does he mean California or New Jersey? I hope not. They’re far away. Bill says if students go out of state, they probably won’t come back to New York. I’m scared. I want to stay in New York. I want my friends to stay here, too. If I go to SUNY, will I stay in New York by my mom and dad and all my friends? Bill says yes. Almost everybody who graduates from SUNY stays in New York state. I love New York. I even saw the commercial.

I want to stay in New York near mom, dad, granny and grandpa, and all my friends. Someday I’ll even grow up and get married and become a mom myself. I don’t want my children to move away because they couldn’t get into SUNY. I love my family.
I get it now. If we spend money to hire teachers, more students could go to SUNY. They would get better jobs and pay more taxes. That’s good, because we could hire even more teachers and then have even more students who get good jobs and pay even more taxes.
But suppose I don’t get into SUNY. I don’t want to go to college out of state. Private colleges cost a whole lot and my allowance isn’t big enough to pay for them. Maybe I could get a good job without going to college. Then I could still stay home in New York. Uh-oh. Bill says that’s not how it works anymore. He said there aren’t many well-paying jobs left for people who don’t graduate from college. New York doesn’t manufacture much anymore. Most of the factories are closed down. The future of the state, he says, depends on brainpower, not muscle power. That’s why SUNY needs a bigger allowance.
I want to go to SUNY. But when I get in, will I keep someone else out? I don’t like playing musical chairs. Someone always loses and that’s not fair. Besides, if the future of New York is based on brainpower, New York will lose every time even one good student can’t get into SUNY. We don’t want that.

So, Mr. Governor, I’m glad you were elected because you understand what I’m talking about.

Hey, I’m studying math and I just made up a formula. I’ll call it the New York formula. Here it is: More teachers and other SUNY professionals = better quality + more students. Better quality + more students = more brainpower = a better New York. Oh boy! This math is so easy, even a second-grader can figure it out.

Congratulations, Mr. Governor! I’m counting on you.

Lizzy