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Liza Ramirez knows hardship. As the daughter of a single parent struggling to make ends meet on a waitress’s salary, Ramirez understands the opportunities that come with a college education.
But her increasing financial burden and thoughts of not completing her degree—not getting the chance to be a lawyer—weigh heavily on her mind.
“If the governor goes through with his proposals (to cut SUNY funding), I will no longer have a future to look forward to. I will no longer have a dream,” said Ramirez, a sophomore in the Educational Opportunity Program at UAlbany. “All I want is to receive a great college education that will, in return, benefit this state and, who knows, maybe the nation.”
New York state can’t fix its budget woes on the backs of Liza Ramirez and thousands of others like her. That’s why UUP is asking the Legislature to find the revenue needed to ensure that SUNY can continue to fulfill its longstanding mission.
“Now more than ever, New York state residents need access to a quality, affordable education.” That’s the mantra UUP President Phillip Smith is trumpeting in face-to-face meetings with the governor and legislative leaders, and in the news media around the state. “The cuts that threaten to dismantle the University are beginning to take their toll, and students and their families are feeling the pinch.”
UUP has been hearing from current and prospective students, parents and high school guidance counselors, all of who express the same concern: Will SUNY be there for them and the next generation?
UAlbany graduate student Brandon Mendelson fears that the cause-and-effect of further budget reductions will cut into his chances of earning a Ph.D.
“My wife and I are being killed financially … and I don’t know if I can afford to continue,” he said. “There is only so much money you can borrow, and we already have $45,000-plus in student loan debt.”
The financial burden is also being felt by parents trying to help their children earn a college degree they know will make their lives better. But at what cost?
“Last spring, I dipped into my 401(k) to make the tuition payment for my daughter Amy,” said Meg Tedesco of Rotterdam. “If cuts are made to the SUNY budget that further increases our family’s financial burden, my daughter and I may need to look at other options for her education, such as a community college and living at home. If things continue the way they are, I’m afraid most of middle America won’t be able to afford a college education for their children, even at a state school.”
“The effects of these monumental cuts are already being felt,” Smith wrote in an op-ed article for the Albany-area Times Union. “Some campuses are planning to limit future enrollments, enlarge the size of classes, reduce course offerings and freeze searches for new full-time faculty to replace those who are retiring. Others say they will delay purchases of supplies and equipment, basic necessities in today’s technologically driven world.”
SUNY Oneonta freshman Amy Tedesco noted that it is getting more difficult to enroll in classes, mainly because fewer are being offered.
“It’s like a mad rush on registration day to jump on the computer and try to get into the classes I need before they are closed, as there are already so many people in each class,” she said. “If SUNY were to cut back on the amount of professors, I can only imagine the mess it would be to register. With even fewer classes, and fewer options to choose from, students would be struggling and fighting to get into certain classes, and many classes would probably be significantly more overcrowded.”
Dean McGee, a senior majoring in political science at SUNY Geneseo and a Geneseo College Senate student senator, said budget cuts “have a direct effect on our finances, our education and our day-to-day lives on campus.” He said SUNY Geneseo has instituted a hiring freeze, as well as a 12 percent cut in all academic departments. The bottom line: The college has been forced to eliminate courses students need to graduate on time; has increased class size in freshman writing courses; and can no longer afford to bring in outside speakers or host conferences that are necessary to provide a well-rounded education.
“I really feel offended by the most recent proposal (outlining cuts to SUNY) from the governor’s office,” McGee said. “I can’t afford to be personally responsible for filling the holes in the state budget.”
McGee has made it his mission to spread the word that SUNY cannot take another financial hit. In cooperation with other student and faculty senators, McGee helped to organize a letter-writing campaign and a petition drive that netted an impressive 1,400 signatures from a student body of 5,000.
“Even though I’m graduating this year,
I don’t think it’s fair that the next generation of SUNY students might not be able to enjoy the same quality of education that I have,” McGee said. “We should be making progress, not taking giant steps backward.”
“Public higher education that is affordable and accessible to all members of the family of New York is the promise of the SUNY system,” UUP President Smith said. “It’s not just for the affluent or the A students. It’s for everyone.
“But the draconian cuts in the SUNY budget put our promise to the next generation in peril. UUP cannot sit idly by and watch the University—the future—be decimated.”
— Karen L. Mattison with staff reports